Endgame

Shot in a manner very resonant of Frost/Nixon with outstanding editing Endgame is a fittingly unsentimental and very nicely played drama of the last days and brinkmanship of the apartheid negotiations in South Africa.

With competent performances from all involved this is not overacted but rather relies on the relationships and the materials. Cutting between South Africa and the UK it tells the story of the two sides: the Afrikaans government on the one, and the ANC and Pan-African parties on the other. How they came to find a path in what was probably the most volatile of all post-colonial politics to not lead to civil war is the story. Through the efforts of an Afrikaans philosophy professor (William Hurt) and a British troubleshooter for the gold mines (Johnny Lee Miller, who is in excellent form, less manic suits him very well indeed) the players first arrange to meet, meet, and work through the issues. Filmed in South Africa (A lot of outdoor shots) and the UK, this has more story than you'd think on first sight. It has some action scenes, but in the main it is a nicely poised political drama.

The film scores points for exceptional use of camera and again I have to mention the editing which is outstanding: rarely missing a beat and playing its focus on both the players and the reactions this is a first-class lesson is how film editing can make the story better and worth watching on that basis alone if film-making is your thing.

For those of us who remember the marches, the cause, and Mandela walking through the prison gates with Winnie, this films not only gives meat to the bones of the background to that history; it is evocative without being sentimental.

This is a film that needed to be made; and I for one wish that we could see more of this ilk - it is a strong reminder of the best that humans are capable of.

ENDGAME, as written by Paula Milne and directed by Pete Travis, is a thinking person's film. The subject is the ongoing crises of the Apartheid in South Africa (here during the years 1985 - 1990, with after film commentary to 1999) and the extended secret meetings between the Apartheid regime as controlled by President Botha (Timothy West), those meetings held between the African National Congress represented by Thabo Mbeki (Chiwetel Ejiofor) with prisoner Nelson Mandela (Clarke Peters) as the heart of the blacks and the increasingly disillusioned Afrikaner Apartheidists lead by Professor Will Esterhuyse (William Hurt) convened by a British representative Michael Young (Jonny Lee Miller) acting as spokesman for his entrepreneurial boss Rudolf Agnew (Derek Jacobi) of a major British industry vested in South Africa. The talks are wired by Botha's intelligence officer Dr. Niel Barnard (Mark Strong) and level of intrigue is high. The message of the film is the struggle and final victory of democracy and the end of Apartheid in South Africa, and while the cerebral discussions by this fine group of actors is illuminating, the film gains its power from fast shots of the conditions in South Africa at the time, including rioting, terrorist acts, loss of families, and the ever present intrigue and danger surrounding those men attending the secret meetings.

The supporting cast (especially John Kani as Oliver Tambo, the venerated life long friend of Mandela) is exceptionally strong, but in the end it is the unexpected fine acting of William Hurt and the always excellent Chiwetel Ejifor who remind us how small scaled dramas can have far more impact than the big epics we are used to enduring. This film is especially excellent for informing the public about the ins and outs and meanings of the South African Apartheid and why the ending of that evil regime lighted the fuse for so many other important sociologic changes.

Grady Harp

Well, my knowledge of Apartheid is limited to my knowledge of a personality called Nelson Mandela and that he led a non-violent struggle for equality. That's about it. So, when I saw this title and the good reviews that it had received - I decided to try it out.

Unfortunately for me, I was thrown into South African history (this was expected) and I was surrounded with over 20 character (this was not expected). Botha, Thabo, Mbeki, Alie Sachs, Wille Esterhuyse, some gold consolidations organization, a PR agent - within the first twenty minutes, my head was spinning. And thus, whenever a new character came on screen, I had to press the pause button and look up Wikipedia. That is how I watched this movie.

So, for the first 35 minutes or so, I spent an equal amount of time reading Wikipedia (which was not bad, I got a lot of info) but what this means is that Endgame is not meant for the viewer who is not ready to break a sweat. Unless your knowledge of South African apartheid is not up to scratch, Endgame will make little sense by itself.

However, once you know the characters and their motives the movie turns into an extremely compelling drama and a case study of how negations are done. This would make a terrific add-on to a history course. It is a very educational movie and the acting by William Hurt and Chiwetel Ejiofor was excellent and very convincing. The direction was also very well done and the script writing was very effective (considering the nature of the subject).

In the end, this should have been a 3-4 hour miniseries. The treatment of Apartheid with proper introduction to the major characters ought to get that much time. Unfortunately Endgame is all that we get. Go ahead and watch it - it is worth the effort.

The Apartheid system in South Africa was one of the most brutal, unpleasant regimes to inflect Africa and the world. It lead the discrimination and holding back of the vase majority of South Africa for the privilege of the White minority. It isolated South Africa as a nation and forced one of the world's greatest leaders in prison for 27 years.

In 1985 violence in South Africa is including, the townships are rioting and the South African security forces use force to stop them. In this background is Michael Young (Jonny Lee Miller), a senior employee of Consolidated Gold, a London based mining company. He sees that Apartiheid is a failing, dying system, and he wants to see its end. He goes on a mission, backed by his Chief Executive to bring the African National Congress, and the National Party (i.e. the white Boar party) together for secret talks in London. After struggling to find a moderate third party Young is able to recruit Will Esterhuyse (William Hurt), a philosophy professor who believes in the ideas of social justice. The ANC use Thabo Mbeki (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the then information director, as their chief negotiator. He is warned by the ANC Oliver Tambo (John Kani) that he must not tell anyone about the talks because there were forces within the South African security services and extremists with the ANC who want the talks to fail. Within the National camp the President of South Africa P.W. Botha (Timothy West) tries to use the talks to keep his own presidency going. He uses his intelligence services chief Dr Barnard (Mark Strong) to use the talks to find out how the ANC function and try and split the ANC in two. Barnard tries to woo Nelson Mandela (Clarke Peters), trying to make him more important again and therefore split the leadership and the followers.

This was a well-crafted thriller, with a good script focusing on action in both England and South Africa. It clearly shows who the main players are makes Mbeki, Tambo, Mandela and Esterhuyse into well rounded characters. Esterhuyse was a particularly interesting character. There are some very talented actors in Endgame. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a very talented actor, I could watch him in anything and again he is in good form. William Hurt was a surprising casting choice, but he pulls of his role and the South African accent well. He is the most conflicted character in Endgame. Jonny Lee Miller offers a decent performance as slightly wet Michael Young who is trying to improve the lives of South Africans. Mark Strong, another talented actor was decent, but was pretty much playing the smart role as he did in Body of Lies. I also thought Timothy West was pretty good as Nelson Mandela.

The problem with Endgame is the direction by Pete Travis. The type of camera used and the way it was shot made it look like someone was using small portable camera. The camera was shaking about for all the scenes, being very distracting and needless. I was thinking use a tripod for God sake. This was a film that should have been filmed in a conventional way, like many political thrillers or like an episode of the West Wing. The only moment of real directional flair showing the scene when a ANC car is bombed. As well the film is so focused on the talks like a laser that there is no look at the wider context. Of course most the audience should know about the events of Apartiheid, but there could have shown the affects of sanctions, the system on the people, the violence, the international situation and most importantly the political negotiations with the camps. The South African government was particularly ignored. Events in the film just happened with any explanation at all which is distracting.

However this is a worthy watch about an important topic.

It's 1985 South Africa. Public affairs director of Consolidated Goldfields Michael Young (Jonny Lee Miller) sneaks into a township looking for people to secretly negotiate with. Eighteen months later in London, he makes contact with ANC Head of Information Thabo Mbeki (Chiwetel Ejiofor). He is stalked by government agents as he tries to convince Professor Willie Esterhuyse (William Hurt) to join in the effort. Head of intelligence Dr. Neil Barnard (Mark Strong) meets Nelson Mandela (Clarke Peters) in prison. Company head Rudolph Agnew (Derek Jacobi) finances the secret meetings but will deny any knowledge of Michael's plans if discovered. In 1988 Somerset, England, the group gathers to negotiate in a palatial estate.

This is a drama of an important moment in history. The first half hour has great tension as Michael scrambles to organize this negotiation. The suspense is mostly lost once the group gathers at that mansion. The outcome is never in doubt. The actors are strong and they keep it watchable.