Ryan Ryersen Be Reel

The Last Assignment of High School

The film, The Last King of Scotland, by Kevin Macdonald, follows a Scottish doctor as he gets entangled in Ugandan political coup. The movie follows a Scottish boy who grows up in a well-off family in 1970’s Scotland. The boy is disenchanted by the monotony of Scottish culture and looks for adventure somewhere completely different from Scotland. He spins a globe and his finger lands on Canada. However, Canadian culture did not provide him with enough change to make the move worth his while. He then respins the globe and he lands on Uganda. He flies there in an attempt to be a traditional Western doctor in this impoverished nation. Unbeknownst to Dr. Garrigan, there is a change in power occurring in Uganda where President Idi Amin comes to power. Based on Amin’s speeches and propaganda he sounds like a well meaning president however many citizens do not trust him. In a freak accident, a cow is hit and laying on the side of the road. It is panting and moaning, Dr. Garrigan sees this and shoots the cow. Amin sees this, Amin admires Garrigan’s attitude and invites him to be his personal physician. Garrigan is initially excited to be promoted and is living the high life in Uganda. However, as the movie progresses Amin’s true nature is slowly revealed.  When Garrigan want to leave his visa and passport disappear and his told he has duty for the people of Uganda.
After Garrigan realizes how many people Amin has killed Garrigan is determined to return home to Scotland. When Amin asks for some stomach relief pills Garrigan instead gives him poison in the middle of a hostage crisis aboard a hijacked airplane. Amin decides to release the non-Israelites. Before Amin consumes the poison his bodyguard figures out that they are poisonous and torture Garrigan for treason. After being saved by a fellow doctor Garrigan manages to escape Uganda on the flight of non-Israeli passengers, after being told to tell the world about the crisis here.
This movie is extremely well written, the entire time this movie plays with your emotions as you question if Amin is a nice guy or an evil politician. It keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire thing. This movie is based on actual events however it does deviate from historical events.  The Scottish person is actually a journalist but Amin is a real person who performed a political coup in Uganda.
Additionally, there are many political and historical themes throughout the movie. This movie takes place in post-colonial Africa. Uganda is a former British territory, despite Britain no longer having de jure control over the nation. In many former British territories there is controversy over whether they should abolish imperial customs or keep them as they provide stability to the nation.  Additionally, British intelligence group MI5(not MI6) use espionage tactics to ensure that leaders are in place that maintain relationships that are favorable towards British policies and British trade. Thus despite being de jure independent they are often, in certain sectors, de facto controlled by the British. This idea protrudes in many places when Garrigan is seen asking the British guy for help and when Amin says that he was trained by the British.
Another interesting part of this was the political landscape in which this was released in real life. Israel was Amin’s most outspoken critic. The reason for this goes back to the first half of the 20th century. After the atrocities of the Holocaust Zionists wished to create a Jewish homeland. When Zionists, led by Theodor Herzl, were looking for a safe haven for Jews they considered British East Africa, present day Uganda. The British Uganda Programme ultimately failed as Palestine was chosen instead. Despite this, Jews fled Europe to avoid anti-semitism and found refuge in Uganda. Thus a small group of Jewish people became settled in Uganda. For political reasons Amin didn’t like the Jews so when he persecuted the Jews when as he would eliminate his political enemies. Before Amin was in power there were an estimated 3,000 jews in Uganda afterwards there was about 1,100 as many escaped but many didn’t. Since, Israel is the safe-haven for Judaism, Israel became angry with Uganda. In response Amin ordered all Jews to be expelled from Uganda. Additionally, he trained rebels in Israel to create unrest there.
When this movie was released Israeli critiques requested that director Macdonald either take down the movie or provide clarification. The Israelites believed that this movie portrayed Amin too positively and omits many of the atrocities Amin committed. The production team provided clarification that while it is based on historical events certain parts were partially fictional. Furthermore, this movie has no intention of conflicting or coinciding with any political agendas rather merely to provide entertainment.
Overall, I would give this movie a good, good. It is objectively well put together. Additionally, it is subjectively exciting to watch.

Based on your interest:

James Bond
Dunkirk
Blood Diamond
10 Cloverfield Lane