History Film / GeneralIdiAminDadaASelfPortrait

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Amin expresses some very anti-Semitic viewpoints.

* {{Seer}}: Amin fancies himself as one, saying that he can know things going on in Uganda hours before they occur and that he can predict when armed conflicts will break out around the world. He even claims that the reason he's so willing to go walking around with his people is that he knows they won't kill him, since he knows the exact date of his death. And this is one of the [[FromBadToWorse least crazy things he says...]]

* AffablyEvil: The documentary paints Amin as this. The General never comes off as disrespectful to anyone and is polite even when criticizing some of his ministers. Whether this is his TrueColors or merely a part of a FauxAffablyEvil persona can not be fully determined.

* TheBeastmaster: Claiming to be this, Amin demonstrates his power by commanding a crocodile lying on the bank to move. [[FantasticallyIndifferent It does not.]]

* FantasticallyIndifferent: The crocodile Amin commands to move turns out to be this, giving less credence to Amin's [[TheBeastmaster claimed influence upon animals.]]

* TheSeventies: The film was made in 1974, which becomes more noticeable with the mentioning of [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon the Watergate Scandal]] and the Munich Massacre of 1972.
* TheStarscream: Amin was this before he was ruler, serving as the commander of the Ugandan Army and a staff member of the former Ugandan President Milton Obote. However, Amin was able to pull off a successful military coup and oust Obote from power, ascending to the position himself.

* WhamShot: The final shot of the film. Throughout the film, Amin has either been politely serious or jovial; either way, it always seems like he's in control of both his emotions and his country [[CaptainObvious (because he is)]]. However, the final shot (a close-up of Amin's face at the doctor's conference) shows him looking worried and possibly even scared. It's a far cry from the confident man seen throughout the film, suggesting that perhaps [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex not even he is totally sure of his own personal abilities.]]

[[quoteright:348:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/general_idi_amin_dada_dvd.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:348:A legend in his own mind.]]

'''''General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait''''' (French title: '''''Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait''''') is a 1974 documentary about the infamous Ugandan dictator UsefulNotes/IdiAmin, whose reign from 1971 to 1979 led to the death of hundred of thousands of Ugandans. Often considered one of the [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} more bizarre dictators]] of the world, Amin was seen as a curiosity within the [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar then-normal binary of capitalist and communist nations,]] being not quite pro-capitalist and not quite pro-communist.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Amin was born to a poor Ugandan family in the 1920s, joining the African regiment of the British Army shortly after WorldWarTwo. A few conflicts later and after Uganda had achieved independence from Britain, he was able to work himself up to Commander of the entire Ugandan Army. He was then able to wrest control of Uganda from Milton Obote and begin his reign of terror.

* LeaveTheCameraRunning: Most portions of the film are just long-held shots of Amin rambling about whatever subject he's on, from the [[GreedyJew evils of Israel]] to his perspective on the ColdWar.

* TheSeventies: The film was made in 1974, which becomes more noticeable with the mentioning of [[RichardNixon the Watergate Scandal]] and the Munich Massacre of 1972.

'''''General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait''''' (French title: '''''Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait''''') is a 1974 documentary about the infamous Ugandan dictator IdiAmin, whose reign from 1971 to 1979 led to the death of hundred of thousands of Ugandans. Often considered one of the [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} more bizarre dictators]] of the world, Amin was seen as a curiosity within the [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar then-normal binary of capitalist and communist nations,]] being not quite pro-capitalist and not quite pro-communist.

* KickTheDog: Shortly after the massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Amin sent a telegram to Kurt Waldheim (Secretary of the United Nations) that applauded the Palestinians for their killings and even claimed that AdolfHitler had been right to kill many Jews.

** Could possibly be considered a BittersweetEnding if one knows Amin's backstory; his moment of weakness could be {{Foreshadowing}} for his coming overthrow in 1979. However, thousands more still died and Amin was able to live in Saudi Arabia for the rest of his days with [[KarmaHoudini no repercussions for his actions.]]

* YouHaveFailedMe: Presumably the reason the foreign minister was found dead, as Amin had been criticizing him for not living up to his position.

'''''General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait''''' (French title: '''''Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait''''') is a 1974 documentary about the infamous Ugandan dictator IdiAmin, whose reign from 1971 to 1979 led to the death of hundred of thousands of Ugandans. Often considered one of the [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} more bizarre dictators]] of the world, Amin was seen as a curiosity within the [[ColdWar then-normal binary of capitalist and communist nations,]] being not quite pro-capitalist and not quite pro-communist.

* AccidentalMisnaming: During the conference with the doctors, one of the doctors accidentally calls the leader of his medical organization "the President"; under Amin's rule, only he could be referred to as the President. Though the doctor corrects himself and Amin seemingly laughs it off, Amin's expression seems to suggest the slip of the tongue may have been more damaging to him than he let on.

* DownerEnding: Though the film ends with a moment of weakness for Amin, he suffers no other difficulties throughout the film. He's still ruler of Uganda, he'll still go on oppressing his people, and he shows no signs of changing. Nothing has changed, and that suits Amin just fine.
** Could possibly be considered a BittersweetEnding if one knows the backstory of Amin; his moment of weakness could be {{Foreshadowing}} for his coming overthrow in 1979. However, thousands more still died and Amin was able to live in Saudi Arabia for the rest of his days with [[KarmaHoudini virtually no repercussions for his actions.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: An odd example, as it's an unintentional foreshadow of a real event. In the film, Idi Amin remarks that Palestinian terrorists who hijacked Israeli planes would be welcome to land in Uganda. This would eventually occur two years later, leading to the famous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Entebbe Raid on Entebbe]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Amin was born to a poor Ugandan family in the 1920s, joining the African regiment of the British Army shortly after WorldWarTwo. A few conflicts later and after Uganda had achieved independence from Britain, he was able to work himself up to Commander of the entire Ugandan Army. It was from here he was able to wrest control of Uganda from Milton Obote and begin his reign of terror.

* PatrioticFervor: Definitely the "Bad" flavor; all of the nationalism portrayed here is in policies causing the death of thousands of Ugandans and planning a war with Israel.
* {{Polyamory}}: Amin admits to having 4 wives and 18 children at the time this film was made.

* ThisIsUnforgivable: Amin's attitude toward Great Britain. Uganda had originally been a colony under Great Britain, but had managed to achieve independence around 10 years earlier to this film's production. So great is his hatred that Amin swears that he'll never forgive Great Britain unless the then-British Prime Minister Edward Heath personally comes to Uganda and delivers a formalized apology to Amin.
* TranquilFury: When talking about his hatred of Israel, Amin never raises his voice or acts outright angry. But it is extremely clear that there's an underlying rage there.
* UnreliableNarrator: Amin comes off as either a ConsummateLiar or [[BelievingTheirOwnLies extremely delusional]]. Neither choice makes him entirely trustworthy.

* VillainProtagonist: As much as a homicidal dictator can be called a [[TheProtagonist "Protagonist"]].

'''''General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait''''' (French title: '''''Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait''''') is a 1974 documentary about the infamous Ugandan dictator IdiAmin, whose reign from 1971 to 1979 led to the death of hundred of thousands of Ugandans. Often considered one of the [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} more bizarre dictators]] of the world, Amin was seen as a curiosity within the [[ColdWar then-normal binary of capitalist and communist nations]].

At first glance, this documentary doesn't seem all that special, given how plenty of other documentaries have covered Amin’s reign of terror, and with more in-depth coverage of the situation than this one. However, this one has a twist: Not only was it filmed in Uganda during the time of Amin’s rule, but it was fully approved by Amin himself. In fact, most of the film is spent focusing on the General, following him around at affairs both personal and public as he gives his world views on the various African and world powers. This access allowed the documentary to get up close and personal to Amin, who emerges as quite an...[[PsychopathicManchild interesting individual]].

* VillainProtagonist: Probably the best the main character can be called given his actions.

* BelievingTheirOwnLies: Amin consistently claims that Uganda has vastly improved since his ascent to leadership three years before, but it becomes clear throughout the documentary that the country is extremely economically depressed and there are frequent "disappearances" within the country.

* TheStarscream: Amin was this before he was ruler, serving as the commander of the Ugandan Army and a staff member of the former Ugandan President Milton Obote. However, Amin was able to pull off a successful military coup and oust Obote from power, ascending to the position himself.

This in of itself wouldn’t be that special, given how plenty of documentaries have covered Amin’s reign of terror. However, this one has a twist: Not only was it filmed in Uganda during the time of Amin’s rule, but it was fully approved by Amin himself. In fact, most of the film is spent focusing on the General, following him around at affairs both personal and public as he gives his world views on the various African and world powers. This access allowed the documentary to get up close and personal to Amin, who emerges as quite an...[[PsychopathicManchild interesting individual]].

* TheSeventies: The film was made in 1974, which becomes more noticeable with the mentioning of [[RichardNixon the Watergate Scandal]] and the Munich Massacre.

'''''General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait''''' (French title: '''''Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait''''') is a 1974 documentary about the infamous Ugandan dictator IdiAmin. This in of itself wouldn’t be that special, given how plenty of documentaries have covered Amin’s reign of terror. However, this one has a twist: Not only was it filmed in Uganda during the time of Amin’s rule, but it was fully approved by Amin himself. Because of this, the documentary was able to get up close and personal to Amin, who emerges as quite an...[[PsychopathicManchild interesting individual]].