is portrayed as arranging for a former Dutch mercenary to arrange an assassination attempt on him to justify using violence against opposition groups. Mugabe had a preoccupation with the British and accuses Tony Blair of trying to unseat him. Zuwanie thinks the French are doing the same. After coming to power, Mugabe was known to have carried out the Gukurahundi, a series of massacres and pogroms against political rivals and civilians from other tribes. Zuwanie also uses his security forces to ethnically cleanse civilians and murder political opponents prompting the UN to investigate his government. Both Matobo and Zimbabwe have a significant white African community of British and European ancestry who once made up the ruling political class of both countries. The flag of Matobo bears a strong resemblance to the flag of Zimbabwe. The film has a scene where there is a demonstration against Zuwanie at the UN; one of the anti-Zuwanie demonstrators is a holding a poster with the open-handed symbol which resembles the logo of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe: the Movement for Democratic Change. Reception Box office The Interpreter grossed $72.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $90.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross to $162.9 million, against a production budget of $80 million. The film debuted to $22.8 million, coming in at the high end of industry expectations, and finishing first at the box office. In its second weekend it dropped 39% to $13.8 million, finishing in second place behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 57% based on 195 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A polished and intelligent thriller, though marred by plot implausibilities." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Thrillers don't get much smarter than The Interpreter." Todd McCarthy of Variety described it as "Coolly absorbing without being pulse-quickening." Awards In 2005, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded Catherine Keener as Best Supporting Actress for her performances in several films, including The Interpreter. Controversy in Zimbabwe Upon The Interpreter'''s release in Zimbabwe, that country's Minister of Information and