Pleure, ô pays bien-aimé

A sincere courageous film which depicted the apartheid society in South Africa ( instituted in 1948,abolished in 1991)at the beginning of the fifties.

It depicts the different paths of two men :a black minister , Stephen Kumalo ,and a wealthy landlord, James Jarvis ;two paths which will cross each other in tragic circumstances.

Kumalo is a country priest,Johannesburg town is a world he does not know at all ;his arrival ,when he's fooled by the young man, is revealing ; his faith will be put to the test during the ordeals and trials he will have to cope with....many exploited black men do not think that pie in the sky is enough now...

Jarvis is a good husband and a proud father ,but he's also a ruthless rich ,who has no pity on the tenant farmer who cannot pay anymore; he too,will experiment tragedy but his son's progressist ideas (the reading of his manifesto is one of the great moments of the film,summing up the plight of black people in admirably succint style) will make him a brand new man.

Sidney Poitier ,who paved a reliable way for today's black stars , makes all his scenes count ,though he does not play the lead.

British social drama from the book by Alan Paton, from London Films and director Zoltan Korda has Reverend Kumalo (Canada Lee) living and working in a small farming village in South Africa. When he receives word that his sister is ill in Johannesburg, he journeys there and learns some terrible truths about not only his own family, but his nation as a whole. Kumalo is assisted by Johannesburg priest Msimangu (Sidney Poitier), and his Kumalo's discoveries bring him into contact with James Jarvis (Charles Carson), the wealthiest white farmer near Kumalo's church. Also featuring Geoffrey Keen, Joyce Carey, Vivien Clinton, Michael Goodliffe, Albertina Temba, Edric Connor, and Lionel Ngakane.

This was a shocking look at apartheid conditions in South Africa, a situation that wasn't widely known or discussed in Europe or the U. S. Stage star Canada Lee is heartbreaking as a good man facing miserable truths. Lee died soon after filming from a heart attack after being summoned to testify at the HUAC hearings. Many of the local performers were non-professionals, and it shows, but the film gains a sort of Italian neo-realist vibe. I've also see the 1995 film version featuring James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. That's worth seeing as well, but making it wasn't a possible legal problem for the participants, unlike the 1951 version.

I had not seen this film for 55 years.It was shown recently on TPTV.I found it to be a worthy statement on apartheid.Sidney Potier shines in an early role.Canada Lee appears in his last role.

Cry, the Beloved Country is not slick and is not a visual spectacle. However, that is not what it is about. It makes its point slowly but strongly and not in a glossy superficial way. It made me cry. This film also stars Sidney Poitier and that is always a good thing.

In South Africa, some young black township boys burgle a white owned farmer's house and accidentally kill a white man. The father (Canada Lee) of one of the boy's has recently arrived back in Johannesberg and is shocked how the township has changed. The tragedy surprisingly has the effect of bringing both sides together.

An early and rare example of a film that highlighted South African apartheid in this strong racial drama. Even more surprising is that the authorities allowed the film to be shot in South Africa, but was directed by Zoltan Korda, a director that liked authenticity in his films. It is something of an earnest drama, but is nevertheless worthy without being preachy. A strong early performance for Sidney Poitier and a final film for Canada Lee in a particularly powerful performance.