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Movies / On DVD / The Color of Freedom
The Color of Freedom

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The Color of Freedom (2007)

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Reviews Counted:18

Fresh:8

Rotten:10

Average Rating:4.7/10

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:11-05-2007

Synopsis: South Africa - 1968 Twenty-five million blacks are ruled by a minority of four million whites under the brutal Apartheid regime of the Nationalist Party Government. Black people have no vote, no... South Africa - 1968

Twenty-five million blacks are ruled by a minority of four million whites under the brutal Apartheid regime of the Nationalist Party Government. Black people have no vote, no land rights, no rights to freedom of movement, to own a business, to housing or education. Determined to retain power, whites ban all black opposition organizations, forcing their leaders into exile or imprisoning them for life on Robben Island.

James Gregory, a typical white Afrikaner, regards blacks as sub-human. Having grown up on a farm in the Transkei, he learned to speak Xhosa at an early age. This makes him an ideal choice to become the warder in charge of Mandela and his comrades on Robben Island. After all, Gregory speaks their language and can spy on them. However, the plan backfires. Through Mandela's influence, Gregory's allegiance gradually shifts from the racist government to the struggle for a free South Africa.

Goodbye Bafana tracks the unlikely but profound relationship between these two men. Through their unique friendship, we witness not only Gregory's growing awareness of man's inhumanity to man, but South Africa's evolution from Apartheid to a vibrant democracy.

The story, which documents how Mandela became the most inspirational political figure of the modern world, poses the questions: Who is the prisoner? And who sets whom free? --© Paramount Classics
[More]

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Diane Kruger, Dennis Haysbert, Shiloh Henderson

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Diane Kruger, Dennis Haysbert, Shiloh Henderson, Tyron Keogh, Megan Smith, Jessica Manuel, Faith Ndukwana, Terry Pheto

Director: Bille August

Director: Bille August
Screenwriter: Greg Latter, Bille August
Producer: Jean-Luc Van Damme, Ilann Girard, Andro Steinborn
Composer: Dario Marianelli
Studio: Paramount Classics

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Color of Freedom

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1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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n engaging, inspirational and ultimately uplifting drama with superb performances from its two leads.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/09/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Sincere as it patently is, and perfectly competently made, Goodbye Bafana progresses through the last years of the apartheid regime at a snail's pace.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
05/11/07
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

The script is lumpen and prosaic, the performances so-so, and the passage of the years deeply unconvincing.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
05/11/07
Independent

Dull.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
05/11/07
Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Sun Online

Occasionally moving but mostly dry.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
05/11/07
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Goodbye Bafana should keep you locked in for most of its generous running time.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
05/11/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Total Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is just painfully worthy TV-movie stuff.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
05/11/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A rose-tinted homage. But affecting too.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
05/11/07
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A strong performance from Fiennes and excellent period detail can't energise a sluggish biographical drama.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/11/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Interesting story and OK performances but this takes a little time to warm up.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/11/07
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Full marks to director Bille August for achieving the near-impossible: crafting a film about Nelson Mandela that threatens to send you to sleep and reduces the great man himself to mere background noise.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
05/10/07
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a portrait of political activism that makes John and Yoko's bed-in look lively.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/07
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Forceful and timely stuff.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
04/14/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Director August once had a knack for telling stories of adolescent bonds, and he makes good use of one childhood flashback and a scene in which Bafana and Mandela blend into one person. For a moment, he achieves a balance the rest of the film lacks.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
12/14/07
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times

The film is most interesting when showing the ignorance of the Afrikaners. The film falters when trying to address the complexities of the political issues.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
12/13/07
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Another well-meaning, dopily prosaic movie of the sort that often gets a mercy nomination thrown its way ... Does a severe disservice to a truly great history.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
12/12/07
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Opportunities to emotionally bond with happenings onscreen are far and few between.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/14/07
Russell Edwards
Russell Edwards
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Europudding in chocolate sauce.

Full Review Source: european-films.net | comment Comment
04/11/07
Boyd van Hoeij
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net
 
 
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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