General Idi Amin Dada (A Self Portrait)

"Excellent"

General Idi Amin Dada (A Self Portrait) Review


Idi Amin is crazy. Totally insane. He mercilessly overthrew his home government in Uganda in 1971, and yet in 1974 he allowed Barbet Schroeder (who would direct a fictional movie about an equally crazy real-life subject decades later in Reveral of Fortune) into his country to make a documentary about his life and regime.

General Idi Amin Dada (A Self Portrait) is exactly that. Schroeder goes where Amin says and when Amin says, and after the film was finished, Amin demanded a number of cuts that portrayed him in an unsatisfactory light. What leverage did Amin have to make such demands of a Frenchman? Well, he said that if Schroeder didn't make the cuts, he'd possibly kill or maim some 150 French citizens living in Uganda. Sounds a little like Hollywood...

Amin's self-aggrandizement is easily the highlight of the movie, with his candid, no-idea-he's-a-total-lunatic remarks about the appropriate place of women, Jews, and his detractors in the world. One moment he's chatting about the number of alligators. The next he's making threats to his staff. Then he's expaining how he can see into the future, per "the gods' instruction."

Unfortunately you won't learn a lot about Amin's politics in the film. Basically, that's because there are none. Unlike Hitler, who had an agenda, Amin is content with a government that's about no one but himself. He's building up an enormous armed forces -- even a Navy, in land-locked Uganda -- for whatever battles with his neighbors might arise. But meanwhile, his 18 children need tending to. Yes, we ever get to visit with Amin the father. And he's always in uniform.

The craziness gets the Criterion treatment, with Amin's demanded cuts restored (they aren't that horrific -- mostly they involve various voice-overs about various assassinations or disappearances). Schroeder also provides a new interview about the movie and how it came to be. Altogether, it's fascinating.



Facts and Figures

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 4 / 5

Cast & Crew

Starring: as Himself, as Himself, Golda Meir as Herself

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews