The movie is a mixture of fact and fiction, where some accounts are true but the character of the young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, is fictional. The two characters met because Garrigan sought adventure in Uganda and at the time, Amin was taking over the government. Garrigan was drawn to Idi Amin for some reason. The two met at a road when Garrigan impressed Amin by his show of character. Soon, the two bonded, became friends and Garrigan enjoyed the lifestyle his closeness to Amin brought. Garrigan becomes an adviser, a personal physician, a friend and confidante, and the two went through life threatening experiences. They developed a deep co-dependent relationship and soon, Garrigan sees that Amin’s administration is repressive and that he is actually partly responsible. The breaking point for Garigan was when one of Amin’s Ugandan advisers was executed because he suspected that man of treason. Immediately, the Ugandan adviser was dead; assassinated. He felt the guilt and decided to leave Amin’s wing, but it became impossible, since his house was ransacked and British passport was replaced by a Ugandan one. Garrigan decided to go ask the British for help but since he has already aligned himself with Amin’s administration, they said they would help him if he assassinated Amin. Garrigan decides to assassinate Amin as a result of the trauma from the death of his lover, who happens to be Amin’s wife. When Garrigan was about to be killed, a Ugandan doctor helps him escape to a plane and asked him to tell the story of Amin’s atrocities to the rest of the world.
To me, the movie was gripping and powerful. The shots employed were suggestive. The music, the sights, the over all feel was good. Not to mention a packed story. The story was packed and with substance but not too heavy to digest, and the audience had enough time to absorb it all. This was of course easily achieved, because the acting was really good, exceptional. The eyes twitched, the noses flared, spit flew at the proper times, making everything seem raw. The close ups were quite helpful in communicating the character’s emotions. For me, hands down, it was beautifully made and technically superb.
However, the film was not only a visually captivating, but also intellectually and emotionally. Aside from raising people’s awareness regarding the tyranny or Idi Amin, the movie was quite successful in making us reflect as persons. Although the closeness, the level of trust and understanding between the two characters was enviable, it was intoxicating.
Intoxication for this matter is both good and bad. The characters, whether you look at Amin or Garrigan, developed a special relationship with the other; in the same way that a drunk, develops a special relationship with alcohol. For the drunkard, alcohol helps him feel better about things, gives him confidence and basically makes him feel good. The drunk begins to trust this relationship and gives a huge part of his being to it. And before he knows it, he is addicted. Alcohol has corrupted him. The way I see it, a similar thing happened to the characters, especially Garrigan. Garrigan liked Amin, idolized him and made him feel good. He began to develop very strong feelings or a solid relationship with Amin, and before he knows it, he has sunk so deep into Amin’s destructive regime. He was corrupted. He sensed it, but did nothing to stop it yet. Amin on the other hand, also felt good having Garrigan around so much, that his decisions and his moves were often made under the influence of Garrigan’s advice. And of course, like an addict, Amin could not let go of his friend; a mine of insight and loyalty with a personality matching his. They both lost a sense of who they are, since they were too invested in the relationship they had. The funny thing is, that they loved each other so much that what they loved became the most destructive thing to them.
Through the film, I saw how it is so easy to get attached to something, whether it’s a vice or a destructive relationship. And the bad part is, you don’t really realize that you’ve reached the endpoint until you’re there. Perhaps we should be more careful in giving or devoting chunks of ourselves to something or someone. And we should never forget who we are. Now, this is definitely one idea I would like to take away from this film.
i made this paper for BA105.
it does not have the kind of tone i want for this blog,
but i wanted to start posting.. so, there! :)
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