n engaging, inspirational and ultimately uplifting drama with superb performances from its two leads.
The Color of Freedom (2007)
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Reviews Counted:18
Fresh:8
Rotten:10
Average Rating:4.7/10
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
Reviews for The Color of Freedom
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.
The script is lumpen and prosaic, the performances so-so, and the passage of the years deeply unconvincing.
Goodbye Bafana should keep you locked in for most of its generous running time.
A strong performance from Fiennes and excellent period detail can't energise a sluggish biographical drama.
Interesting story and OK performances but this takes a little time to warm up.
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.
It's a portrait of political activism that makes John and Yoko's bed-in look lively.
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.
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.
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.
Opportunities to emotionally bond with happenings onscreen are far and few between.
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