|
|
  
Back Shelf Beauties
|
In My Country Set in 1996, Juliette Binoche stars as Anna Malan - a South African writer turned radio reporter covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings held to document tragedies perpetrated during the Apartheid era, give the guilty a chance to apologize, and help provide information to family members who want to know what happened to loved ones who were political prisoners or victims. Anna truly believes in the commission and its rooting in South African ways, but she strikes up a friendship with an American reporter, Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson), who believes the commission will not lead to true justice and punishment. As the hearings take them across the country, the two debate their beliefs, work to cover the story, and become closer than they would have thought possible at the beginning. In My Country is about an extremely important time in South African history, and gives you a sense of the process implemented back in the 90's to confront the pain and suffering the country went through, but the movie struggles to find a central story to focus on. Director John Boorman does a wonderful job tugging at the audience's heart strings by telling the horrible stories of atrocities committed during Apartheid, but anyone reading this review or interested in the movie probably knows all about that from reading the newspaper or watching TV when the commission was holding the hearings. Boorman and writer Ann Peacock (based on the book by Antjie Krog) ambitiously try to touch on several aspects of the big picture, but don't fully develop any one. The relationship between Whitfield and Malan is interesting, but a story about budding friendship is often interrupted by tales of brutality leading to a conflict in tones. Another story that could have tied it all together would have been Whitfield's series of interviews with Colonel De Jager (Brendan Gleeson) - one of South Africa's most notorious torturers, who might get amnesty for his heinous crimes by telling the truth at a commission hearing. The story of De Jager encapsulates the struggle between Malan and Whitfield's differing thoughts about true justice, details the sad period in South African history and gives us insight into how the commission worked, but De Jager's story is put on the back burner. Boorman would rather focus on Malan and Whitfield, which isn't as interesting and could have been accomplished in any of a number of movies. In My Country comes close to being a good movie, and will spur audience members to learn more about the subject, so it's not a failure. 2 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
|
