Chance to win movie bundles for A UNITED KINGDOM (OUT NOW!), the true story of an interracial marriage that inspired the world - read our reviews! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

Ahead of the UK release of the acclaimed new film A UNITED KINGDOM on 25 November, around 30 lucky MNers were able to see a preview of the film.

Read on for their reviews.

If you didn't attend, there's a chance to win one of three movie bundle packs (containing a signed poster, a Bluray bundle - with Suffragette, Selma and Mandela as well as a copy of the book that the film is based upon), by sharing on this thread the most romantic thing you and your partner have ever done, the most extreme measure you or a partner have ever undertaken to be together or a story that inspires you where love has conquered all.

‘SENSATIONAL, UPLIFTING…THE MOST ROMANTIC FILM OF THE YEAR’ (Metro)
‘UMMISSABLE…A LOVE STORY FOR THE AGES’ (Daily Mail)
[5 star] (The Times)

From director Amma Asante (Belle), starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) and set against the breath-taking backdrops of the African savannah and period London, A UNITED KINGDOM celebrates the inspiring real-life romance of Seretse Khama, King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. One of the greatest love stories ever told. Other cast includes Tom Felton (Harry Potter) and Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey).

Watch the trailer below

The film is on general release in Cinemas from 25 November- find out more and book your seats here: www.aunitedkingdomfilm.com/ #AUnitedKingdom.

Attendees: all attendees who give feedback on the film will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will win a voucher, so for your chance to win a £100 John Lewis voucher, please give your film review below:

~ What are your general feelings about the film? What's your headline review? Please give your rating from 1 to 5 stars where 5 is brilliant and 1 is poor (plus do add your rating in the box below left )

~ Who you attended the screening with (friend/ mother/ husband etc)? What did they think of the film?

~ And in terms of the story and themes in the film - what does this mean to you? To what extent do you think that attitudes towards interracial relationships and mixed race children have changed since the backlash that Ruth and Seretse faced in the 1940s?

Thanks and good luck with the prize draws.

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

I wasn't able to attend the preview (I was due to attend with my 11 yr old DD) unfortunately but I do have some experience of "love in extreme circumstances". DH comes from a Muslim family whereas mine are Hindu. Caused quite the shitstorm when we eloped and kept our marriage secret. 17 years and 3 kids later we've very much weathered the storm although sadly DH doesn't see his family and a few members of mine are still anti.

I was quite surprised by the reaction of our families given that it was the 1990s and three of DH's siblings were married to white English partners. I was brought up to be quite open minded so it was quite a shock to realise that the open mindedness of my family only stretched as far as friendships and not love and marriage.

We didn't face any prejudice from wider society, possibly because we're both "foreign" (or in my case foreign-looking not sounding).

Thanks for all the great reviews above which are piquing my excitement for when I do actually see the film. I was hoping to show DD that the world was not always so accepting of mixed race relationships but I guess that particular lesson can wait for the DVD!

booklooker That is quite interesting to read that you were teaching in Botswana in the 90s
I wonder which school (my DH) was a teacher in Gaborone.

I forgot to add the last bit about how things have changed.
I have been with my OH for almost 30 years. We have always lived in urban areas so have not experienced much stress. Some niggles from family but low level and not long lasting.
As a white woman with black children I have experienced some unpleasant stereotyping but of course, nothing on the level expressed in the film. My OH has had some snidey comments made from black people but not a lot (in my knowledge)

I suppose we are an 'acceptable' mixed couple in that we are both British and (nominally) Christian and OH is West Indian. London is used to that sort of couple (particularity if they black partner is male).

I expect there is more strife when religion and differing cultures are involved.

We have experienced racism but it would be daft to say that things haven't improved.
In the early 90s I worked for a charity whose previous incarnation was providing 'rescue and support' for women who had been made pregnant by black men
This rescue took the form of mother and baby homes and the removal of the children in order to give the mothers a chance at life and to prevent them falling into the hands of the only community that would accept them.....yes, the black community.

I swear that is true and they still had homes up until the 70s.

I wasn't able to attend the preview which was a big shame.
The most romantic thing dh has ever done for me was to have my marathon medal framed. I never thought I'd be able to do a marathon ( medical condition) so it was a huge achievement.
Nice to know he's proud

Non-attendee

Most romantic thing we've ever done - falling in love at first sight, getting pregnant and getting married all within the the momentous Millennium year.

I would give the movie 5 stars!

It's such an inspiring movie having a great grand father that was a colonial master in the western part of Africa and how that part of Africa quickly fought back for their countries.

It was narrated beautifully, I understand why it was short and not too much info as it could have worked against the movie. It reminds me of how my grandfather would tell Us stories of how he was brought up in both countries and how life was back then.

The movie was very emotional for me and at the end I felt so angry why any race would think of themselves so superior to tear apart families, cause so much hate, wickedness and the list goes on, on another mans soil. They were illegal immigrants.

But yet once these same race feels uncomfortable now in their lands push for eu referendum and trump votes.

It just opens you up to so much reality and why a certain race is so hated and cast so low. It's all the resources. The worlds riches lye with this race in their land. As I just never understood it prior to watching the movie and doing more research.

I'm grateful for the world I live in today but a lot more movies like this need to be produced to enlighten us all and especially future generations of how fortunate and unique we all are and why we all need to work together with love, peace, respect and unity.

The cast was great, loved the scenes and colours and enjoyed the happy ending after a lot of tears. Thank you so much mumsnet for choosing me to watch this movie.

Botswana is only one country in Africa, where there are 54 countries who went through worse things at the hands of colonial masters.

Which unfortunately still happens today in a suit and collar manner.
The richest man in Africa isn't a black man, I wonder why!

LOVE, LOVE this movie, I would surely watch it over and over again!
Can't wait for the rest of my family to watch it.

I'm looking forward to seeing this film.

My story? My dad is the least romantic man ever, a bloke of few words, and even less demonstrative. Mum started showing signs of dementia at 61, just after she retired, and now they are 74 and 79 and she doesn't know who anyone is. But he loves her still, cares for her 24/7, and when she made it known she wanted new red boots, he went to massive trouble to get the right ones. He tells me 'I can't put her in a home yet. She calls me dad, but I loved her the moment I saw her, and I don't need her to show love back for it to still be the same'.

Non attendee. I don't have any great romantic tales of my own (sadly!) but as a science graduate I've always loved the story of Pierre and Marie Curie. When Marie rejected Pierre’s first proposal because she wanted to return to her native Poland, he said he would go with her, even if it meant he would have to give up science and teach French - making career sacrifices like that was very unusual for a man in those days. They worked together throughout their marriage and made breakthrough discoveries that led to Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry.

Unfortunately I couldn't make the preview and from what I'm reading above it seems I missed a great deal. Well Valentine's day funnily enough is when we tend to have our romantic times - my husband and I. I'm a spend time, quality time kind of gal so the most romantic thing my hubby has done usually revolves around that, showing up unexpected when we were courting and staying the weekend, taking the train with me from London to Wales where I lived then and even the occasions when he sent flowers and a HUGE birthday cake to work.

WallisofWindsor

I taught in Madiba Senior Sec School in Mahalapye for 5 wonderful years. Possibly the best job I have had

Non-attendee
DH and I are not romantic at all, closest I could say is valentines a year after we got together, I wrapped a box of rolos and told him I'd saved all my last rolos from the past year for him! He believed me and was really emotional... I eventually told him about a week later that I'd just emptied 2 packets into the box! (Its the thought that counts, right?!)

I saw Rosamund Pike talking about the film and she was so taken by the part and so captured by the story that I'm sure the film is amazing, its on my list to watch.

Non attendee, although I desperately want to see this film. My fiancé is very romantic, he writes me a love note every morning before he goes to work, we always hold hands and he will always accompany me to anything that I am interested in whether he is or not. We were childhood sweethearts but unfortunately I moved house and we lost touch for about 30 years until he traced me and contacted me 6 years ago. It was as if time had stood still and we had never parted. Last December he proposed to me on a moonlit beach, and now we are saving for our wedding.

Wow Angelwings does he have a brother? Think I might want to trade in DH for a more romantic type. I get nothing, no flowers, cards. Not a romantic bone in his body. Though he wrote me poetry when we met. Most I get now is a bottle of ribena from tescos cause I drink it hot like tea. Having said that he does cook and clean without prompting, if he sees I need help. Occasional cinema trip. Sigh for moonlit beaches.....

I had only been with my boyfriend for a couple of weeks, we had met online purely by accident & he lived four hours away from me but we tried to see each other when we could. Most people were very skeptical about us as I was a single mum teaching assistant in Buckinghamshire, while he was a 19 yr old Argos Assistant from Essex! Anyway, one day, I had come home from work, thoroughly miserable, put my two boys to bed, and rang my fella, even though it was almost 10pm.
He answered, it was late and he was in bed as he had to be up for work himself the next day. I told him that I wished he were here as I needed a cuddle, and started to almost doze off as he told me how things would get better.
I must have fallen asleep, as I woke up to a knock at the door! I was a bit shocked when I saw the clock said 2:32 am! I was a bit cautious as I peered through my peephole in the door, but to my shock, it was my fella!
He had jumped out of bed after our phone-call, and travelled on four trains through the night just to see me! He had in his hands a pint of milk and some chocolates, and he gave me the biggest cuddle!
He could only stay for an hour as he had to catch the trains back to ensure he didn't miss work!
I felt so so loved after this, to know he had done this for me, just because I had felt low. I can happily say ten years on and two children later, we are still like this, every day before he goes to work he makes me a cuppa and fills me hot water bottle, not bad for an Essex lad! He's everything to me. x

~ What are your general feelings about the film? What's your headline review? Please give your star rating from 1 to 5 stars where 5 star star star star star is brilliant and 1 star is poor (plus do add your rating in the box below left wink)
Very touching story but a bit slow, 4 star from me
~ Who you attended the screening with (friend/ mother/ husband etc)? What did they think of the film?
Went alone
~ And in terms of the story and themes in the film - what does this mean to you? To what extent do you think that attitudes towards interracial relationships and mixed race children have changed since the backlash that Ruth and Seretse faced in the 1940s?
Culture definitely shiftly a lot since then. Society is more accepting than before.

Thank you Mumsnet. Really enjoyed the film. I will award United Kingdom four stars.
Its striking and unusual to see a film where a black protagonist plays both a political and an emotional lead. This for me was one of the films great strengths, but also a challenge for the director, as it is quite a task to develop the lead characters adequately enough while giving precise historical detail of the geopolitics of the postwar era in which the movie is set. Time constraints of the motion picture format, made it inevitable that dramatic license was taken with the portrayal of the media coverage of the event as it happened- although this just fed my hunger to find out more about the actual events and how they were covered by the press at the time! I think we may have all gotten used to the box set formula, where characters are slowly developed over a longer timeframe. I would have liked to see how the couple negotiated with the diamond company to lay claim to Botswanas share of the spoils, for example. I would have enjoyed some footage of their later years. The pair were buried together on a hill, overlooking Seretses village. Did Ruth really accept her situation with such equanimity right up until the end? She really did have the patience of several saints. I saw the film with my 16-year-old, who adored the cinematography of the Botswanan savanna. But she too would have liked to have seen more documentary coverage of the aftermath of the settlement with the British government. We both enjoyed the even handedness of the director in her portrayal of social groups tendencies to band together when the hegemony of the tribe is under threat. Seretses sister and sister-in-law, via their disapproval, neatly turned on its head the idea that it is solely the prerogative of the caucasian to declare other races 'not good enough' for us. We also had a snigger at the snootiness of top civil servants, the grande fromage, Sir Humphrey, Alistair Canning, played splendidly by Jack Davenport, (who Ive loved ever since he played a lead in 'Thats Life', a sort of British version of 'Friends'.) It is still somewhat shocking to see the films accurate depiction of the complicity between state, church and the upper echelons of British society, at the time to prevent this union and uphold the dodgy mores of Empire. Vestiges of this attitude still remain today, unfortunately, albeit much much more subtly revealed. I do believe our hope lies with the young, who are socialised to accept integration from toddlerhood. Let`s hope the political winds of change do not blow us backwards.

~ What are your general feelings about the film? What's your headline review? Please give your star rating from 1 to 5 stars where 5 star star star star star is brilliant and 1 star is poor (plus do add your rating in the box below left wink)

It was a moving film of love triumphing in the face of adversity. I found it slow in places, with some stiff acting in parts, but over all a beautifully told story. David Oyelowo was brilliant, he gave an amazing performance. It has made me want to find out more about the real events it was based on.

I give the film 4 stars.

~ Who you attended the screening with (friend/ mother/ husband etc)? What did they think of the film?

Me, Myself & I!

~ And in terms of the story and themes in the film - what does this mean to you? To what extent do you think that attitudes towards interracial relationships and mixed race children have changed since the backlash that Ruth and Seretse faced in the 1940s?

I have since bought the book on which the film is based as I wanted to find out more about the real story of Seretse & Ruth, and the issues they had to endure & overcome. Their determination, passion, belief and love for each other were an inspiration.

Things have indeed moved on now, thankfully, with so much more acceptance, but there are still people who have issues with interracial relationships. Things could still be further improved.

Lived apart for our first year of marriage, due to work commitments - it was a massive challenge and put a huge strain on our young and blossoming romance. When we finally managed to buy a house together and work in the same region of the UK, we got our house key, packed our bags and flew to South America to celebrate!

an illness that would rip any family.partners apart.threatened to many time.didnt.and to this day love conquers/ed all. never seen a love like it that has broken through the deepest darkest depths of one of the most horrific illness ive seen.that is love

Dh traveled a few hours through the night once, to meet me for a few hours then go home - because he wanted to see me. That was before we were married and lived a long way apart.

• when we lived a long way apart

Most romantic moment was when my dh surprised me by picking me up from the airport after I'd been away for three months

(non watcher Of The film)-
I used to think it was romantic that for the whole 4years of my uni course. I was in Chester and my other half in Birmingham. On a Fri my partner would come straight from work to Chester and stay with me until Sunday. This was every weekend for 3years. Sometimes he was on call but would still come over, and at times he was called out so had to go back to Birmingham early

Music is a massive part of me and my husbands relationship. I met him in a band and we've been to many gigs/festivals. We always have music playing in our house. My husband is very thoughtful. He's always making mix tapes/playlists for me and he collects vinyl and will pick LPs up for me he thinks I will like.

I haven't seen the film. The most romantic thing that a partner has done for me was when I was proposed to. We was visiting family in South Africa and my boyfriend popped the question, with a ring, whilst we was on safari in Krueger Natonal Park. We were there to visit family so it meant that everyone dear to us could celebrate with us at the time.