Come Back, Africa

Lionel Rogosin in co-operation with the staff of the iconic Drum magazine of the 1950's create an accurate and unbiased portrayal of township life in South Africa under apartheid. Written by Lewis Nkosi and Bloke Modisane and starring a collection of South Africa's brightest black urban stars of the fifties, this film broke new ground in the manner in which it showcased African urban identity and the hardships and realities of township life in the magical place known as Sophiatown. Rogosin had entered South Africa and shot this film under false pretences while constantly being hounded by strict apartheid legislature. Sophiatown was destroyed by the apartheid government in 1957 and replaced by the white suburb triomf (triump). This film is one of the few documents left that survive a township where black, white, Indian and coloured residents lived together decades before the 'rainbow nation' ideology of modern day South Africa.

"Come back Africa" is a 1959 black and white film that is part documentary and part fiction. The documentary sections provide a compelling look at life in a Johannesburg township in 1959 and life for blacks and Afrikaners in the City itself. Interwoven with this documentary is a fictional account of the life of a rural Black man who comes to Johannesburg looking for work. All the performers are real people and not actors, which is more than evident, and the scenes take place in real locations.

The singer Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) is featured in the film, and as a result of her performance she managed to escape South Africa and came to the U.S. where she began a distinguished career. Producer Lionel Rogosin (1924-2000) helped her escape, supported her, and established the Bleecker Street Cinema in 1960 where "Come Back Africa" and other "art" shows had a chance to be displayed, influencing the careers of many future film makers.

I lived in South Africa from 1977 to 1980 and can attest to many of the scenes you will see, which take place in 1959 but which were still present when I was there. By the time I lived there life was less pleasant for many than it was at the time of this filming, if you can imagine that.

This is a unique film and one that can be watched mostly for its historical importance, and as a representation of a genre that is under represented.

There are many films about life in South Africa. Among the best are "Shaka Zulu" (1986) and "Zulu" (1964) for the colonial days, "Cry the Beloved Country" (1951) and "A Dry White Season" (1989) for the in between years, "Inside" (1996) and "Mandela and de Klerk" (1997) for the more recent vista.

(1959) Come Back, Africa (There's considerable amount of dialogue is also spoken in native African dialect) SOCIAL COMMENTARY/ DOCU-DRAMA

Produced, co-written and directed by Lionel Rogosin. Of plot less movie centering on African native, Zachariah (Zacharia Mgabi) struggling to find work despite possessing zero work experience, serves only as a backdrop to showcase poor conditions native Africans have to endure, while living under the dominate white rule. Upon this movie being made, civil rights leader, Nelson Mandela was still being incarcerated. Also, the information regarding the making of this movie can be much more fascinating than it would be to watch it.

This film on apartheid in South Africa established Lionel Rogosin as master of cinema verite. The use of actual settings and non-professional actors in telling a story set a tone of reality far beyond any movies of the time. The images are still haunting five decades later.

Effective in transporting us to South Africa and giving us a window into the brutality of apartheid, perhaps less effective in telling its story. Regardless of whether you see this as a documentary or not (personally, I didn't), using non-professional actors resulted in a lot of stilted, wooden scenes, something which took away from the experience. On the other hand, the humanistic spirit of the thing, showing the grotesquely unfair "pass laws" and poor living conditions, can't be denied. We see cultural elements like music and dancing, but also a conversation about politics and the human condition, which I thought was fantastic. Great work from Lionel Rogosin, though a shame he didn't make a similar film in Mississippi at the time.