Title: Without the King
Country: United States of America
Language: English
Year: 2007
Cast:
- King Mswati III
- Princess Sikhanyiso
- Queen LaMbikiza
- Mphandhlana Shongwe
SYNOPSIS
Swaziland is the last absolute monarchy in the world and one of the few African countries that has never faced a civil war. This portrait of a nation in transition juxtaposes the opulent life of the royal family to the bare subsistence of Swazi citizens who are poised to fight for a better life.
REVIEW
Without the King is a really astonishing film because the lifestyle of the king and his wives are poles apart from how the average Swazi person lives. I understand that the king and his wives have special tasks and have special needs but it boggles my mind how they can spend on luxury cars and private jets when the Swazi people barely have enough nutritious food and much-needed medicine to sustain them.
I understand the requirement for private transportation but it would be more acceptable if they buy ordinary cars or even fuel efficient cars, you know? I mean, considering that the purpose of cars is to get from one place to another efficiently, average brand cars would still get them to where they want to go and comparing the costs with luxury cars, for a lot less money.
Perhaps it's wrong to just blame the king for all that is wrong in Swaziland and to demand that he make changes in his personal life so as to address the social problems. But then again, he is an absolute monarch and he, together with some of his close advisers, decides on what issues to focus on and how to allocate the nation's budget. He has absolute power in the country and he can definitely make changes if he chooses to do so.
It is sometimes difficult to watch documentaries of another culture with a different political and social system because, of course, I'm looking at it through my own culture and values and thinking. For instance, the king in Swaziland have to marry a lot of women from different tribes because it has been tradition for kings to do so to maintain peace in the country. Although I understand the reasoning behind the system, I still felt somewhat awkward watching a group of around ten to twenty women and knowing all of these women are the king's wives.
But then again, not everything is relative and there are a few absolutes in this world so it is not always acceptable to say that "it is okay for them to be like that because of their culture". The king spends a lot of money to keep up appearances of his royal status even though majority of his country's population are not receiving enough nutrition and adequate healthcare. Considering the plight of the people, I really don't think tradition is enough of an excuse to maintain the status quo.
Most people in Swaziland and even the rest of the world are not informed of the real situation because the king and his advisers have control over the local news media. This documentary is really an eye-opener and I really hope the king and his advisers will watch it (if they haven't already) and make the necessary changes to improve the people's lives.
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Without the King
