A United Kingdom

What's the title? A United Kingdom

Who directed it? Amma Asante

When was it released? 2016

What’s it rated? PG-13 for some language including racial epithets and a scene of sensuality

Would I recommend it? For sure. While I thought the narrative pull of Asante’s last film, Belle, was stronger, her work is still masterful in A United Kingdom. David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike are stunning, giving life to Kingdom’s story which chronicles a fascinating bit of history and truly inspiring people. It’s also a beautiful work of visual art, the settings lush, the costumes enchanting. The story isn’t always comforting or easy – this is history after all – but there’s a goodness present here, aided by Asante’s light touch. Overall, Kingdom is a lovely film.

What's it about?(non-spoilers) While studying law in Great Britain, Prince Seretse Kaham of Bechuanaland (modern-day Botswana) meets and falls in love with a local clerk, Ruth Williams. Their decision to marry is met with derision and hostility from their families and their state governments. A United Kingdom follows the challenges the world throws at them to break their marriage, their principles, and their spirits.

What did you think? (spoilers) I first fell in love with Amma Asante’s work when I saw Belle. A United Kingdom only reaffirms that love. I left the film wondering much the same thing I did with Belle, namely, how could I have not known this story? Like with the slave trade in Belle, Asante takes a dark page from history, focusing now on apartheid in Southern Africa, and makes it both accessible and light. By light, I don’t mean to say Asante trivializes history. To the contrary, Asante never shies from the injustice and cruelties of history. However, she finds for her films heroes, real men and women from history, who chose to stand up to the darkness of the world, to speak hope and justice to power. Seretse and Ruth are admirable, human characters, played brilliantly by the immensely talented Oyelowo and Pike. Even in the darker moments of their journey, it was a privilege to be a part of their story.

Kingdom also happens to be a stunning film. Mid-Century London is detailed and grey and foggy and atmospheric in its own way, but I can hardly express how stunning Asante paints Bechuanaland. It’s easy to understand Seretse’s love for his country and Ruth’s adoption of Bechuanaland for her home when the land is viewed through Asante’s lens.

I appreciated the complexity of the political machinations surrounding Sertse’s and Ruth’s relationship. The clarity with which Kingdom presents the political players and their context is impressive. Sertse and Ruth face prejudice on an individual level with base racism, but they also have to face the interests of Great Britain, South Africa, and the native and white factions of Bechuanaland. I found the storyline of Churchill using Seretse’s exile as a campaign issue only to stab Seretse in the back once elected a poignant example of political injustice.

Even in those moments of such blatant and heart-wrenching injustice, Asante doesn’t beat the viewer over the head with forced emotion. The cruelty and heartbreak of the situation are powerful enough on their own that were the film to over-sentimentalize the moments would only prove to be a disservice. Consequently, the film is affecting and critical but never overbearing. After all, this is ultimately a story of hope, an example of the good that can come from persistently standing by your principles, of choosing love over hate. Such a message will always be welcome, and rarely have I seen it so masterfully presented as I have in Kingdom.

Images: IMDb

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