A UNITED KINGDOM:
111 minutes
Friday, April 7 – 7pm,
Saturday, April 8 – 4 & 8pm,
Sunday, April 9 – 4 & 8pm,
Wednesday, April 12 – 7pm,
and Thursday, April 13 – 7pm.
A UNITED KINGDOM is based on extraordinary true events. In 1947, Seretse Khama, the King of Botswana, met Ruth Williams, a London office worker. They were a perfect match, yet their proposed marriage was challenged not only by their families but by the British and South African governments. The latter had recently introduced the policy of apartheid and found the notion of a biracial couple ruling a neighboring country intolerable. South Africa threatened the British: either thwart the couple or be denied access to South African uranium and gold and face the risk of South Africa invading Botswana.
Insider’s tip: “Maybe any biopic risks naïveté in suggesting the agony of postwar Africa can be soothed by a love story about a handsome prince. But this movie has candour, heartfelt self-belief, and an unfashionable conviction that love conquers all – though not immediately” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian). Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly adds: “It’s their quiet devotion and enduring dignity that give A United Kingdom not just a romantic center, but its soul.”