Last King of Scotland (2006)

About King McIdi: “In 1974, Amin offered to head the fight for Scottish independence and proclaimed himself The Last King of Scotland.”

I was so impressed with this film — Forest Whittaker deserved his Oscar and I liked how the plot made a plausible presentation of the totality of Idi Amin as a human being — he was both a charismatic leader and horrifyingly brutal man. This is a case of how a fictional treatment in the form of a movie can give you more insight into the natures of people and idealism.

The DVD has a lot of interesting material. The one I was most educated by is the feature on Idi Amin, showing extensive historical footage of him, interviews with Ugandans with either fond or terrible memories of him, and even comments by a colleague of his in the British Army and his actual British physician! There’s a picture of him as a young man and another of his wife Kay. (In the movie, she was portrayed by Kerry Washington. According to the DVD extra, it is a fact that the real Kay was found dismembered in the 70s in Uganda. The rumors were that she had had an affair, had sought an abortion, and after dismemberment, had had her limbs sewn back on the wrong way. You have to watch the DVD to find out which details are true!)

Aside from the usual director’s commentary, there are also deleted scenes, the first of which shows Idi Amin in a boxing match on a British army base in 1948. Trivia: he was Uganda’s heavyweight boxing champion for nine years. The DVD also features a “Casting Session” from the Fox Movie Channel about how the director Kevin McDonald came to be convinced that mild-mannered Forest Whittaker could play Amin.

Thumbs up for all that on one DV disc! The Last King of Scotland starring Forest Whitaker. B

ased on Giles Foden’s novel which has the title… The Last King of Scotland.