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17
88 Minutes
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Paranoid Park
82
Taxi to the Dark Side
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
79
Visitor, The
79
Iron Man
78
Before I Forget
77
Rape of Europa, The
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
72
Lou Reed's Berlin
70
Outsourced
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
67
Snow Angels
66
Son of Rambow
65
Married Life
65
Water Lilies
64
Fall, The
62
Kabluey
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
56
Leatherheads
56
Then She Found Me
55
Baby Mama
55
Pathology
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
52
Mother of Tears, The
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
48
Run, Fat Boy, Run
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
45
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
37
Made of Honor
37
Speed Racer
36
What Happens in Vegas...
34
Happening, The
32
Chapter 27
31
Deception
30
Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour
27
How to Rob a Bank
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
17
88 Minutes
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Without the King
First Run Features
 |
|
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring
King Mswati III
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival, this acclaimed film tells an astonishing story of Africa’s last absolute monarchy, the Kingdom of Swaziland. King Mswati III, a distant figure out of touch with his home and country, rules by decree and lives a life of luxury together with his 12 wives, while his subjects suffer from crushing poverty and the world’s highest HIV infection rate. With unprecedented access, we meet headstrong first wife Queen LaMbikiza, eldest child and teen rapper, Princess Sikhanyiso, King Mswati himself, as well as many Swazi citizens who are plotting his downfall. Filmmaker Michael Skolnik captures the birth of a nation's revolution, and the dawning awareness of a young Swazi princess as she realizes the contrast between her impoverished country and her lavish lifestyle. (First Run Features)
| GENRE(S): |
Documentary
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Michael Skolnik
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| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: July 22, 2008
Theatrical: April 25, 2008
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
83 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
70
The New York Times
Jeannette Catsoulis
The film, fluidly shot by James Adolphus, remains deeply sensitive to the complexities of a culture whose attachment to monarchy contravenes its best interests. This dilemma is gradually becoming clear to Princess Sikhanyiso, the oldest of the king's 22 children and a student in California. Intelligent, articulate, caring and strong-willed, she could be her country's best hope.

63
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
By far the film's most interesting subject is the king's eldest daughter, 18-year-old Princess Sikhanyiso, who likes to be known as Pashu. She's a self-styled rapper who goes to a Catholic college in California and acts like the spoiled rich kid that she is.

63
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Intelligent but incomplete-feeling documentary.

60
Village Voice
Vadim Rizov
A cut above the average Quad-bound video agit-prop doc, Michael Skolnik's Without the King succeeds mostly through negative virtues.

50
Variety
Ronnie Scheib
With Swaziland providing this mother lode of material, helmer Michael Skolnik extracts only the most pedestrian of films.

50
LA Weekly
Ernest Hardy
A curious mixture of banality and revelation.

40
Film Threat
Phil Hall
It is a shame the film doesn't cast a wider net into deeper political waters – the outrage is barely scratched in this production.


The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
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