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The Last King of Scotland

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The Last King of Scotland
Idi Amin Dada, who became known as the ‘Slaughterer of Uganda’ for his brutal, cruel, murderous rule as President in the 1970s, is the most notorious of all Africa’s dictators. The Last King of Scotland, by Giles Foden is a true story set in the 1970s, about a young Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan. He comes to Uganda to assist in a local hospital; soon he meets President Idi Amin who offers him a senior position as his personal advisor. Amin soon shows his true colours and refuses to let Nicholas go home, Nicholas is forced to make crucial decisions that could mean his death if Amin finds out. The film version of The Last King of Scotland, was directed by Kevin MacDonald in 2001. In the novel by Giles Foden, the plot describes the actual struggles and hardships that the character Nicholas Garrigan must face in order to survive in Uganda. Whereas, in the movie directed by Kevin MacDonald, the plot is revised and fails to show the audience the factual story of this mans life. The characters of Sara Zach and Kay Amin are drastically changed from the novel and Kevin Macdonald takes out a ‘Journal’ where Nicholas writes his daily experiences in Uganda, which ultimately result in a change in plot and takes away from the factual story of this mans life. In the movie directed by Kevin MacDonald, the role of Sara Zach is extensively changed from the novel. In the novel The Last King of Scotland, Nicholas Garrigan has an Israeli girlfriend Sara Zach who Nicholas bases all his decisions around in the novel. However in the movie version, Sara Merrit is only shown in the beginning in the film as being the wife of a local doctor and not being one bit interested in Nicholas. By Kevin MacDonald switching the roles of Sara Zach and Sara Merrit, it portrays Nicholas as a selfish man, who goes after married women, which changes how Nicholas’s character truly is in the novel. In the novel, the only reason Nicholas accepted the job and began his journey as Amin’s personal
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