Centering on the profile of charismatic but dangerous former Ugandan president Idi Amin, The Last King of Scotland thrills, excites and inspires its audience to think about the correlation between past events and present circumstances. For his performance as Amin, Forrest Whitaker has claimed the Golden Globe and Oscar awards for “Best Actor” this year, in addition to several other critical awards.

Set during the 1970s, a Scottish doctor named Nicholas Garrigan (played by James McAvoy), the protagonist of the film, arrives in Uganda to provide medical assistance to rural villages. Shortly following his arrival, Garrigan experiences the joyful celebrations of a nationwide military coup as General of Uganda’s Armed Forces, Amin overthrows President Milton Obote in 1971. Amin promises to the Ugandan people, “I want this to be a government of action, not of words.” Caught in the citizenry’s exuberant mood and his own idealism, Garrigan becomes Amin’s personal physician and moves to the capital, Kampala.

From this point onward, Garrigan’s viewpoint provides an intimate lens of Amin’s rationale and increasing instability as a national leader. As Garrigan witnesses the deterioration of a government’s conscience, he sees the world through disillusioned eyes. He personally experiences suspicion, betrayal and murder that leaves him fighting for survival. The film’s British diplomat Nigel Stone (played by Simon McBurney) says, “We’ve been getting reports up and down the country of the same thing – people speaking out about the country’s regime just disappearing.” By 1978, Amin’s army is responsible for the deaths of 300,000 Ugandans.

The main focus follows the relationship between Amin and Garrigan, but concurrently highlights significant historical moments in Amin’s reign as dictator. Scenes of racism abound in the film, and immediately following Amin’s letter to the UN in 1972 supporting Hitler’s WWII massacre, Amin attempts to “Africanize” the economy through the expulsion of 70,000 Asians from the country.

Rumors of Amin’s cannibalism also surface; it was said he kept heads in his refrigerator. Quick shots of mass graves and the discussion of bodies being fed to the Nile crocodiles are some of the horrific details mentioned. Only two graphic instances of torture appear, and those scenes seem to echo the recent accounts of genocide in Rwanda and at present, Darfur, Sudan.

The in-depth research for this film is accurate, outstanding and appears to have paid off with critical success. Although Garrigan’s character is fictional, the real-life Health Minister Henry Kyemba was a close friend and advisor to Amin in the 1970s. Kyemba’s book about Amin’s rule, “A State of Blood” published in 1977, was used as a tool for insight, but the movie was based on Giles Fodens novel “The Last King of Scotland.” In 2005, Whitaker talked to survivors of Amin’s regime in Uganda to fully understand and emulate the idiosyncrasies of the infamous ruler.

The title of the film reflects the bond that Amin saw between Scotland and Uganda, both fighting for a future free from English influence. Amin dressed himself and his army in Scottish ceremonial regalia to take on the attributes and status of a developed, modernized nation.

With a background in journalism, two-time BAFTA winning director Kevin Macdonald has produced a series of well-researched biographical and historical documentaries. Shot in Britain and Uganda, lively images of village culture truly come alive due to the extras, who are resident Ugandans. The picturesque scenes of the countryside are rich with color and intimidating close-ups reveal subtle emotional expression adeptly.

A remarkable and stunning tale that tracks the brutalities of an African dictatorship, this film is visually captivating, politically stirring and emotional riveting. Especially relevant to today’s events in Darfur, the film is a must-see of 2007.

Other films produced recently about African politics include Hotel Rwanda (2004), The Constant Gardener (2005), Blood Diamond (2006) and the documentary God Grew Tired of Us: The Lost Boys of Sudan (2006). Campus addresses made by Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina and Sudanese ex-slave Simon Deng during the week of Feb. 18 emphasized the movements for humanitarian aid in Africa.