Bopha!

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

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Political Drama Tragedy Drama

Micah Mangena (Danny Glover), a Black police officer during South African apartheid, believes that he is trying to help his people, even while he serves as a pawn of the racist government. W... Read allMicah Mangena (Danny Glover), a Black police officer during South African apartheid, believes that he is trying to help his people, even while he serves as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets involved in the anti-apartheid movement, he finds himself torn between hi... Read allMicah Mangena (Danny Glover), a Black police officer during South African apartheid, believes that he is trying to help his people, even while he serves as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets involved in the anti-apartheid movement, he finds himself torn between his family, including his long-suffering wife (Alfre Woodard), and what he believes to be hi... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:00

Bopha!

Photos20

+ 13

User reviews17

6.51K

Featured reviews

5rooak

Less than it should have been

It's hard to criticise a film that has such noble intentions. But what should have been a gripping story ended up being strangely emotionally a little flat. Danny Glover didn't really fill out his role adequately, and as his story is the central one, it was a little disappointing. Other performances were generally okay. The score by Horner was not his greatest, and seemed quite derivative of other composers. And way too often it sounded like an American score (all that brass!) Some of the cinematography was stunning.

7SnoopyStyle

solid film about apartheid

It is 1980 South Africa. Micah Mangena (Danny Glover) is a black police officer. He is honest and dutiful. He trains the younger black cops. His wife Rosie (Alfre Woodard) is maid in a white household. His son Zweli (Maynard Eziashi) is losing faith in his father as politcal pressure builds and revolts mount. Van Tonder (Marius Weyers) is his friendly white superior officer. As conflicts rise, secret police De Villiers (Malcolm McDowell) leads a brutal crackdown.

Directed by Morgan Freeman, this is a solid film about living under apartheid. Nelson Mandela was released in 1990. An election would be held a year after this movie. In a way, this may have caught the public at the wrong time as the world was looking forward. Nevertheless, this is a well made film with solid performances.

7boblipton

In A Bind

In the Apartheid era, Danny Glover is a sargeant in the South African police in a peaceful township. He lectures the cadets, he obeys his orders, he takes care of his wife, Alfre Woodard, and their son, Maynard Eziashi. What he finds out during the course of the film is that Eziashi is a student leader of the anti-Apatheid movement, and that new local police commander Malcolm McDowell thinks that the response to peaceful demonstrations is shotgun shells.

It's Morgan Freeman's sole outing as a feature director, and it's a stellar effort in acting by all on hand, particularly Marius Weyers as the sympathetic cop who's shoved aside -- I always expect Glover, Woodard, and McDowell to give fine performances. It's heartfelt, sad, and ultimately tragic. It was also shot in Zimbabwe.

bengleson

painful, powerful cinema

Morgan Freeman directs a wonderful landscape of struggle, oppression and revolt in this film. Danny Glover and the rest of the cast bring this vivid era in South Africa to life. There is no ambiguity here. Nor is there an easy resolution that comes to mind. Watching a film like this from a middle class couch in North America, I am filled not only with awe but a significant discomfort. One knows that time and sacrifice are about the only options available. This isn't simply hindsight. It's the message of the film. Bravo!

7samabc-31952

Insightful

Morgan Freeman's directorial debut.. superb performance by the protagonist Danny Glover.. horrors of apartheid ... no melodrama or overacting .. an insightful film