The eyes of the world are on South Africa this year, this time for the right reason as that country hosts the World Cup of football (soccer to us).

After decades of the despicable whites-only apartheid policy, South Africa now has a genuinely democratic government. There are many good films about this country.

Invictus (2009) is a soaring tribute to South Africa’s noble leader, Nelson Mandela, ably portrayed by the great Morgan Freeman. Post-apartheid, prime minister Mandela has a plan to bring the races closer together by means of the largely white national rugby team’s efforts to win the world championship.

Matt Damon is quite good as Francois Pienaar, captain of the team. Both these actors were nominated for Oscars. You don’t have to understand the rules of rugby (who in America does?) to enjoy this inspirational film.

Morgan Freeman directed Bopha! (1993) with Danny Glover as a black township cop in apartheid South Africa and Alfre Woodard as his wife.

Their comfortable world begins to crumble, along with their preconceptions, when their son becomes a radical reformist, questioning everything about his parents’ life choices.

There have been two splendid cinema adaptations of Alan Paton’s classic Cry, The Beloved Country. It’s a close call, but I prefer the 1951 version with Sidney Poitier to the 1995 version with James Earl Jones. You won’t go wrong with either. A black backwater minister heads to Johannesburg to search for his wayward son.

His search soon leads to a bigoted white landowner. Both are forced into hard personal discoveries and bend long-held prejudices.

Cry, Freedom (1987) is Richard Attenborough’s film about black South African activist Steve Biko (played with aplomb by Denzel Washington) and his involvement with courageous white newspaper editor Donald Woods (equally well portrayed by Kevin Kline). Both are still heroes in their native country.

In A Dry White Season (1989) Donald Sutherland is a white schoolteacher in apartheid South Africa who slowly (some would say too slowly!) realizes the plight of his black neighbors. Marlon Brando has a small, but stunning role as an activist attorney.

Other good movies on the subject include Sarafina (1992), with Whoopi Goldberg in the only known anti-apartheid musical; and The Wilby Conspiracy, a thriller with Sidney Poitier dragging unwilling Michael Caine across the country.

Athol Fugard’s brilliant play Master Harold and the Boys, the story of a young white man torn between his intolerant parents and his black servant friends, is being made into a film to be released this year. It ought to be good!

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.



Rusty Hammond has been writing the Mr. Movie column since 1996. It appears in several newspapers in North Carolina.