The Last King Of Scotland Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Charming. Magnetic. Murderous.
In 1970, the just-graduated doctor Nicholas Garrigan moves to Uganda to get rid of his conservative father. While working in a mission in the country, he meets the new President Idi Amin after the coup-d'é-tat that overthrow the former government. He is invited to become his personal physician in Kampala and along the years he sees how despotic his friend is.
| Forest Whitaker | General Idi Amin Dada |
| James McAvoy | Dr. Nicholas Garrigan |
| Kerry Washington | Kay Amin |
| Gillian Anderson | Sarah Merrit |
| Simon McBurney | Nigel Stone |
| David Oyelowo | Dr. Thomas Junju |
| Abby Mukiibi Nkaaga | Masanga |
| Adam Kotz | Dr. David Merrit |
| Barbara Rafferty | Mrs. Garrigan |
| David Ashton | Dr. Garrigan |
| Giles Foden | British Journalist #1 |
| Andy Williams | British Journalist #2 |
| Martina Amati | Italian Journalist |
| Peter Salmon | White Businessman |
| Michael Wawuyo | Air Force Commander |
| Kevin Macdonald |
7.80 out of 10 (34052 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Fictional thriller
posted on 24 Aug 2009I went to this movie hoping to learn more about Idi Amin, but there is not much to learn about him here. The movie focuses in on a paranoid, Caligula-like character. There is nothing about how he got and held on to power and practically nothing about what he stood for.There is however lots of excitement - this is the same director who did "Touching the Void" - a completely different subject, but filled with lots of excitement and suspense. That is the only attraction in this movie.There is lots of violence and some sex, but anyone hoping to learn any history from this film will be disappointed.
Paranoid Dictator
posted on 22 Aug 2009The 20th Century sadly gave the world some truly evil people, Hitler, Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, all hell bent on genocide, power and greed. Idi Amin was one, his promises to the Ugandan people, of new schools and hospitals, to put the country back on the map of Africa, were mere words and lies to deceive his people. The Last King Of Scotland, tells part of the story,and delivers a powerful and compelling film. Nicholas Garrigan (James Mcavoy ) just graduated from medical school, decides upon a spin of the globe to travel to Uganda. He takes a post in a Bush Hospital working with Dr Merritt and Merritt's wife Sarah ( Gillian Anderson ). After a freak car accident Garrigan meets Idi Amin played superbly by Forest Whitaker, Amin takes an instant liking to Garrigan, and offers him the position of his personal Physician. This offer is accepted, things could not be better for Garrigan, his life has changed, he meets Amin's 3rd Wife Kay ( Kerry Washington ) and starts a passionate affair with her, but he has yet to know the true horror of Amin's regime.Garrigan soon becomes an victim of the power and corruption of Amin's regime, a man unwittingly held against his will,once employed as a Doctor, now acting as adviser and confidante to Amin, depending on Amin's mood swings. Forest Whitaker gives us a truly powerful performance, for the best part of an hour we are led to believe that Amin cares about the Ugandan people, he comes across has a charming likable man, but the real Amin begins to show, a paranoid madman. Whitaker's acting is awesome, a worthy winner of a Golden Globe, it would be a travesty if he doesn't win a Oscar. This is a film that deserves to be seen, Kevin Macdonald's excellent direction, superb Cinematography and film editing, first rate acting from an inspired cast, make this a must.I doubt if i will see a better film this year. Quality Movies like this don't come along too often, this is serious and thought provoking film making. Highly recommended.
Idi Amin in his glory
posted on 18 Aug 2009He thundered and loomed and joshed and clasped. He made terrible threats and effusive promises. He laughed and raged and told bad jokes and saw enemies in the shadows and was equally at home in a dashiki as he was in a kilt.He was Idi Amin -- or, as he preferred, His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular. And his rule over Uganda in the 1970s was as capricious and bloody and mad as that ridiculous title suggests.Amin, who died in exile in 2003, was a massive figure -- comical and quixotic and utterly deadly -- whose image has faded from popular culture, where he was once a favorite subject for documentaries and comic spoofs. But with "The Last King of Scotland," Amin, as portrayed with ferocious, convincing energy and zeal by Forest Whitaker, returns in all his ghastly glory. And Whitaker is so good as to ensure that anyone who sees the film will never forget Amin again.Technically, "Last King" isn't Amin's story. It rather concerns itself with the misadventures of Nicholas Garrigan, a (fictional) recently minted doctor who decides to taste a bit of the world before inheriting his father's medical practice in Scotland. Spinning a globe, he hits on Uganda, where he makes a brief run at a fling with a married woman (Gillian Anderson) before his fateful encounter with Amin, after which he is sucked up by the president as if by a tornado, moving to the capital city, running in fast crowds and serving both as personal physician and trusted adviser to the mercurial madman.Garrigan is played by James McEvoy (Mr. Tumnus from "The Chronicles of Narnia"), and it's a quite able performance: frisky and assertive and sexy and foolish in turns. But he positively vanishes beside Whitaker, who delivers a career-best performance as the sweaty, insidious, booming, glad-handing monster (and I say "career-best" with Whitaker's work in "Bird" well in mind). The readiest comparison is "Training Day," in which Ethan Hawke was very good and could barely hold his place on screen next to Denzel Washington. For this performance alone, "Last King" is a substantial piece of work.Otherwise, the film is estimable but not quite great. Working from an adaptation of Giles Foden's novel of the same name, director Kevin MacDonald creates an episodic and sometimes meandering story involving palace intrigues, adultery, British interference in Ugandan affairs and the famous raid on Entebbe, where the airline passengers hijacked by Palestinians were rescued by Israeli commandos. Some of this is supported by solid performances by Kelly Washington as one of Amin's wives and Simon McBurney as a British diplomat. But it still lacks the force of a more straightforward narrative.As if to mirror the squirrelly storytelling, MacDonald and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (who's worked on many Dogme films) adopt a herky-jerky camera style, which, along with fussy editing, actually manages the unlikely trick of diluting Whitaker's performance. Too often we want to stare into that titanic, crazy face, only to have our attention diverted to McEvoy's milky reaction. We don't need a stand-in for our shock and awe here -- Whitaker summons it quite effectively.
Wow.....just, Wow!!!
posted on 14 Aug 2009I was literally trembling at the sight of Forest Whitaker's Idi Amin. I always wondered what it would be like to watch a movie that would truly make my heart pound - that happened tonight.Both Whitaker and James McAvoy are incredible when it comes to acting with just their eyes - but make no mistake, that is not all that's going on here. IMO, both men deserve an Oscar, just like Hoffman and Voight should have won in '69 for Midnight Cowboy. I was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Bravo to all involved. The first must see of 2006. And I've still got Little Children and The Departed to see this weekend.
A bit too one-dimensional for my taste
posted on 12 Aug 2009The fresh new president speaks to his people and promises prosperity. Apparently he's good at speeches 'cause the well educated yet naive young white doctor buys into the rhetoric even though the lovely Scully warns him of the general's agenda. The young doctor is taken in by the general as his private physician and soon drives a topless Mercedes. Of course it doesn't take long for the young doctor to realize his error in judgment by which time it is already too late to make a hasty departure. blah blah blah...Uganda deserves much better.Again, depth and nuance is lacking in a tremendously well shot film with a brilliant and energetic performance by Whitaker who somehow doesn't seem to age at all. Clearly the movie did not care too much for historical events which is by no means a bad thing per se. Alas, as a thriller it just doesn't build up any tension, and its twists, if there were any to speak of, could be seen coming miles away. Much of the subplot could just as well been excluded and it wouldn't have made any difference.As a drama it doesn't deliver either since they chose to randomly follow the main characters and not really focus in on either one of them. Our protagonist wasn't at all sympathetic and his actions were mostly irrational and incomprehensable. And if it had one, this movie already got its point across well before half-way.I think I'd rather seen Ghost Dog again.5/10
Bravo to the makers of "The Last King of Scotland"!
posted on 08 Aug 2009I have been aware of the rise and fall of Idi Amin since 1971 when I was fortunate to be in Uganda for the first time, and his photograph was plastered in every business, social and government facility, and no doubt home throughout the country. At that time he was viewed as a "darling" by the western nations that helped bring him to power.As a novelist, I commend Giles Foden, Kevin MacDonald, Forest Whitaker, and the entire cast and crew of "The Last King of Scotland" for presenting such a vivid, albeit sketchy account of the horror of the Amin regime. I also applaud them for the restraint with which they handled the crimes committed by Amin and his henchmen. Those of us who are aware of the true events know that whatever violence shown or mentioned in the film was minimal compared to what actually occurred -- and would be difficult to witness on the part of the average viewer.I appreciate the need at this time to present Amin's story from predominately a white POV, and to fictionalize it in order to make it more palatable to readers/viewers. I basically did the same in my novel "The Lure of the Lion", although I included among my characters a black Ugandan family and Asians who are affected by the Amin regime. In addition, I present the fact that Amin was in league with the Russians and Arab factions, and was complicit in the hijacking of the Air France airbus. There are other facts regarding Amin's history, and medical condition, which are understandably not mentioned in the film, with its time and context restraints.What I especially admire about "TLKofS" is of course Forest's performance -- yes, definitely Oscar worthy! and the fact that it was actually filmed in Uganda -- a beautiful, fantastic country with courageous, kind-hearted people who deserve a peaceful existence free from the Amins and Obotes (the president prior to and following Amin, whose regime massacred almost twice as many Ugandans as did Amin's, only not as flamboyantly).
Great book, great movie
posted on 31 Jul 2009An absolutely gut-wrenching roller-coaster of a movie that among other things provides an object lesson in how to film a novel. The broad arc of the original plot is faithfully followed, tho' significant events from the book are simply ignored, and the ending bears little relation to the original. But the film is in the most important sense absolutely true to the book, whose core and most pervasive feature is the escalating sense of dread, of unpredictability, of sheer terror, of things starting to slide inexorably out of control, of madness, of limitless power at the disposal of a capricious and unhinged infant. That *feeling* - of sheer, mounting dread - is the very heart of the book, and is brilliantly transferred to the screen. Excellent, efficient, totally-focused direction; towering performances all round (every bit part was played to perfection...easy to miss given the dominance of the central performance); intelligent script, great location photography....movies don't come much better.
Thoughtless young doctor seeks adventure in an exotic country not knowing what he's getting into
posted on 31 Jul 2009This movie is incredible not only for the performance of Forrest Whittaker but for the all-around outstanding performances, effortless directing and editing, and screenplay that deftly educates the viewer even as the protagonist becomes more aware of the complex and dangerous political situation of a foreign land. This is fictionalized history, so how much dramatic license should be allowed is up to the knowledgeable viewer; nonetheless, the education of the character in the context of Idi Amin's Uganda is well-constructed. The young doctor is a brand-new MD from Scotland who randomly picks Uganda as an exotic destination for his first job, knowing nothing about its culture or history. He thinks he'll go have some fun and adventure in a Third World country, doctoring to the natives, having sex with any attractive woman, black or white, married or not. He considers himself apolitical, free of prejudice against anyone, and perhaps so, but that shallow code of decency derives from insensitivity to others' delicate relationships and thoughtlessness about the consequences of his own acts. His ignorance allows him to be brash and frank with Idi Amin in a chance encounter, which charms the dictator, just as Amin then charms the young doctor. Eventually, the young man's thoughtlessness leads to the unwitting betrayal and death of one earnest government officer, and of women with whom the doctor gets involved, forcing finally some awareness as the atrocities escalate around him. He has been a fool, not realizing that a Third World country is not an exotic playground, but the poverty and strife there is the result of legacies of colonialism and brutal egos seeking power amid a disempowered people.
Great Acting, but too much Fiction
posted on 31 Jul 2009Forest Whitaker's performance as Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland" clearly has Oscar written all over it - it was a magnificent portrayal of a vile dictator who destroyed his country. Unfortunately, for me at least, the fiction around the character of the Doctor played by McAvoy took up far too much of the story - I had hoped more time would have been spent on th factual base of Amin's rise to power, rather than depicting imagined goings-on of his personal physician. However, despite the foregoing, it is a powerful film showing the horrors that occurred under the tyrant's rule and how the economy of Uganda was ruined by him and his "party". I guess there have been similar instances of African countries striving for their independence from European countries, and the horrors they have endured, and continue to endure.
Extraordinarily dumb doctor but a superbly acted movie.
posted on 27 Jul 2009A more richly deserved British acting award has never been given. These acting awards were announced here in Fremantle several nights ago before I had watched the movie for which Forrest Whitaker was given this Best Actor award. Diane and I attended The Last King of Scotland this morning and we were both absolutely in agreement that Mr. Witaker's performance, dare I use the often repeated accolade of electrifying, was just that! He was totally believable in the role of Idi Amin with all of Amin's quixotic behaviors and mercurial mood changes. I only remember Amin's physicality on TV broadcasts of the early 70's, I knew nothing of his personality or behavior but I am equally sure that Giles Foden's novel upon which Morgan and Brock's screen play was based was as accurate as the movie reviewers report.I know that commentators should not necessarily make personal comments about the players in this shoddy little drama played out in central Africa 25 or so years ago but the most memorable aspect of this remarkable movie was not the Amin portrayal, as good as it was but the doctor's, as played by James McAvoy. I left the movie with the good doctors utter, absolute stupidity clouding my memory of this film. Being overly friendly with his medical partners wife was dumb enough, trying to kill Amin with a poison pill was disastrous for one's health but having a sexual affair with one of Amin's wive's was the ultimate stupidity. I know that the script of the movie was based on a fictional novel but the little notice at the film's beginning saying that the movie was factually based leaves a certain questioning in the back of my mind.Even if the script were totally fictional regarding the good doctor, I still must question a script with such exceedingly stupid people. Amin emerges as a paradigm of virtue and reasonableness in comparison to his doctoral confidant.These are just silly random comments about a wonderful movie peopled with extraordinary good actors. Amin's henchmen that do the dirty on the doctor at movie's end are memorably sinister--just looking at those guys is scary without them even doing anything. The Last King of Scotland is a memorable movie, miss it and you will have missed a truly great movie.
Amazing
posted on 25 Jul 2009Truly amazing movie, real jewel, whatever some may whine about (it's not like the book or it's not historical truth, the kind of usual comments which are utterly irrelevant when commenting a movie which is not a book and not a documentary, I will never repeat this enough.) One thing that saddens me a bit though is the fact that Forest Whitaker gets all of the praise. Yes he is brilliant, yes he could have supported the whole movie on his shoulders alone. But it shouldn't eclipse the equally brilliant performances of lesser characters. James McAvoy is sublime as an inexperienced, naive, selfish and arrogant young man who gets caught in things he can't handle and gets swept away by a dictator with a stronger personality and lavishes him with money, power, praises and flatter. Gillian Anderson is also brilliant in her small part as the wife of a NGO doctor who feels eclipsed by her husband's inherent goodness. Idi Amin's wife is also amazing and so are all the other members of the supporting cast, no matter how small their parts are.
Not as good as I expected for one reason.
posted on 23 Jul 2009Forrest Whittaker is superb, absolutely incredible, in the role of the title, Idi Amin, absolute ruler of Uganda. The script is so-so. The appalling massacres and brutal reign of Idi Amin are downplayed. ( I know some of the survivors and their stories just hurt your heart).He was a dreadful, evil dictator and there is very little justice in the world when he was never made accountable for his horrendous crimes against humanity.The scenes of Africa and the affinity Idi felt for Scotland are beautifully (and humorously) captured.The area I had difficulty with was in the character of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, played by James McAvoy,who has the lead for all intents and purposes, as we perceive Idi Amin through his eyes. Yes, he is cute and slightly eccentric, but I felt absolutely no emotional engagement with him and that, for me was the fatal flaw. Yes, he is swept away into the moneyed world of Amin but there is no character development to make you care one way or the other.Even at the ending, which I won't reveal, I was left shrugging. Serious movie letdown.7 out of 10 for Forrest. Way to go!
Spinandstir's Review
posted on 21 Jul 2009At times, I was hoping to get more of a historical picture so I could learn about the infamous dictator, but the film is not a doc. If you want history, you have to research Amin on your own. What the naïve doctor chooses not to know, we don't really learn either such as (the excessive torture and brutality of Amin), but when he does learn about the leader via horrific glimpses of his brutality, so do we. Nicholas is very much a young liberal who wants to believe that this dictator will bring power to Africa and unleash the chains of British imperialism. However, Amin is not the answer to the poverty and misery in Uganda, and Nicolas finds out in the ugliest of ways and barely escapes to tell us about it.The film really captures the deterioration of the dictator's mind/soul. Much like the The Madness of King George, this film observes the downward spiral of the manic mind and how absolute power can make you paranoid and corrupt. Whitaker is so much in character that sometimes it feels like a documentary. However, like a great actor, when he charms you as the leader, you are charmed in the audience. When he destroys you, you feel demolished.read more at www.spinandstir.com :)
Interesting fictional chiller...
posted on 21 Jul 2009This taught thriller Verges on a Horror Movie at times... and chills. The evil Adi Amin is brilliantly portrayed by the magnificent Forest Whittaker. You get a true sense of being in Uganda in the 1970's. the scenery reminded me of my childhood in Kenya, though Jame's Mcevoys doctor character was a little too hippie for my liking at times, and his stupidity at times baffling. This is definitely Forrest's film and he steals the show, though we could have gone a little further and explored Idi's evil side as there was definitely more than was displayed in the movie. The story nevertheless is quite interesting and really picks up pace towards the end leaving you at the edge of you seat at times. Most of the major events during Amin's reign are shown and historically apart from the fictional doctor character the film is fairly correct. A definitely good film to watch.
First great film of the Year.
posted on 19 Jul 2009Based on real events this film is really only a snap shot of Amin's brutal reign over Uganda at the start of the seventies but oh what a snap shot it is. Told from the point of view of two men, one the president the other a young doctor the film belongs to them. Forest Whitaker is simply amazing as the mad president and rising star James McAvoy is brilliant as the doctor who finds himself out of his depth as the president's personal physician and unwitting adviser. Starting in Scotland in 1970 we see Nicholas graduated and daunted by the idea of going into the family practise spinning a globe and vowing to go to the first place he touches which happens to be Uganda. At a chance meeting with the president after a rally in which we first see Whitaker stride to the front of the stage as much Amin as the man himself, the two seem to hit it off. When the seemingly harmless and innocent president takes a shine to Nicholas and offers him the job of his doctor he decides to give it a go. A slow and almost comical move through life at the president's side follows and we as an audience can enjoy Nicholas's good luck and new high life right up until he is brought a car. From this point the film takes a turn as does Amin which sees Whitaker really get his teeth in to the role especially the scene in the warehouse which sees him almost instantly change into a monster. Nicholas now trapped in a collapsing country at the hands of a butcher is desperate to get out but Amin does everything to make him stay including stealing his passport. Lavishly shot but with elements of a hand-held feel, well paced and with a sharp script the film is held together by the two central performances, even so the music and cinematography also help capture the feel of the country at that time. The transition from the first half of the film with its elements of comedy to violent thriller is handled well by director Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void) its edge of your seat stuff as you are always waiting for it to all go wrong. Whether it's Whitaker for his portrayal of Amin or MvAvoy for his performance as Dr.Garrigan this film will win awards and rightly so, The Last King of Scotland is just one of those films that only comes along every so often.
Highly entertaining but historically shaky
posted on 19 Jul 2009Wouldn't it be interesting if movies ostensibly based on true people and events added a caveat like "but otherwise, this movie is 100% fiction." That was the thought that crossed my mind when I saw the caption at the start of the movie, telling viewers "this story is inspired by true people and events".Otherwise, The Last King of Scotland is a thoroughly entertaining thriller but of negligible value in giving insight into what Uganda was really like under Idi Amin's reign. In fact, Amin is actually a supporting character in this movie, but Forest Whitaker's incredible performance pushes him front and center, in the same way that Anthony Hopkins made The Silence of the Lambs about Hannibal Lecter despite having only some 30 minutes of screen time.In actuality, the movie could well be subtitled The Nicholas Garrangan Show as the movie is actually about the young Scotish doctor (energetically played by James McAvoy) who goes to Uganda in search of adventure and ends up as Amin's personal physician and one of his closest advisers.Director Kevin McDonald really knows how to ratchet up the tension and if he wanted to, he could easily join Paul Greengrass in bringing grit and edge to mainstream thrillers. He also keeps the film briskly paced, which keeps audience interest up despite the two-hour length.But in line with the focus on Dr. Garrigan, the horrors of Amin's reign are kept in the background, until its time for the good doctor to realize what kind of a fix he's gotten himself into, whereupon the photos of those violently killed by Amin's men are brought out.The filmmakers also have no insight into what makes Amin tick, other than Garrrigan's calling him a child at a crucial point in the movie. In other words, the only insight the movie can come up with is that Amin is a walking Ego, given absolute power and then turned loose on Uganda.So watch The Last King of Scotland as an entertaining thrill ride, but do try to read up on Amin if the subject interests you.
Excellently crafted
posted on 19 Jul 2009The Last King of Scotland is in some ways an historical film, but is essentially a thriller. I knew nothing of Uganda's violent past before watching it.The film focuses on the experiences of a young Scottish doctor trapped in his home where he feels that his skills have a greater calling elsewhere. He travels to Uganda to help the disease and poverty stricken communities. After a series of unusual events, he ends up as the president of Uganda's personal physician. Soon the doctor finds himself entangled in a spiral of madness and brutality - orchestrated by the monstrous Amin. The character of Dr. Garrigan is played by James McAvoy, and he delivers a worthy performance. As the series of events lead him down deeper and darker roads, his character changes into a completely different person.Forest Whitaker plays Amin and does a convincing and fascinating job of it. He portrays an unpredictable, paranoid, and deeply disturbed soul and brings it all through masterfully to the screen. Amin is like a child with a gun - dangerous and capable of terrible things in his ignorance. To get into the part Whitaker gained a lot of weight and actually began to learn the language of Swahili. The results are brilliant - not one violent physical action is used in Whitaker's performance, and there is no need. Just the threat of the hulking silhouette is terrifying. The camera work, script and score are all impeccable, and compliment each other during the course of the film. An ambiance is created in the film perfectly; one of tribal rhythms, sweat, unpredictability, tension, the viewer is truly placed in Uganda. Some have criticised the film for its fictional quality, (the doctor is a fictional character) saying that it does not portray the true events of the terrible reign of Idi himself. I am not at liberty to agree or disagree with the statement, as it is a business thankfully I have not experienced first - hand, but I can see the validity of such a comment. Overall, I enjoyed this film immensely for the performances, the cinematography and the wonderful understudy into one of histories madmen.Don't miss out on this towering historical and cinematographic achievement.
Whitaker Oscar
posted on 15 Jul 2009Though not quite as suspenseful or moving as Hotel Rwanda, The Last King of Scotland spins a more artful, multi-layered story. The freedom of fiction allows Last King to take its character to some more interesting corners, but occasionally this freedom is abused - a few scenes require heroic suspension of disbelief. Is it credible that Idi Amin's doctor, on the verge of fleeing the country to escape his bloody master's grip, would risk everything to take Amin's wife to bed in full view of everyone? In any case, the real electricity comes from Forest Whitaker, who will certainly get an Oscar nomination and should probably win.
Engaging story ... takes a little while to develop ...
posted on 15 Jul 2009This movie provided an interesting insight into Ugandan leader, Idi Amin. It used a fictional character and storyline to show us the many sides to Amin's personality. Although not much happened in the first 2/3 of the movie, it did redeem itself with an engaging, suspenseful plot. After watching the movie, I feel I have a better sense of Amin.The story is about a young Scottish doctor who goes to Uganda to help the poor. However, through a chance encounter, he ends up becoming the personal doctor of Amin instead. His initial enchantment with Amin begins to wane as time goes on.Whitaker's performance of Amin was outstanding. I completely forgot that I was watching a famous actor and completely believed that he was Amin. McAvoy's portrayal of the young, "speak his mind" doctor was also strong.Although this movie takes some time to develop into an engaging story, the last third of the movie was ultimately was worth the wait. In the beginning, we are mostly exposed to the introduction of characters and situations. Things are happening, but there is no goal/suspense/etc. That occurs in the last third of the movie when the doctor starts to have problems and wants to leave.If you have any interest or curiosity about the man Idi Amin, this movie delivers some insight into his character through a good story.
Typical Westerner going to Africa to "help" but makes things worse
posted on 30 Aug 2009The timeless tale of a young naive idealist westerner who goes to Africa to "help" but in the end causes far more harm than good. In this case it was a doctor from Scotland but the western country could of been just about any one as well as the profession could of just been a bridge builder or business man.The sole reason Idi Amin was singled out to all the other dictators is that Idi broke the cardinal rule of international politics of siding with the Palestinians over the Israelis on the international political scene. The ending covers this to some degree. Was Idi Amin evil. Yes. Is he any worse than many of the other African leaders both past and present. Probably not. Africa regularly has violent military coos and people just don't keep killed nicely in said conditions nor do they stay in power without it.Overall a good film with many biases and inaccuracies that you'd come to expect in a Hollywood film.