MovieChat Forums > Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait (1976) Discussion > i've never laughed at someone so scary i...

i've never laughed at someone so scary in my life


it was like ida amin as an unaware "office"-like character. just the way he acted like he had more power beyond his country and how smart he thought he was...he acted like someone who was insecure but overcompensating in arrogance. he was very easy to laugh at but at the same time..he's this horrible dictater. great doc.

reply

After watching that documentary, Idi Amin seemed like quite a character. There was nothing sinister about him at all. He was like a jolly fat man with a sense of humor and would give away his legengary deep chuckle whenever asked with an awkward question (heh, heh, heh, heh!)... like that. But if you notice in a few scenes (such as his appearance at a university near the film's close) he has this blank, cold stare from his eyes. If one looks into them, they might see nothing there in back of them. No compassion, pity, sentiment, or humanity.

In private, Amin had a real Jeckly/Hyde personality. One minute he could be charming, charasmatic, eccentric and flamboyant like you see him in the film. But in next if would say the wrong thing to him or provoke him in the slightest he would turn into this angry, ranting and raving madman you would avoid at all costs.

If you also notice that Amin wears an expensive at-least-$1,000 gold Rolex wristwatch on his left wrist... something that the average Ugandan would not be able to aford to pay for at all during his life, which shows off more of Amin's self-indulgence.

Overall, a compelling, but shallow, story in the week of the life of a self-serving dictator from Uganda who wanted the world to see him in a positive light to hide the real personality that he really was.

Not to get off topic here, but I wish to find another documentary of another well-known and eccentric African dictator that of Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the self-proclaimed 'Emperor' of the Central African Republic, during the same years of Idi Amin's rule. Bokassa was less bloodthirsty and murderous then Amin, but more flamboyant and self-indulgent. While English-speaking Amin saw himself as the 'Hitler of Africa', the French-speaking Bokassa saw himself as the 'Napolean of Africa' and modeled his 1977 coronnation cerimony after the coronation of Napolean himself. There are exerpts of both Amin's documentary and Bokassa's documentary on YouTube, the only thing is that the Bokassa documentary (filmed in 1977-78) and his interviews is in French and my knowledge of the French language is not very good at all.

reply

His lack of intelligence was astounding, it made me feel angry to see people being led by someone who could barely string a few sentences together, the same person who was desperately trying to replicate the leaders/dictators of other nations to become some sort of composite super-leader.

He had no idea the propaganda book that was written by the Russians was propaganda and the way he talked about spies in his 'cabinet meeting' was his biggest fear, knowing he wouldn't be able to even detect a true spy but can kill in the suspicion of possibly finding one.

"His sentence should not take all day, it needs to be cut short"

In that same scene I saw a group of fearful people who were scared to make decisions because they truly do not know what this man wants from them, so instead they ask him to make the decisions because they knew if they got it wrong they would die.

He didn't like to be around his children, his face when his daughter cried told me everything I needed to know, and, to me at least, it seemed he did not even know the name of his kids.

I have honestly never seen so many outlandish claims and ridiculous behaviors from any other leader in a documentary:

"As the years progressed, Amin's behaviour became more erratic, unpredictable, and outspoken. After the United Kingdom broke off all diplomatic relations with his regime in 1977, Amin declared he had defeated the British and conferred on himself the decoration of CBE (Conqueror of the British Empire). His full self-bestowed title ultimately became: "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada"

Says it all really

reply

Just came across this. I've seen the film. and knew a bit about him. Found it interesting how he would mask his lack of knowledge/intelligence with long rants. Like the meeting in front of the doctors, he told a long story about education, all of it mindless points about each stage. Almost like he was talking to hear himself talk, or to take up time. In reality, he likely didn't know what to say or do in this meeting, other than impose his rule over these people.

reply