Click to read the article
In My Country (2005)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:80
Fresh:18
Rotten:62
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: A well-intentioned but melodramatic look at post-Apartheid South Africa.
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is a Washington Post journalist. His editor provocatively sends him to South Africa to cover the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, in which the... Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is a Washington Post journalist. His editor provocatively sends him to South Africa to cover the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, in which the perpetrators of murder and torture on both sides during the Apartheid era are invited to come forward and confront their victims. By telling the unvarnished truth and expressing contrition, they may be granted amnesty. Can the deep wounds of Apartheid be healed through reconciliation? Langston is deeply sceptical. He tracks down Col. De Jager, the most notorious torturer in the SA Police and tries to penetrate the mind of a monster, an experience that obliges him to confront his own demons. Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche), is an Afrikaans poet who is covering the hearings for radio. As a white South African she is shattered by the accounts of the cruelty and depravity committed by her fellow countrymen. Anna and Langston must both question their sense of identity. Where do they each belong? How responsible are they for what is done in the name of their respective countries? The moving testimony of the victims affects them deeply. In different ways they are both estranged from their families, and their shared experience draws them ever closer to each other. It is a story charting the unfathomable depths of human cruelty and the redeeming power of forgiveness and love. -- © Sony Pictures Classics [More]
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Samuel L. Jackson, Brendan Gleeson, Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Samuel L. Jackson, Brendan Gleeson, Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane
Director: John Boorman
Director: John Boorman
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock
Producer: Robert Chartoff, Mike Medavoy, Kieran Corrigan
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Reviews for In My Country
It shows what can go wrong when a good-intentioned filmmaker mixes historical tragedy with Hollywood banality.
...the foxhole relationship that develops between Anna and Langston is completely natural -- up until the point where they fall into bed together.
Is it a docudrama about South Africa's post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings? Or is it love story? The problem with In My Country is that it tries to be both.
There is great material here and ample food for thought, but the presentation is lacking.
The film, an international co-production about the aftermath of South African apartheid, has won peace awards and comes with a thumbs up from Nelson Mandela himself, none of which make its contrivances easier to swallow.
A sludgy quagmire of sanctimonious moralizing and overbearing melodrama.
A stirring, large-souled movie about an event that was both an exposure of horror and a celebration of forgiveness.
Boorman treats this moving, important subject with restraint, tact, and candid views of horrors suffered by the nation.
[Seems] less interested in South Africa and more interested in whether the journalists ... will suffer nervous breakdowns or run into the desert for a torrid love affair.
A direção de Boorman e o roteiro deixam muito a desejar, muitas vezes apostando num maniqueísmo desnecessário. Porém, o filme tem coração e alma – e isto faz a diferença.
In spite of narrative missteps that negate the possibility of an empathetic protagonist, "In My Country" does viably introduce the African principle of "Ubuntu" whereby evil transgressions are absolved rather than revenged.
A convoluted plot that takes away from the film's important central message
You feel insulted you're expected to care about the petty problems of the leads when other characters are dealing with child murder, political torture and genocide.
An effective dramatization of the Truth and Reconciliation hearings in South Africa in 1996.
The script...intelligently explores...the profound need to make sense out of madness and to find emotional peace in its aftermath...Sustains a deep and moving involvement.
Latest News for In My Country
August 17, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "SOAP," "Material Girls" Not Screened; "Accepted" Denied; "Sunshine" Shines
This week at the movies, we've got snakes.... on a plane ("Snakes on a Plane," starring Samuel L. Jackson), slackers on a campus ("Accepted," starring Justin... More...
September 08, 2005:
Critical Consensus: Critics Pan "Emily Rose," "The Man"
This week at the movies features two of our favorite story elements: demonic possession ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") and fish-out-of-water-cop-buddy-action stuff... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- In My Country at Rotten Tomatoes
- In My Country at IGN
- In My Country at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

