Starring David Oyelowo. Rated PG

If a 111-minute movie can be condensed into one sentence, actor David Oyelowo nails it in the first 15: “No man is free who is not master of himself,” declares the Selma star, here playing real-life African prince Seretse Khama. And thus begins a very concentrated history, starting in 1948, of Botswana’s liberation from British colonial rule.

Instead of offering a dry history lesson, A United Kingdom considers the country’s politics through the fact-based story of Khama’s unlikely relationship with English clerk Ruth Williams (Gone Girl’s Rosamund Pike). A black prince who falls in love with a white woman while completing his education in London, Khama chooses Williams over a bride from his own tribe. After she embraces his culture and country, the pair inspires the people of Botswana to welcome a new democracy.

Surmounting the difficult task of interesting western audiences in African politics, A United Kingdom’s glossy shots of Botswana (courtesy of Game of Thrones veteran Sam McCurdy) show the tourist-friendly location at its vibrant best—a boon for a film released to coincide with the country’s 50th anniversary of independence. Ably directed by Londoner Amma Assante, best known for the biracial costume drama Belle, Pike and Oyelowo muster a chemistry that transforms the clichéd images of the pair embracing into something genuinely romantic.

The movie is not without flaws. Closing with a description of Williams’s humanitarian accomplishments in Botswana (then called Bechuanaland), the script suggests that the bride’s only real success was being stubborn enough to stand by a man whose proposal was deeply unpopular at the time. Shrugging off any hint of marital strife, the film presents all opposition to the union simply as a string of opportunities for Williams to assert her commitment to Khama—which, while initially pleasant, becomes emotionally bland.

Still, in the current political climate, reminding viewers of the increasing acceptance of interracial relationships is a worthy enough end in itself.