wasted opportunity... but Forest was amazing

Rating: 7/10 (5 February 2007)

I thought this was genuinely a wasted opportunity to tell us something about Uganda. For example, it explained nothing about the Indian community's position or history in Uganda, and why Amin would fixate on getting rid of them as the solution to Uganda's problems. For those who know nothing about the history, maybe it was revealing, but I can't help feeling this could have explored the situation further. I also found the characterization of anyone other than the main two characters shallow - we never find out why Amin's wife is a "bad woman", we don't find out what resistance from Ugandans is taking place. The English were again a shallow, easy villain and the complexity of colonial history was ignored for a soft (albeit deserving in many ways) target.
The other disappointment was, in a way, the inevitability of seeing the situation through a white outsider's viewpoint. The film did make the point that white people were more likely to be believed - by the West - as to the extent of the atrocities, but what about Ugandans? It's not as if there is a plethora of movies showing us about the mobilization of Ugandan protest against him. It could have been a real opportunity to look at resistance in Uganda, given that he murdered so many of them and was actively involved in fighting.
Having said that, Forest Whitaker's performance was nothing short of staggering: forceful, charismatic, charming, paranoid and unpredictable, he made you understand why people had so much faith in Amin, why he swept to power, and why he was genuinely terrifying. Brilliant, and I hope he gets all the awards he deserves...