I am at the age when I watch a movie with cowboys and Indians, I root for the Indians.

It has been firmly established that we cannot depend on textbooks or schools to educate us in matters of history when related to people who do not make up the majority of the population.

Storytelling in movies work for me.

Sardar Udham is a quaint little film on Prime right now that paints a picture of the UK government you will not see in shows like The Crown or Call the Midwife. In the latter stories we are given a touch of prejudice here or some injustice there but the shows leave you with an overall we still feel good about things.

Let me first admit, I had never heard the story of Udham Singh. As the two hour and forty three minute movie weaved its story there was much googling and binging on my part. How did I not know about this? Singh was a freedom fighter working for the independence of India during the time of their occupation by the British Government.

This movie tells the story of how Singh assassinates a British official who gave the order for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. The officer’s order allows British soldiers to shoot and kill 20,000 peaceful protesters made up of men, women and children.

The movie was beautifully shot. The story was told like one of the rugs his machine made going back and forth. The flashbacks served to remind him what his mission was. But the story was so big, characters got lost as they began to come and go. But it was still worth it. It told the story of a man who thought his people mattered. And I love how the producers pointed out that the British Government still had not apologized for the massacre yet.

Just when you think the oppressor can’t get any worse, a story like this shows up. It helps you understand the depths of the depravity of mankind. It tells a story I am sure some people want erased.

This movie allows me to understand the horrors other people have experienced and even though I cannot relate, I can empathize. Most importantly, it teaches me how to plan the counter attack if this type of things ever happens again. I know some of y’all are tired of being work. But you better stay woke.