Review of The Last King of Scotland (2006) by Howie V — 21 Jan 2011

What's worse than a madman doing evil things...a charismatic man doing evil things. You wonder how men like Marcos and Mabutu and Pinochet and Hitler and Saddam come into power. If you want to manage a Blockbuster they run background checks and call references. How does a man - capable of murdering 300,000 - climb the ranks unnoticed? Rumors are rumors - that he ate human flesh, chopped up one of his wives, and killed his own son - and you take it as Ugandan folklore but some things can't be explained away (e.g. mass graves). A memeber of Amin's hand-picked Secret Service is quoted as saying, "IT'S CHEAPER TO KILL A PERSON THAN A CHICKEN BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BUY THE CHICKEN.".

This story is necessary. It's art doing what art does. In America we have the Vietnam Memorial. I saw it when I was in Jr. High. It has a reflective surface so as you read the names you see yourself; as if the dead are saying, "Look at your work." I love the story of Picasso. Have you heard it? A soldier walks into his apartment, glances at a postcard of Guernica, and asks Picasso if he did that. Picasso looks at the soldier and says, "No. You did." The Last King of Scotland isn't ancient history. Burma is now. Darfur is now. It's like a twisted version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader. Art with a conscience! Two thumbs up!

"You're a child. That's what makes you so...scary." - Nicholas to Amin.