Mandela: Un long chemin vers la liberté

The idea of making a film about the life of Nelson Mandela is a very daunting task. Not only was he a great man but so much happened in his life that shoving it into a little over two hours is a bit ridiculous. Sure, you might do a good job in many ways, but you can't help skipping many things and making his life a bit sketchy at times. Still, if you do make a film, you can't do much better than this.

The first half of the film is the worst--mostly because so much was omitted. It's sort of a highlights reel--with seemingly less important stuff either skipped or condensed. I cannot blame the movie for this-- it was NOT a mini-series and, in hindsight, it should have been.

The second half is much better as it gets to the personal philosophy of Nelson Mandela. Because it is based not on events as much as personality, it is much more touching and insightful. The very end, in fact, is wonderful--and provides a wonderful ending by quoting the great man himself.

The bottom line is that this IS a good film but no film can adequately encapsulate Nelson Mandela's life and legacy. Well worth seeing--but there is so much more to the story that you should learn for yourself.

Interestingly enough, I have been to South Africa a couple times recently and was shocked that he is universally beloved--by whites and blacks equally. This was a great way to learn about the man--listening to people's stories and seeing where he lived and was imprisoned. Start with the film and then take a trip and just ask folks what he meant to them.

If you didn't know Idris Elba before this, you will remember his name after this. Mandela you knew (most likely), but if you hadn't read up on him or followed his his life in general, you might not know some of the things that are displayed here. And he's not only shown as being "good" (though that term is always something that can be argued about) in the movie either.

Every man has downsides and every man will have flaws. That doesn't change the fact that Mandella did something great and was a voice that could not be silenced. This lead to family issues obviously and those are portrayed here too. It's hard to get all the details and since this is a movie there is some freedom (no pun intended) in the storytelling. But overall this could be watched in History classes in School.

Nelson Mandela is a man that should be remembered for his incredible fighting spirit that not only helped him achieve his goals, but also be remembered as an important leader to his people. When making movie about such an iconic and historic figure, one has to cast the perfect actor. Idris Elba was very much the right man for the job. The actor is Mandela in every scene he appears and shares the same emotions as our real life protagonist. This is clearly one of the best roles of the year and one of my personal favorites. Naomie Harris is not far off either as Winnie, Madiba's second wife, a woman who stands by her man during his imprisonment, and slowly drifts apart from him as she no longer feels she knows him and his intentions. Much has been said about the movie's plot flaws, something I do not agree with as I found it to be quite entertaining and a great homage to the legend that is Nelson Mandela. Great performances in a fantastic movie.

Rating 8/10

Mandela: Long Way To Freedom (English): The film which is releasing in India after 2 months (24 January 2014) of it's international release (a week before Nelson Mandela's death), is indeed a nice cinematic outing based on the Classic Hollywood narrative style. Despite the film losing it's track while focusing more on the life and times of Late Nelson Mandela, the film scores with it's screenplay (William Nicholson) based on the autobiography written by the legend himself, then comes the production designing work by Johnny Breedt, whose brilliantly portrays the Apartheid times on screen, the cinematography by Lol Crawly whose shots brilliantly bring out the best of the legend and his times and then the proper placement of music score as well as the archival footages within the film's coarse, the the performances by the lead. The best among them comes the performance by Idris Elba who greatly delivers a performance that's worth cherishing and successfully brings out the portrayal of Madiba well and then comes the narration by the director Justin Chadwick, who keeps you engaged and sympathize with the film's journey to freedom. Not to be missed! My rating would be: 4/5.

This is a film that is difficult to judge simply in cinematic terms since the subject is such a titanic figure in recent history, many older viewers (such as me) will have lived through most of the events depicted, and Nelson Mandela himself - the prisoner who became a president - unknowingly heightened the interest around his life by dying just weeks before the film was released. Yet, allowing for all of this, by any standards "Mandela" is a success, telling a powerful story in a honest and immensely moving manner with some outstanding acting. If it is somewhat reverential, this was to be expected, given the subject and the timing.

Unfashionably for recent bio-pics, "Mandela" chooses not to concentrate on a seminal incident in the subject's life but to paint on a huge canvas, covering many decades and lots of political events in a linear narrative that frequently deploys news clips from the time. It is based on Mandela's long 1995 biography of the same name which I bought on a visit to Robben Island and read with great admiration. British William Nicholson ("Gladiator") has done a skillful job of turning such a huge story into a manageable script and British director Justin Chadwick ("The Other Boleyn Girl") handles a complex of ingredients with genuine talent. It looks good with attention to period clothing and artifacts and use of actual sites and some breathtaking countryside (it was shot entirely on location in South Africa).

Ultimately, however, the success of such an ambitious work rests especially on the lead actors and the casting here was inspired. Idris Elba as the eponymous hero gives a towering performance, while Naomie Harris is a revelation as the more complex and less sympathetic character of his second wife Winnie. It helps that both are not major stars - although that is now set to change - and notable that both are British actors who affect convincing accents.

This is a balanced portrayal of multi-layered characters. Mandela is represented with great respect but he is not offered to us as a saint. He treats his first wife unkindly and his support for violence is not disguised. The film really impresses with its representation of Winnie, a woman who suffered so much, hated so much, and herself caused so much injustice. Mandela is now dead but his great project - the creation of a peaceful and prosperous multiracial nation - is still a work in progress.