Cry Freedom Film Review

1. Who was your favorite character from the film? Why?

I want to start off by saying this movie was really incredible and I'm glad this course gave me the opportunity to watch it; it made me emotional and angry, I even cried and sometimes snapped at the screen while seeing it. There's a lot of amazing characters throughtout the film, but my favorite has to be Steve Biko because he was so ahead of his time and constantly spoke such wise words, it sometimes got me thinking maybe he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize even more than Nelson Mandela. Anyways, Biko is portrayed really beautifully in the movie and I think his character being shown through a white south african's eyes, who at first disliked him but then becomes his friend, is proof that the words he spoke and the pain he felt could be understood simply beacuse of common sense, no need to be black or on the worst side of oppression.

Another characters I really liked were: Donald Woods' friend Father Kani, because he was so intelligent and, although he also wanted to end the apartheid, he was always smart about the moves to be done; and lastly, Evalina, because even though she's a secondary character she contributes a lot to the story, I especially liked that she was just herself, didn't expect to be "saved" from the Woods family but still constantly cared for  and loved them. I wish the film showed what happened to her after the family escaped South Africa, and hope that the police never laid a hand on her.

2. What was your favorite scene from the film? Why?

As stated before, I liked Evalina's character and enjoyed her scenes a lot. But my favorite one has to be the one right before Wendy and the kids go away "to the beach", and the mother and oldest siblings know they'll never see her again. It was sad that Evalina didn't know they were going away and that the family was crushed about it, but when Wendy says her last goodbye and the other doesn't even notice to turn around or say it back, I think that was a representation of the south african black population that didn't fight back like Bicko or Mandela, instead choosing to accept their reality because they didn't have the privilege of a good education. So it doesn't mean that they were okay with the apartheid, just that in order to survive they sticked to doing their jobs everyday. I can't really explain why but that scene was very moving to me.

3. How does the film differ from the other films? Use the article from The Guardian to help you

The biggest difference from the previous movies and this one is that Cry Freedom was made on the 80's, which means the apartheid was not over legally yet in South Africa, and it was a political statement for it to speak about Steve Biko and show his truth. For that reason, I think it sticked more to reality and didn't include as many over the top scenes as the other films did.

Another distinct fact about this film is that, as the article from The Guardian states, Biko was never a member of the ANC and didn't condone violence from any side of the apartheid, even though it's obvious he was angry about the oppression from the government to black people he always made sure to make a peaceful but strong statement saying that South Africa would only be great once white and black were both considered the same, both considered human. That's where the "black consciousness movement" comes into play and is a huge part of his beliefs, because unlike Mandela or Chamusso who encouraged the people to fight back and believed in violent ways to end the apartheid, Steve Bicko thought it was more important for the black population to feel important, beautiful and equal before they started gaining their legitimate rights back.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Bang Bang Club Review

1. In general, what did you like and dislike about the film? I liked this movie beacuse it was both entertaining and powerful, even though it had a few light hearted or funny scenes, the main focus was always the apartheid and the strong violence present in the black communities; both from the government and between the different tribes themselves. Even though in Cry Freedom we got to see history through a white journalist's eyes, I think that the fact that The Bang Bang Club's main characters are younger and photographers gives us a new persepective of the conflict. Also, all of the main characters were pretty imperfect and made mistakes, which brought them closer to the viewer and made the movie more realistic. The one thing I didn't like was that the main characters sometimes could be really naive or reckless, but that's not an actual flaw from the movie since it's based on real people and their experiences. 2. How does the film make you think about yo...
Read more

Goodbye Bafana Film Review

1. In general, what did you like and dislike about the movie? What I liked the most about the film Goodbye Bafana was probably the new perspective it gives us to get to know the south african apartheid, since the story is told through a white protagonist. While it seems obvious that the relationship between James Gregory and Nelson Mandela was overdone to create a bigger cinematographic impact, I thought the bond between the two is a pretty good way to showcase the part of white South Africa that actually supported Mandela and his quest to end the apartheid once and for all. A detail I especially liked was the parallel made between the deaths of Mandela and Gregory's sons, since it shows really clearly the governmental oppression that came with showing a supportive attitude towards public figures or ideas against white supremacy. Something I disliked about the movie was that it seemed a bit rushed at parts and the flashbacks from Gregory's childhood weren't properly ac...
Read more