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In My Country

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In My Country (2005)

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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

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Reviews for In My Country

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Stories of Apartheid deserve to be heard, but that doesn't automatically make this a good film

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
03/30/05
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

It's always a bit sad when a good director takes aim at an important target and misses.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
03/25/05
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News

Jackson appears uncomfortable in his role, the scenes leading up to his romantic involvement are strangely unconvincing and the arc of both characters' emotional and political growth is choppy and contrived.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
03/24/05
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

[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.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
03/24/05
Jeffrey Overstreet
Jeffrey Overstreet
Christianity Today

...[a] well-meaning but uneven and sanctimonious melodrama...the film cannot withstand its manipulative and melancholy lapses

Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
03/20/05
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye

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.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
03/18/05
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

While applauding Boorman's efforts, it's hard to applaud his movie.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
03/18/05
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle

Ugly secrets unfold in staccato succession with the intent to incite but inspiring only groans.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
03/14/05
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

Very nearly destroying the picture is an affair between Jackson and Binoche's characters. Any scene of intimacy evoked titters from the audience.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
03/14/05
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
FilmStew.com

Noble intentions, some fantastic photography some good performances but I have to give it thumbs down because of all the melodrama.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
03/14/05
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

Diminished by a contrived, uninvolving love story what could have been emotionally compelling instead is plodding, with a feel good Hollywood ending that degrades the premise

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
03/12/05
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

In My Country is a film with great ideas - and important ones. Frustratingly, they are undermined by Hollywood plot contrivances, generally poor writing and at least one case of woeful miscasting.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
03/11/05
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

See In My Country anyway, because it's doubtful we'll get another movie too soon that raises the issue of vengeance versus forgiveness -- and endorses the latter in the name of a nation's spiritual well-being.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
03/11/05
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
Slate

The picture hums with a falsely optimistic Kumbaya vibe, such that its mildness is almost an affront.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
03/11/05
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com

The actors can handle the heavy lifting, but this doesn't give you much more than a well-done cable documentary.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/11/05
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A disaster: well-meaning, but hopelessly trite, obvious, and condescending toward the very process it intends to celebrate.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
03/11/05
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

Has enough raw, real content to successfully upset viewers.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
03/11/05
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger

The film is thoughtful entertainment, not medicine.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
03/11/05
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

It's essential viewing for anyone interested in the state of post-Apartheid South Africa.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/11/05
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Boorman's politics and own truth-telling aims are admirable, as they were in his underrated 1995 film, Beyond Rangoon.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
03/11/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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