GOODBYE, BAFANA

http://www.goodbyebafana.com/
plot : Racist man befriends influential "negro."
thought : It's tough to rewrite history.

A movie I've been wanting to see for a while. And I know it's bad, but I've wanted to see it, not for the plot, but mostly for the visual pleause of staring at Joseph FIENNES on screen for two hours. Call me crass.

The film centers on Nelson Mandela's long stay in the South African prison system during the years of apartheid, all the way from June 1968 (one month after, here in France, Mitterand (?) lost the love of the youth) until his release. During these two decades, he forms an unlikely friendship with his white, good-ol-boy prison guard, Sgt. James Gregory, here played by William Shakespeare--oh, I mean, Joseph Fiennes.

Of course the story's good. Bille AUGUST creates a film about one of the major historical shifts in the world, of course it's good. But the casting and acting, unfortunately, missed their mark.

Joseph, I believe, comes to us after years of London theatre, and on screen, you can kind of tell. His movements, stiff like the soldier he portrays, sometimes seem too harsh. And though Dennis HAYSBERT has plenty experience palying political men of controvery (ref : President Palmer on the series 24), he's not a Mandela. He's too...tall.

Now, their control of accents and the South African language impresed me immensely. But the "this is something important" music thumping down through every heady scene did not. Neither did Diane KRUGER's tears. Call me callous.

I can't explain it, I can only say it felt...light. Lighter than I expected for a subject that should reverberate with emotion. I wanted to believe every moment, but I actually found myself forgetting it was a true story because the actors all seemed to be acting. I shouldn't have needed the music to remind me how heavy it was. Fiennes should have done that just fine. So what gives ?

Overall rating : 2.5/5