Plot
A story based on the covert discussions that brought down the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
Release Year: 2009
Rating: 6.2/10 (1,364 voted)
Critic's Score: 55/100
Director:
Pete Travis
Stars: William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jonny Lee Miller
Storyline A story based on the covert discussions that brought down the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
Cast: William Hurt
-
Professor Willie Esterhuyse
Chiwetel Ejiofor
-
Thabo Mbeki
Jonny Lee Miller
-
Michael Young
Mark Strong
-
Dr. Neil Barnard
Clarke Peters
-
Nelson Mandela
John Kani
-
Oliver Tambo
Derek Jacobi
-
Rudolph Agnew
Timothy West
-
P.W. Botha
Matthew Marsh
-
F.W. de Klerk
Mike Huff
-
Willem de Klerk
Stephen Jennings
-
Kobie Coetsee
Patrick Lyster
-
Sampie Terreblanche
Ramon Tikaram
-
Aziz Pahad
Danny Scheinmann
-
Albie Sachs
Porteus Xandau Steenkamp
-
Christo Brand
(as Porteus Xandau)
Taglines:
Inspired by a true story that changed the world
Filming Locations: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Opening Weekend: $1,608
(USA)
(8 November 2009)
(14 Screens)
Gross: $9,645
(USA)
(17 January 2010)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes:
At the beginning of the movie it clearly shows that the speedometer is at 0 while driving down the road.
Quotes:
Epilogue:
When the IRA decided to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Irish conflict, they secretly turned to the ANC
[African National Congress]
Epilogue:
for advise on how to do it. They are now advising Hamas on the same strategy.
User Review
A hidden revolution
Rating: 8/10
The end of the hated Apartheid regime in South Africa is an uplifting
story, but also, as told in this drama-documentary, an oddly undramatic
one. There was no revolution, nor even a commitment to reform from
within. Instead, as the system became increasingly untenable on the
ground in the face of growing popular unrest, a series of unofficial
negotiations between prominent Afrakaaners and the opposition were
eventually endorsed by F.W. de Klerk shortly after his appointment as
leader of the country, in a tacit acknowledgement that he had run out
of other options. Undramatic maybe, but this is still a worthy
retelling of the mechanics of the process. It's surprising to see Thabo
Mbeki, later much criticised as a later south African leader when he
denied that H.I.V. causes A.I.D.S., portrayed here in such a positive
light. William Hurt is completely convincing as an Afrikaaner, while
'Wire' veteran Clarke Peters captures the essence of Nelson Mandela
with a delicate performance . There's an element of hagiography in the
film's treatment of the men who negotiated, but it is justifiably an
uplifting story, especially in the knowledge of how, in the main,
Mandela has managed to justify his status as virtual deity since his
release; and how, for all its continuing problems, South African
society has not collapsed with democracy.
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