| Overall Grade: |
A- |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A- |
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| Direction: |
B |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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To the question of eurocentrism...
by Tad (movies profile)
Feb 27, 2008
69
of
72 people found this review helpful
First off, let me say that this movie was well-told as a pure act of plot-making. The character arcs were solid, and the story moved along tidily. Most major Hollywood productions don't have plots half as good as this one. Also, the film was quite free of cheap tricks and snazzy elements, smokescreen for a weak storyline common to the big-budget affairs that H-wood loves to churn out.
In reading the other reviews, I've noticed people getting all fidgety over the "white man redeemed in Africa" idea. Also, many reviewers seem to take umbrage at the portrayal of Amin as yet another ruthless African savage. I found the movie to be saying something completely different on both these fronts. First, I felt that the movie was making fun of the naive Scotsman. In my mind, Amin was using him, manipulating him, playing on his sense of Anglo superiority. In the story's reality, Amin controls this young cad from the beginning, and uses him at certain intervals to lend cachet to his own plans. Rather than seeing this as "a white man finding redemption", I saw this as a story of how the "white men" in Africa no longer had a place there. Indeed, the reality of Uganda is that the Ugandans themselves took care of business with Amin and righted their own ship. For me, the story only reinforced the sovereignty and splendor of an African nation.
Second, to the point of Amin as another ruthless African savage, I can only say that, in my limited readings, it seems Amin's tyrranical behavior is well-documented. Again, this 'savage' outsmarted many people, including the British embassy and our Scottish protagonist, and the movie takes great pains to demonstrate the force of his personality and charm. Some might say that they do this only to highlight the decline of his mental state, but the character of Kay Amin herself says that Amin was always this way. A true megalomaniac, capable of great good and great shows of charisma, while also capable of limitless brutality in the face of threats to his power.
I could go on, but I would just like to say that there is plenty of room for a viewer to see this movie not as another thrust of eurocentrism, but as a rejection of that very framework.
Some negatives to keep in mind: Gilian Anderson can't do a British accent to save her life, and her plotline as a white woman stranded in Africa doing good is cliched and certainly can be accused of tapping into the eurocentric septic tank. Also, the protagonist's uppity nature is a bit much at parts. He's a bit of an act-first think later kind of guy and sometimes it can wear you out. But, in the traditional framework of American movies, he's a perfect protagonist, moving from one failure to the next on account of his tragic flaw.
Finally: the period aspect is delicious. Very 1970's. Very urban at parts. I like how they didn't ooze wonder for the countryside of Africa. It's almost trite when movies gush visually about the long savannas and red sands and barefoot children running alongside the limousines. Also, Forest Whitaker is certainly good. But his character just doesn't get enough screen-time for my liking. |
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