General Amin

The only moment of real insight in a rambling and overlong documentary comes at its climax: 'After a century of colonialism' the commentary asks, 'isn't it in fact a deformed image of ourselves that Amin reflects?' It's a highly pertinent question, and one that a film-maker like Godard could have used to shattering effect. Here, however, it arrives as a postscript to a patchy assemblage of footage. The facts presented are disturbing, but Amin himself emerges as a dumber, more naïve, and more boring version of countless Western politicians. Occasionally, and surprisingly, the man seems prepared to laugh at himself: one of the few unexpected features in an otherwise profoundly depressing and exploitative film.