Last King Of Scotland

When The Last King of Scotland came out in theaters last year, I wanted to see it. Somehow I missed it while it was in theaters and sort of forgot about it. I finally watched the movie tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. I never understood the title until watching the movie. It seems that Idi Amin felt oppressed by the British and maybe identified with the Scottish (or maybe his Scottish Doctor had a great influence on him, and the rest is poetic license). This review will not reveal any major plot details.

I don't comment on the soundtrack of a movie very often. In fact, the soundtrack is often secondary to me. However, with this movie being a period piece (based in the early 1970's) the soundtrack was more noticeable. The music was an eclectic combination of African music and 1970's pop and rock music. There was an interesting lounge version of Bobby McGee that I actually liked. The music blended well with the movie themes.

Uganda in the 1970's...It is hard for me to comment on how well Director Kevin MacDonald recreated Uganda in the 1970's. I have never been to Uganda, never mind commenting on that specific point in time. What I can comment on is the authenticity of photographs I have seen of Idi Amin and my own memories of the 1970s here in the United States. Based on this limited reference, I would say that MacDonald did an excellent job. One scene that caught my eye had a cigarette advertisement on the wall, a small detail, but something you really don't see anymore. The music played well into recreating the 1970's as did the non-African wardrobe. There were a lot of earth tones (brown being a prevalent color in the wardrobe). The outfits had the cut and style of the 1970's adding more credence to the film.

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