'general idi amin dada: self-portrait'

Brief notes about this Barbet Schroeder documentary about Ugandan dictator General Idi Amin. I originally watched this ~6-7 years ago and decided to re-watch it now, along with Werner Herzog's Echoes from a Somber Empire, about Central African Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa.

Quick synopsis: Schroeder is allowed to film the dictator for one week in 1974, with Amin essentially given final say on the movie and staging many of the events in it (hence the 'Self-Portrait' in the title). However, despite this, there are many subtle critiques by Schroeder within the movie (and a few unsubtle ones, such as including Amin's anti-Semitic letter to the UN and stating that a cabinet member was found dead in the Nile a week after Amin chastised him during a government meeting, though I'm unsure what Amin's reaction would be to them).

1.

Occurs around 22:30
Throughout the documentary, Amin attempts to portray himself as jocular, intelligent, and a great leader. In this scene on a boat, just after Amin gives a safari tour of the wildlife surrounding the water of the area, Amin nearly doubles over with laughter after Schroeder asks him, 'But is it true that you said that Hitler didn't kill enough Jews during the war?'. By holding the camera directly on him and allowing the laughter and gesticulations to play out, the viewer can see how silly and, on many levels, phony Amin is. This dichotomy of surficial appearances versus reality is the unifying theme of the documentary.

2.

Occurs around 57:00-01:03:00
In this scene, Amin is giving an interview near the backyard garden behind his house. This interview was immediately preceded by information that Amin puts out a daily newsreel for Ugandan.
While Schroeder's voice is only occasionally heard throughout the documentary, here not only is his voice heard, but he is seen multiple times, as is part of the crew. The camera shots continually alter between the color shots of the main camera that is focused on Amin, the color camera behind the interview crew filming the the interviewer/crew, and the black-and-white shots of a film strip of the interview being projected on a wall.
The effects of this are twofold: one, to show how steeped in propaganda Amin is in disseminating his thoughts to his people, and two, to show how fake Amin's words are. Amin is not speaking truths, he is performing. We are not seeing an unfiltered discussion of policies or the man himself, we are seeing an actor perform in a film where he is also the writer and producer. Several sentences of dialogue are repeated; shown first as they are happening on the main camera (the first of these three pictures, and then shown again as a film. This 'self-portrait' of Amin is phony and a sham. We are not watching a documentary but instead are watching a movie.

3.

Occurs around 01:08:00
Another subtle critique of Amin. Amin is ostensibly showing off his playful side while he swims around with some commoners. Giving a poolside interview, Schroeder uses a wide shot to both show off Amin's buffoonery and to keep his gold Rolex watch in frame. Amin wears the watch throughout the documentary and it is prominently featured, but seeing him wear it even while swimming displays the foolishness and opulence and self-consciousness of Amin.

4.

Occurs around 01:25:00-01:28:00
In what is probably the most important scene in the documentary, Amin meets with a group of doctors. Schroeder's narration explains: 'Amin gets ready to face a much more critical audience than his usual audiences. It is a gathering of the capital's eminent physicians.' 
After some silly joking and patronization about the doctor's intelligence and diligence, the floor is opened for questions. Without any direct commentary by Schroeder and using only framing and zooming, Schroeder is able to show both how out of depth and how chilling Amin is. 
As one doctor begins a slight critique and request, the camera slowly zooms in on Amin's blank expression. It is not a look of understanding. Further, one gets the impression that Amin is seething in anger, both at the doctor speaking (who has just made a small error by referring to the head of his commission as 'President', which is a title only Amin gets to have) and his inability to comprehend what the doctor is saying. The sounds of Amin breathing are amplified, sweat appears on Amin's brow, and he begins to fidget and rub his hands together. It is altogether telling and chilling (the latter especially when you consider how quickly Amin dispatched the cabinet member earlier in the doc). When the doctor finishes speaking, Amin snaps back into reality and offers up the impotent rejoinder, 'I like this type of frank discussions.'
Amin tries to project a certain image of himself to the world, and Schroeder undercuts this with subtle camerawork and editing.

'lord of the flies' (1963)

I've never read the book. I'm more focusing on cinematic aspects and less on literary critical things.

Cinematic Storytelling 
 I could be wrong about all of these or am interpreting them incorrectly, but:
1.

Occurs at 01:27
An underlying theme/motif of this movie is the in situ presentation of the children as though the movie were a nature documentary. The odd wording of the title cards is more likely in reference to the movie being an adaptation 'of' Lord of the Flies, but it also reads (to me, anyway) as though the story were actually occurring, and the movie is just Peter Brook's film of this reality.

2.

Occurs around 02:30
A series of zooms and pans over still pictures begins the movie. The pictures are reminiscent of those in textbooks (black-and-white, slightly grainy), strengthening the movie-as-found-reality motif. 

3.

Occurs around 06:06
Throughout the movie, the children are given prominence and weight through the use of low angles as well as having the children in the foreground in many of the shots. Trees, shrubs, weeds, and often the island itself appear small in relation to the children. Despite the setting being a (presumably) remote island inhabited by only children, this will not be a story about man vs. nature, but about man vs. man.

4.

Occurs at 08:41
Shots like this appear throughout: poking through the weeds, voyeuristic. This is not a story; the man vs. man/individual vs. collective struggle is occurring in our own realities and we are watching it.

5.

Occurs at 22:40 and 34:37
During much of the first half, as the children are working together, they are shown in groups and rarely as individuals.

6.

Occurs at 37:00-38:00
As the groups begin to splinter and as individual safety concerns and preferences move to the forefront, more children appear on screen alone as they speak their mind.

7.

Occurs at 1:00:26
This scene, with Simon stepping through the jungle, is very long and there are several seconds where there is no movement before Simon finally appears. We are watching nature and natural behavior.

8.

Occurs at 27:00
The boys chase after a pig during the hunt. They are shot from a distance, tiny and swarming. . .

9.

Occurs at 1:01:00
Sort of like the flies on the pig's head, which is followed by a match cut of Simon's staring visage with the haunting buzz of the flies as a soundtrack. This overtly foreshadows Simon's fate as that of the pig's: swallowed up by the Flies.

10.

Occurs at  1:07:00
As the boys reach the height of their frenzied madness and embark into the woods and kill Simon, sparks from the fires ascend skyward and resemble fireflies. The boys are full of animal desire and have completed their transition into ferality.

'paris, texas'

I read on wikipedia that Travis is an amnesiac. Either I didn't notice this or I don't agree with it. I think it's the latter. His memory problems are the result of drinking and repression and heartache. He clearly remembers everything at various points throughout the movie.

Cinematic Storytelling 
 I could be wrong about all of these or am interpreting them incorrectly, but:
1.

Occurs at 06:40
After wandering through the desert, Travis briefly appears messianic in the doctor's office.

2.

Occurs at 35:00
While recounting the origin of his purchase of land and looking into the past and allowing his brother (and us) into his mind, Travis is reflected in the rear view mirror. 'Rear view' = past; mirrors/glass are significant throughout the movie. 

3.

Occurs around 36:00
The brother's disconnected relationship is illustrated by splitting the car and never showing the brothers onscreen together while talking. Device used again later when Travis talks to Jane.

4.

Occurs at 40:01
Travis is shown behind bars while looking at a painting and old photographs. Likely a prisoner of his or the past.

5.

Occurs at 42:26
Travis is shown 'in the weeds' and he is in them 'over his head'. I could be stretching on that one.

6.

Occurs at 51:19
While watching the super 8 movie, Hunter is at a great distance from Travis and is out of focus.

7.

Occurs at 55:53
While washing dishes, Travis is shown on the other side of the glass window. There is still a barrier between the viewer and Travis as we have yet to find out some significant details. We also don't know what he's thinking. The immediate next shot is the maid on the other side of the glass sliding door from Travis

8.

Occurs at 1:04:56
Unsure of significance. While Ann is telling Travis about Jane's money and how Jane's phone calls have ceased, a shot of Los Angeles, lit up at nighttime and below a partially illuminated sky, is shown.

9.

Occurs at 1:05:53
Travis finally steps out of the weeds and stands alone as he admits anger at the situation, saying that Jane stopped being a mother a long time ago.

10.

Occurs at 1:10:08
Unsure of significance. Are either Jane or Ann torn due to not having Hunter? 'Half a woman'?

11.

Occurs at 1:13:29
Hunter is shown from below, ie Travis's perspective. Hunter is shown to be smarter and more level than Travis, as evidenced by this, Hunter's astronomy lectures, and the following scene.

12.

Occurs around 1:48:00 - 1:50:00
Travis lies on the leather couch as Hunter sits in the easychair, resembling a classic psychiatrist and patient. Travis hopelessly needs his son's counsel.

13.

Occurs at 1:55:05
As Travis begins to tell his side of the story of their relationship, Jane is shifted off camera and neither are shown onscreen together while he is speaking. Travis is discussing how their love faded and they became separated.  An echoed device of the car scene between Walt and Travis.

14.

Occurs at 2:04:56
After Jane realizes who has been speaking to her, she cries and moves to try to see Travis. Travis's face appears on Jane's body. The two are entwined and their bond is still extant. They are within one another. Again, though, there is a boundary of glass/mirrors between Travis and someone, foreshadowing his solitary fate by the movie's end.

15.

Occurs at 2:06:26
Jane sits in a manner recalling prayer or Confession as she settles in to tell Travis her side of things.

16.

Occurs at 2:09:04
As Jane tells her side of things, it is notable that now, unlike when Travis was talking, the two now appear together on screen. While Travis will not literally be with Jane going forward, he will still be with her in spirit (he appears ghostly behind the glass); watching over her. Their understanding of one another has strengthened the relationship. Though it is significant that he is behind her (ie 'in her past').

17.

Occurs at 2:14:00
As Jane enters room 1520 where Hunter has been staying, the perspective shifts upward from Hunter's height to Jane's height. Significant due to its difference in the Hunter/Travis relationship. Jane is clearly able enough to be a mother to Hunter. Hunter was always depicted as above Travis and smarter than him; Jane is stronger as a parent and we're shifted upwards with her.

'cronos'/'the devil's backbone'

-Common theme (also with Pan's Labyrinth):  highly imaginative children as main characters/heroes, staunchly 'adult' characters with no sense of inner child as the antagonists

-Devil's Backbone: initially dislike the bully Jaime: acts older, only child who smokes, exerts authority. Begins to come likable after crush on woman and (pipe-)dreams of becoming a comic artist (ie imaginative or childish behavior). Adults with no imagination (Jacinto and his friends) are cruel, hate-able characters; Jacinto is destroyed by a ghost ('a tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again')