FILM REVIEW: A United Kingdom
This superb film tracks the marriage of Seretse Khama and a British woman, and shows how love outlasts politics and power, writes Lesley Stones
A lovely visual trick runs throughout the film A United Kingdom. The first scenes of the African adventure are set in London, a grey and dreary place with incessant rain and a shroud of fog that casts a colourless pall over life itself. Then the scene switches to Botswana, and the camera flies over glorious reds, browns and golds, a land of vivid sun and smiling people. The music and warmth of Africa light up the screen. It’s a recognisable trickery, but it makes the point superbly. A United Kingdom tells the true story of the love between Seretse Khama, the king of Botswana, and Ruth Williams, a London office worker. It happened in 1947, making theirs a ground-breaking, high-profile interracial love affair. It’s a gorgeous film, beautifully shot and impeccably researched as it reveals the love, power and politics that many people would prefer to leave forgotten. David Oyelowo plays Khama, sent to London as a young man to study in preparation to become the ruler of his country — the...
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