Goodbye Bafana

The picture was well based on real events and actual characters , regarding the true story of a white South African racist , a prison warden (Joseph Fiennes) whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner named Nelson Mandela (Dennis Haysbert) he guarded for twenty years . Although Mandela initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the SACP he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, leading a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government . In 1962, he was arrested , convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state , and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial . Mandela served 27 years in prison, initially on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife . Dismissed President Bota , Mandela joined negotiations with Nationalist President F. W. De Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory and became South Africa's first black president .

This is an enjoyable as well as thought-provoking story about a warden and his relationship with Mandela , an emotive flick revolving around imprisonment Nelson until his freedom and inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa . This story about prison and apartheid is very compelling made and deserving a fine treatment with poignant moments . It's completely convincing and makes a moving and powerful statement about the evil of the racism. It's an intelligent movie that shows the nature of racial policy and political events in South Africa . The picture has some strong moments as police cruelty on civilians as well security officers' brutality against prisoners and other people , including women , and infants . There's enough background information to give the spectator a taste of what South African life was like under apartheid , detailing hard confrontations , violent environment , fear and tension . The flick describes perfectly a great man who could have lived in bitterness and anger all his existence , seeking vengeance when he ultimately achieved power , but who instead chose to devote himself to democracy and peaceful reconciliation between blacks and whites in South Africa . The main actors , Joseph Fiennes , Dennis Haysbert and Diane Kruger give awesome interpretations and the story was professionally directed by Billie August . Twice winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Pelle the conqueror (1987) and The best intentions (1992) , Billie August is an expert on literary adaptations such as ¨Les Miserables¨, ¨Smilla's Sense of Snow¨ , ¨House of the spirits¨, ¨Marie Kroyer¨, ¨Jerusalem¨ and ¨Night Train to Lisbon¨ . Any yarn regarding Nelson Mandela is a flick worth seeing in my opinion and this one seems to be one of the best . Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching for historical characters buffs . Other films based on this historical figure are the followings : ¨Mandela¨ (1987) by Philip Saville with Danny Glover , Alfre Woodward , Warren Clarke , Julian Glover ; ¨Mandela and De Clerk¨ (1997) by Joseph Sargent with Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine ; ¨Winnie¨ by Darrel Root with Jennifer Hudson , Terrence Howard , Elias Koteas ; ¨Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom¨ (2013) by Justin Chadwick with Idris Elba and Naomi Harris .

The film was correctly based on historical facts , these are the followings : Nelson Mandela who was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist . He was leader of the African National Congress, who has been imprisoned since 1963 for allegedly inciting riots against the government. As he spend long time in prison amidst tight economic sanctions by the international community, and growing unrest by the natives who continue their fight for equality, and freedom for Nelson Mandela . Amongst mounting international pressure to free Nelson, as well as imposition of crippling economic sanctions, the South African government representative meets with Nelson and agrees to free him . One time freed Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was South Africa's first black chief executive, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997.

Or at least through the eyes of a white man. Even if you are not familiar with Mandelas story you will able to see where this is going. The story of the white man/guard might be spiked a bit and his wife does not have much to do (Diane Kruger) besides the obvious (caring for him, the safety of their family and being a faithful wife, sticking with her husband through it all).

One thing is sure, you do need a really charismatic and good actor if you want to portray a man like Mandela. And Dennis H. is one who can deliver. Even if he may not be on everyones radar, he has proved (on TV, but still), that he does have the skills and the presence to do such a job. He is not revealed immediately in the movie, which is not just another (filmmaking) trick, but serves the story or better yet the relationship between the two main man. New movies will come out and they probably will tell a better story, but this is not a bad movie either (even if predictable all the way through).

Wow. This movie really touches your heart in a profound way. It makes you think about how we as human beings treat each other, and about what really matters in life.

We've all heard about the apartheid that took place in South Africa a few decades ago and how Nelson Mandela fought for freedom for the black people. This movie gives a somewhat different perspective being from a prison guards point of view during the almost three decades that he worked around Mandela. He goes into it with the opinion that Mandela is a dangerous terrorist, but during the years to come we get to follow the incredible journey of this man while he seeks the truth and challenges his preconceptions. This is truly inspiring to see.

Also, the actors are amazing in their roles, which contributes a lot to making this movie as good and believable as it is. I especially like Dennis Haysbert as Nelson Mandela. He feels perfect for this part as he manages to really bring out the charisma and strength of his character. When I see him even in the beginning of the movie I could feel from the performance made by Haysbert that this man could change the world. I like Joseph Fiennes from before, and he too makes an outstanding performance as the prison guard.

I'd just like to make the point that Raj Doctor of Amsterdam's comment above is more than a little misleading, as well as giving a rather simplified version of the long and complex history of what became the Republic of South Africa.

He refers to 'the ruling British', a group apparently wholly responsible for the racism and violence which have beset the country. South Africa achieved sovereignty in 1934, and became a republic in 1961. The government of the country was dominated until 1994 by the Afrikaner community (a majority amongst white South Africans) who, as most people would presumably know, were certainly not of 'British' origin. One might expect someone from the Netherlands to know that they are comprised chiefly of Dutch settlers...

Britain may be the former colonial power in SA, but was not the initiator of the post-war apartheid policy, still less the force which actually brought it about. Britain gave up its African colonies in the 1960s, so has not "ruled" anywhere on the continent in a direct sense since then, and has not ruled SA since considerably earlier than that. The particular nature of the problems which South Africa has faced are based primarily on the relatively significant size of its white population and their attendant rule (dominated as it has been by Afrikaners) not on 'British rule'.

I enjoyed the film, by the way. A thoughtful and satisfying treatment of the subject on the whole, I thought.

Joseph Fiennes has always looked a bit like a spider monkey in my view, but in this movie he was better than in any role I'd seen him in before, doing what I thought was a competent job with the South African accent as well. Finally exempted from having to play the sex symbol, Ralph's little brother could finally concentrate on actually challenging himself with a complex role. In a movie based upon a true story, Fiennes plays James Gregory, a racist South African guard whose certainties are nonetheless shaken to the core over the span of twenty years – the time he spends as Nelson Mandela's prison warden. The movie's merit lies largely in showing us the daily application of a major historic abomination – Apartheid – through the lives of "little people", those ordinary men and women of South Africa thanks to whom it was perpetuated. These are "ordinary" white people who are neither heroes nor villains, but obtuse conformists. The violence of the system on its white citizens was considerably more hidden than on its black ones, but it was violence all the same: it was the obligation to remain as ignorant as possible. The alternative was to be persecuted by the status quo.

Dennis Haysbert as Nelson Mandela was suitably stoic and charismatic, a positive counterpart to Forest Whitaker's villainous Idi Amin from The Last King of Scotland. Diane Kruger was definitely better cast as an "ordinarily" racist, suburban hairdresser wife and mother of two, than as Helen of Troy. By the end of Goodbye, Bafana, I was also somewhat moved. My major complaint with the movie was that like the vast majority of African-set, historical movies made recently, Nelson Mandela and all the black African characters were largely viewed from the outside, through the whiteys' eyes. These movies' directors all need to sit in a darkened room and watch The Battle of Algiers together sometime