Next up in Politic-a-thon is another film based around the
politics of South Africa during apartheid, with the one I’m doing today going
more into detail about life in South Africa for black activists and the white
population who didn’t support apartheid and out of the films based around
apartheid that I can think of, there is no better example than Cry Freedom.
The plot concerns the friendship between black activist
Steve Biko and white newspaper owner Donald Woods. Initially, Woods only goes
to Biko to see whether or not his editorial about him is correct but Biko shows
Woods life in a black township and sees what life is really like for black
people in South Africa. This in itself was dangerous for Biko as he was placed
under a banning order meaning that he was confined to a certain area and it
took a lot of planning for Biko to get away from the police officers watching
him. Throughout everything, we see everything that the white population of
South Africa puts Biko through, including arresting him for making speeches for
equal rights. We also see that Biko, unlike other black activists in South
Africa at the time, advocated a peaceful resolution to the issues. Through
this, Woods and Biko become closer, with Woods trying to convince people high
up in government to drop their campaign of hatred against Biko. However, Biko
ends up getting arrested going to Cape Town and, whilst in prison, the white
guards beat him so severely that Biko ends up dying of his injuries. Since the
truth about Biko is covered up, Woods tries to make the world aware of Biko’s
message but ends up being placed under a banning order himself and has to find
a way to escape South Africa. What I really like is how the film goes into
detail about everything that is happening to Biko, really putting you in his
shoes and shows the intense brutality of apartheid. I also like that the film
shows both the prejudice that white people had in South Africa but also the
panic that they feel over hurting a major black figure, especially with the covering
up of Biko’s death. I also like how the film shows the impact that Biko’s death
has on the black community, with the funeral being one of the most moving
things put to film. The film also fully goes into detail about how Woods
escaped South Africa, by disguising himself as a priest and having to get to
the border with Lesotho and we also see the way his family escapes, including
having to leave their dog behind so the dog wouldn’t attract attention. The
main thing I like though is that the film shows that what happened to Biko was
not a unique incident, as shown by, before the credits, a list of the people
who died in suspicious circumstances in prison in South Africa is shown and
Biko’s name is halfway down and it also shows that attitudes towards race and
the violence that people experience cannot be undone by a handful of people.
The performances in the film are also excellent. Kevin Kline
brilliantly shows the transformation in Woods from someone who believes that
Biko is doing massive damage to the country to someone who escapes South Africa
to let the world know how he died. He brilliantly shows the fear that he feels
over his family’s situation after the banning order and his commitment to black
rights as the film goes on. Penelope Wilton is also great as Woods’ wife Wendy,
also showing the fear that she feels over her family being harmed along with
the worry over what Woods has gotten himself into. The best performance though
comes from Denzel Washington as Biko. There’s this great deal of dignity and
respect that Washington brings to the part and really makes you trust him.
Whenever Biko speaks, the power that Washington puts behind the words make you
pay attention to every single one and a lot of the comments he makes are really
intelligent and insightful. He shows that, whilst the public image of Biko is
one of a brutal oppressor and someone who wants to destroy the rights of the
white population, he wants to see peace and through his tone of voice and his
body language, we see Biko as a peaceful individual who, like so many other
people in South Africa, didn’t deserve what happened to him.
Overall, Cry Freedom is an excellent film. Richard
Attenborough’s direction, John Briley’s script and the excellent performances
from Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington fully bring the story of Steve Biko and
Donald Woods to life and shows that, even in the harshest system with dozens of
deaths being covered up, there is always the need for people to take a stand
against oppression.
My Rating: 5/5
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