Goodbye Bafana

Goodbye Bafana is a touching, thought-provoking movie. Extremely well acted, I loved Joseph Fiennes (James Gregory) and Dennis Haysbert (Nelson Mandela) in their roles, and Diane Kruger (Gloria Gregory) did well, too. The movie has the slow, a bit mysterious charm in it, as August's movies usually do. The color scheme was like African dust, diluted, sometimes almost raw in the scorching sun. Music supported various scenes very well, without being too prominent.

The movie starts when a young prison warden James Gregory arrives to Robben Island 1968 and is addressed to keep an eye on Nelson Mandela, who is being imprisoned there for his political views. Gregory gets this mission, because he speaks xhosa, the local language, and therefore is able to read (and censor) the correspondence in and out of the prison, as well as understand what the prisoners talk to each other.

James Gregory is a faithful supporter of apartheid. He believes these black men are behind bars for a good reason and he supports the government politics. After he and his family witness a raid in a busy street, where black people are randomly harassed, Gregory has to answer the questions of his children - and his explanations sounded shallow even in his own ears. Very slowly, over the years, he became to see through the apartheid and change his views.

Dennis Haysbert was chosen to the role of Mandela, because of his quiet, distinctive charm and mental power. He did a great job. Joseph Fiennes was chosen because Bille August wanted an actor, who was tough and yet sensitive, someone who would be able to portray the change in the character in a period of almost thirty years. It was a very challenging role but Joe did a marvelous job.

There has been a lot of talk about his South African accent, and mostly it has been praised. I followed it very closely, and I think Joe did fine in that area, too. In some scenes the British accent is more or less audible, but most of the time he does a wonderful job.

Diane Kruger did a good job as James's wife, a mother of two, who was also raising their kids to support the apartheid. She opposed her husband being a warden for Nelson Mandela, because she could see that the close contact with the inmate made cracks to James's shield and his racistic opinions were vanishing rapidly. She tried to hold onto the apartheid views for much longer than her husband.

The movie ends to a year 1990, when Nelson Mandela is released from prison after being incarcerated for 27 years. The era of the new South Africa was to begin.

Nelson Mandela – this movie is about him, and that is the only factor that made to select this movie.

But the story is not about Nelson Mandela (Dennis Haysbert) but about his prison guard James Gregory (Joseph Fiennes) who first serves as a prison guard (in 1968) for Mandela because he knows the African language Xhosa that Mandela and his comrades speak. He is transferred because he shows a soft corner for Mandela but due to international pressure is re-appointed in 1983 till the release of Mandela from prison.

While seeing the movie one feels that what a great honor to have – serving contemporary history's most respected leaders as prison guard. Joseph Fiennes shows his range as an actor filling all ranges of age profile – being young and energetic to middle aged character. Dennis Haysbert portrays the role of his life time with gut, gutsy and tremendous respect and dignity – in being Nelson Mandela – an honor for an actor.

The movie as rightly said by some critics is a history lesson of sorts. But please do not be mistaken by this comment. When I read that comment, I had two thoughts – whether I should go and see a history lesson? YES everyone who has a golden heart should see this movie. Every person who is by default has white skin should see this movie. It is simple, honest, and displays hidden prejudices of apartheid world that are prevalent even today in forms of class.

As Mahatma Gandhi was called terrorist, so was Nelson Mandela was labeled a terrorist. He used arms struggle for making his point. He wanted the ruling British to talk with nationalist fighters – for peace. But British and their allied countries never agreed for a one-to-one dialogue and the mayhem of anarchy, atrocity and violence continued for more than half a century in peaceful and beautiful South African country. The local inhabitants were brutally killed by invaders who occupied most part of resources land claiming it to be their own mother land.

My salute to Denmark Director Bille August who shows the apathy of human mind with everyday talks against terrorist – the same we talk today.

I was fortunate to be part of the audience seeing this movie.

(Stars 7.5 out of 10)

Any movie that deals with Nelson Mandela is a movie worth watching in my opinion. He is perhaps the only person in the world I can think of to whom I would apply the adjective "great." He was a man who could have lived in bitterness and anger all his life, seeking revenge when he finally achieved power, but who instead chose to devote himself to democracy and peaceful reconciliation between blacks and whites in South Africa. This movie, which I saw under the title "The Color Of Freedom," is interesting because although it deals extensively with Mandela, doesn't actually look at events from his perspective. The story is actually told from the perspective of James Gregory (played convincingly by Joseph Fiennes) - who as a prison guard slowly advancing up the ranks - met Mandela (played by Dennis Haysbert) in 1968 and gradually developed a relationship of trust and respect with him.

There's enough background information to give the viewer a taste of what South African life was like under apartheid, but the story isn't really about that. It's more a story of Mandela's impact on Gregory. At the start of the movie, Gregory came across as basically just another white South African, committed to apartheid and devoted to maintaining the white hold on "their" country. But slowly, as Gregory comes to know Mandela, he changes. Mandela's graciousness as well as his fierce devotion to his cause impacts Gregory, who suddenly begins to see Mandela not as a black terrorist out to kill whites but as a human being seeking basic dignity and equality.

Fiennes performance was very strong. Haysbert had a tough challenge. It surely isn't easy playing a man who is literally a living legend. He did well with the part, but it was difficult to accept him as Mandela. The portrayal of the racism that was so deeply ingrained in South African society was at times almost painful to watch. I suppose the biggest weakness of the story is that it's been denied by many people - apparently including Mandela. He did develop a strong relationship with one of his white guards, but it wasn't Gregory, who seems to have taken some liberty in the account he shares in his book, from which the movie was made. He is unfortunately dead and unable to answer to those criticisms. Still, this is a moving story, and there is truth behind it apparently, and it clearly established the qualities that made Mandela the great man he is, who accomplished the great things he managed.

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.

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.