Not being much of a history buff, but having an interest in Africa as a continent and a cinema card I decided to give this one a peek.

A doctor (played by Forest Whittaker, not one I'd heard of I must admit) decides to get as far away from his dad as possible. After randomly chosing his destination by pointing to a place on a globe he ends up in Uganda.

After a brief stint in a local village where he works alongside a rather British sounding Gillian Anderson, he gets offered a job as personal doctor to Idi Amin, the new president.

Initially charmed by Amin he ends up unknowingly entangled close to one of the most crazed dictators the world has ever known. It is far too late when he finds out the truth, but how can he escape from the position of chief advisor to the president?

The film starts off slow and relatively light heartedly, gradually building quite expertly to reveal the horrible truth of who Amin really is. Several scenes towards the end are certainly not suitable for a young audience, but are necessary to show how twisted (sorry) the man had become.

Some scenes of nudity, both male and female were somewhat out of place in what was otherwise a well told high class film. There was some swearing but it was untypically sparse for a film rated 15.

All in all, I'm glad I saw the film and assuming the film is at least loosely based on true events as it claims it has filled in a few gaps in my history. But that's one history lesson I don't need to take again...

see also:
Slumdog Millionaire, 21, Atonement, The Wrestler

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photo © Searchlight Pictures.