A UNITED KINGDOM (12A)

WHO’S IN IT?

David Oyelowo (Selma), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Jack Davenport (The Boat That Rocked), Jack Lowden (’71), Terry Pheto (Tsotsi), Vusi Kunene (The First Grader), Donald Molosi (film debut), Tom Felton (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Charlotte Hope (The Theory of Everything), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Only Fools and Horses), Laura Carmichael (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Abena Ayivor (Machine Gun Preacher)

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Amma Asante (Belle), director; Guy Hibbert (Eye in the Sky), writer; Brunson Green (The Help), Peter Heslop (Regret Not Speaking), Charlie Mason (The Open Road), Rick McCallum (Red Tails),  Justin Moore-Lewy (96 Minutes) and David Oyelowo (Captive), producers; Patrick Doyle (Thor), composer; Sam McCurdy (The Devil’s Double), cinematographer; Jonathan Amos (Attack the Block), editor

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

In post-war 1940s Britain, Seretse Khama (Oyelowo) – the heir to the throne of Botswana – meets and falls in love with local white woman Ruth Williams (Pike). Their eventual marriage sparks outrage across the world, from the authoritative British government that seeks to keep the apartheid method unaltered, to the displeased tribe leaders who greet Seretse and Ruth back in Botswana…

IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?

Director Amma Asante has made a powerful story that documents the love and sacrifice from two very different people from wildly different backgrounds, but whose love for each other eventually defeated an empire.

WHEN’S IT OUT?

FRIDAY 25TH NOVEMBER 2016

Search from over ten years of movies here:

Other recent reviews:

Giant (dir. Rowan Athale)

British-Yemeni boxer Naseem Hamed rises in the sport…

Hamnet (dir. Chloé Zhao)

William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes deal with an unspeakable loss…

Peter Hujar’s Day (dir. Ira Sachs)

In 1974, photographer Peter Hujar confides in his artist friend Linda Rosenkrantz…

Song Sung Blue (dir. Craig Brewer)

A musician and single mother form a Neil Diamond tribute band…

The Best Films of 2025: #15-1

The second half of our countdown to the very best films of 2025…

The Best Films of 2025: #30-16

The first half of our countdown of 2025’s best films…

Anaconda (dir. Tom Gormican)

Two friends find their remake of the film Anaconda going horribly wrong…

Sentimental Value (dir. Joachim Trier)

An actor is forced to confront her distant filmmaker father…

The Housemaid (dir. Paul Feig)

A young woman becomes the housemaid for an affluent yet disturbed family…

Goodbye June (dir. Kate Winslet)

A family must figure out how to bid their dying mother farewell…

Optimized by Optimole