Supelice Dreadfully Boring

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

paulouscan I am amazed to see the negative review this film got in North America. It is a wonderful film. The interpretation is excellent, very moving. Direction achieves its target very efficiently, without lengths. What better message than that of Love, that of seeking reconciliation? Force and violence never came to anything lasting. Admittedly, it very often took force and struggle and blood to achieve peace. But it has never lasted otherwise than by the love of man, the type of love which made us educate, cultivate, teach people everything we knew so that they would go even further in this direction, along this work, and so that by increasing human brotherhood love, we could achieve a more calm, more live-able, more fertile society, with a future still ahead. I tip my hat to the general attitude of the black people of South Africa, who has followed the lead of Mandela to see an end of war in the reconciliation process, an end to hatred, an end to insecurity, to this imaginary threat which used to inflame the minds contagiously and drove men to kill each other. It is difficult to bring a better message to the audience of a film. Very brilliant screenplay. Absolutely worth seeing. And I would add that one can see in that message the old axiom: it is not enough to be honest and to act according to his faith, beliefs, convictions; this attitude is just an elementary basics; what is needed is to act according to truth; and if one wants to know where the truth lies: it's what leads to more life, the solution that produces the most life, not one that respects one's personal beliefs, it would be much too easy ...

misleb I found this movie interesting because I realized just how ignorant I am of South Africa's recent history. The movie seemed to give a fairly balanced retrospective of what went on during apartheid. That is, it showed many sides. I certainly liked the focus on forgiveness.But as a film it was very mediocre. The cast could have done so much more. I found the characters to be very flat most of the time. When they did get emotional, it seemed forced. I couldn't really sympathize with any character.It was a bit like watching a comedian who is telling good jokes with poor timing, if you know what I mean.

jotix100 John Boorman, an interesting film maker, takes us to South Africa after Apartheid. Right after the country underwent the big change during the last decade of the last century, a commission was formed in order to hear the atrocities that were committed by the old regime, as the victims, and their families, were invited to come forward and speak to the panel that was investigating. The film is based on a novel by Antjie Krog, but not having read it, one can't really give an opinion about how true the film is to the novel."In my Country", the movie based on this book in its American release, came and went quickly. We tried to see it during its debut, bu it disappeared from local screens in no time. We recently caught the movie on cable.There are some interesting aspects of what the commission was trying to accomplish in trying to bring members of the repressive force to justice. As in other conflicts, the people that were involved in the atrocities keep repeating about how they were following orders, a poor excuse, since no one owned up to having done anything wrong. After all, this was a country in which a white minority controlled a big black majority, and who wanted to keep things unchanged.At the center of the story is Anna Malan, a white South African, who is a radio personality. She follows the commission as more and more people are coming forward to tell their stories. A Washington Post black reporter, Langston Whitfield, is also covering the process. Inevitably, both come together. While they clash at first, they find common ground in their desire to tell the truth about South Africa.Juliette Binoche and Samuel L. Jackson are seen as Anna and Langston. Both give good performances. Brendan Gleeson is seen as the evil De Jager, a man responsible for some of the crimes committed against the poor black of the country who were deemed terrorist by the controlling whites. Menzi Ngubone plays Dumi, Anna's assistant and Sam Ngakone makes a dignified appearance as Anderson, who works for Anna's family.The film is interesting to watch as Mr. Boorman has given us a film to think about the criminal acts that were committed by a group of people that didn't stop to consider the consequences of what they were doing.

esteban1747 Any story regarding apartheid in South Africa or racial discrimination elsewhere is important for education in order to prevent such phenomenons again. The film shows some examples of abuses committed by the white racist authorities in South Africa, some of them brutal and abominable, as well as the indulgence of black population looking for a peaceful reconciliation. This content of the film went OK to me, but to be frankly the love story between the black American journalist Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and local journalist Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche) who was covering the hearings for radio seems a bit artificial or unreal. If this was a real story then one must admit that this development was not well drawn in the film. The intensity of love shown between both journalists did not leave anything to justify her comeback with her husband. She suddenly felt in love with Whitfield and in the same way (with some doubtful tears) she wanted to solve the problem with her betrayed husband. In any case, the film is interesting for those who want to be acquainted with some of the realities which happened in South Africa in the past.