In my country
My Country is a 2004 drama film starring Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche . In his film, director John Boorman focuses on the time that shook the country immediately after the end of apartheid , which reached its peak in the 1940s to 1980s and ended in 1994.
The script is based on Antjie Krog's semi-fictional non-fiction book Country of My Skull about the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission .
action
Orange Free State , South Africa , Christmas 1995: Whites have been released to be shot, says the father of Afrikaans poet Anna Malan, when blacks attacked their ranch again that night to release their cattle. Anna advocates the change and believes it is right that apartheid has ended. As a presenter for the radio, she takes part in a press conference. There, a dark-skinned reporter from the Washington Post stands out because of his implacable demeanor. At the hearing in which black citizens tell their story, Anna meets the man again, he introduces himself as Langston Whitfield. One mother says that her son's hands were chopped off, another still doesn't know what happened to her son to this day. One man complains that his genitals were wrapped in wire, made wet, and then electrified. The person who did this apologized that otherwise his pension would have been canceled. Other perpetrators also try to justify themselves by saying that they only carried out orders. The cruelty of what people portray is difficult to bear.
Through Dumi Mkhalipi, who was assigned to Anna by the broadcaster as a girl for everything, Whitfield got in touch with Colonel De Jager, a notorious torturer during apartheid. He explains to the journalist that he only did what had to be done. “Including torture?” Whitfield asks, “correct” is the answer. Training camps for Askari have been set up far outside . An askari is someone who has betrayed his comrades. He was tortured until he was made to switch sides. Askari were the best killers because they had previously sold their soul. “When you despise yourself, it becomes much easier to despise others,” De Jager adds.
The reports of those affected are broadcast across the country in Anna's voice. Whitfield, on the other hand, is angry that the reports he sends to the Washington Post only find a place in the back of the paper. A call from a woman whom Anna trusts because of her reports leads to the fact that one goes to the mountains, where the woman's daughter must have last been. There is only a skeleton left. Whitfield later learns from De Jager that the young woman did not divulge any information, even when she had to present herself to the men for three days completely naked and that she was betrayed. She remained strong even in the face of death.
Whites also report atrocities to the commission. A family man says that one was forced to take up arms because attacks by black people continued to occur. That also led to the fact that, for safety reasons, people mostly drove in a convoy. During such a trip, he had to watch how the car in front of his wife, in which his three-year-old son was also, drove over a laid out land mine . Almost nothing was left of his wife and son. Pieter, a young boy, witnessed the murder of his parents and has not spoken a word since then. There is dead silence in the hall as he embraces the murderer of his parents who asks his forgiveness. The old man known as Ubuntu also has bad news. Honored among his black friends, he shows them that only reconciliation can bring the country forward. Whitfield, too, is deeply impressed by him and is moved to receive the stick the old man gives him with the request to ponder his words.
Back at De Jager, Whitfield has had enough of the man who doesn't seem to have any sympathy and also told him that sometimes he couldn't wait to go out again to take care of "black Kaffirs". Whitfield remarks, disgusted, “Do you know who is protecting you from my not killing you? An old black man with a stick and a white woman who has taken her guilt and shame upon herself. ”When he turns to go, De Jager comes out with an interesting piece of information. He could prove that those in power at the time knew exactly what was going on in the country. He points to a farm where generals and other decision-makers from Pretoria come almost every weekend to have fun. Together with Anna, Whitfield takes a look at this farm of horror, which has all possible tools of torture.
They make a terrible discovery on the site itself, with wild boars attacking the numerous corpses buried there. The newspapers take up this issue and see it as proven that senior government officials are implicated in murder and manslaughter. De Jager has successfully exposed his superiors, but is charged himself. His confidence that he would be covered by the amnesty gave way to disbelief when he was denied permission and announced that he was being tried for 63 homicide cases. There was cheering in the courtroom. When Anna asked De Jager why he could believe that he had done the right thing, he countered the disbeliever that she should ask her brother. When she wanted an answer from him, he replied tonelessly that he had blood on his hands so that they could all have slept soundly and countered her: "You knew it Anna, we all knew it." Anna had barely left the stable leave, a shot is fired. On the day of her brother's funeral, Anna's mother tells her that she had never told her father about her liaison in Paris. But the lie took something from them. “Even if the truth is not known, Anna, its effect is there. No more lies Anna, no more lies. "
Anna takes this as an opportunity to tell her husband that she slept with Whitfield, which upsets him very much. She meets with the journalist one last time to say goodbye. Not long afterwards, Whitfield witnessed two blacks shooting Dumi in the stomach and declaring that there was no need to cry for him, that he was one of those who were among the traitors at the time.
Production, publication
The film was shot in South Africa in and around Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula , including in Stellenbosch , the Mount Nelson Hotel, Paarl , Malmesbury and the Iziko South African Museum . Furthermore, recordings were made in Company's Garden, in Tuinhuis and on Table Mountain .
The production companies were Chartoff Production, Film Afrika, Film Consortium, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, Merlin Films, Phoenix Pictures, Studio Eight Productions and the UK Film Council.
The dubbing of the film was done by the dubbing company Hermes Synchron GmbH, Potsdam, dialogue book and dialogue director Hilke Flickenschildt .
The film was presented on February 7, 2004 at the Berlinale . In 2004 it also started in the following countries: Italy, Israel, France (at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema) and in Spain (at the Valladolid International Film Festival ). In 2005 it was shown in selected cinemas in the USA because of its limitation, and it was also shown in Canada, Portugal, Switzerland (German-speaking region), Sweden, the United Kingdom ( Black Filmmaker Magazine Film Festival ), Brazil ( Festival do Rio and at São Paulo) International Film Festival ), Mexico, Australia (on DVD) and Argentina (video premiere). In Ireland it started in 2006 with restrictions. It was also marketed in Hungary, Poland, Russia and Turkey.
On December 6, 2005, the film was released for the first time with a German soundtrack on DVD, published by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
background
At the beginning of the film, Nelson Mandela is shown who says: "Never, never again must it happen that this beautiful country experiences the oppression of one by the other."
The film is preceded by the following statement: “In 1994 South Africa's brutal apartheid regime was finally overthrown. In a spirit of reconciliation, President Nelson Mandela and his associates offered amnesty to those who had committed human rights abuses, provided they told the whole truth and could show that they had followed orders. The victims should be given the chance to tell their stories and face their tormentors. 21,800 people testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Some of their stories are told truthfully in this film. "
Epilogue in the film: “21,800 victims told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission their stories. 1,163 perpetrators received amnesty. The wounds of apartheid began to heal. "
The term apartheid means that from 1949 to 1994, politics in South Africa was dominated by racial segregation. The white inhabitants of the country had all rights, directed the state and thus also the legislation. The non-whites were suppressed and were subject to countless prohibitions and restrictions in almost all areas. Frederik Willem de Klerk , who ruled South Africa from 1989 to 1994, advocated the abolition of racial segregation laws. Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa.
Soundtrack
| No. | Title - composer / lyricist - speaker |
|---|---|
| 1. |
Senzenina - Murray Anderson & Warrick Swinney - Princess Soi-Soi Gqeza, Mxolisi Mayekane, Mandia Lande, Michael Ludonga, Simpiwe Matole & The New Teenage Gospel Choir |
| 2. |
Lizalis' Idinga - Murray Anderson, Warrick Swinney & Philip King - Princess Soi-Soi Gqeza, Mpho Motheane & The New Teenage Gospel Choir |
| 3. | Kalkbaai - Murray Anderson & Warrick Swinney - Murray Anderson |
| 4th | General Amnesty - Murray Anderson & Warrick Swinney - Murray Anderson & Noel Eccles |
| 5. | Mizana - Zukile Malahlana, Bongani Mafumana & Warrick Swinney - Marekta |
| 6th | Laat My Staan - Murray Anderson & Warrick Swinney - Paul Dirksen & Murray Anderson |
| 7th | De Aar - Murray Anderson & Warrick Swinney - Paul Dirksen & Murray Anderson |
| 8th. | Uthando - Murray Anderson & Warrick Swinney - Murray Anderson & Orchestra |
criticism
Nelson Mandela said of the filming: "A wonderful and important film."
The lexicon of international films described the production as a "[m] issglücktes drama". In its narrative style, the film falls into the “pitfalls of the cinema of concern” and offers “clichés”. He is also "disappointing" in acting.
Cinema spoke of a "laudable intention", but the film was "overall too fake".
For Roger Ebert , the affair between Whitfield and Malan was rather superfluous. But the film also has scenes of undeniable strength, for example when it turns out that the South African policeman played by Brendan Gleeson carried out his tasks, which consisted of torture and murder, with a zeal that went far beyond his professional requirements. The scenes in which De Jager and Whitfield meet are strongly played. There are also moments of real emotion, for example in the statements made to the committee of inquiry.
Even Stephen Holden of the New York Times made the same statement regarding the affair between Whitfield and Malan. Juliette Binoche also plays her role as Anna a little too tearfully. Another problem is that only a fraction of what happened in the country during apartheid can come into play in the film, but it is still shocking fragments of human suffering. Ann Peacok's script made the mistake of adapting itself too much to the story of Antjie Krog. As a result, the figures remained too schematic to be able to approach them emotionally.
Awards
- John Boorman was nominated for a Golden Bear at the 2004 International Film Festival .
- At the 2004 Berlinale, the film received the “Diamond Cinema for Peace Award”.
- John Boorman was also nominated for the Golden Spike at the 2004 Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid .
- In 2006, the Political Film Society in the USA nominated the film for the PFS Award in the "Peace" category.
Web links
- In My Country in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- In My Country at rottentomatoes.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ In My Country In: Synchronized files
- ↑ a b In My Country DVD Sony Pictures
- ^ In My Country in the Lexicon of International Films
- ↑ In My Country at cinema.de (with 24 pictures of the film)
- ↑ Roger Ebert : In My Country at rogerebert.com (English). Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- ↑ Stephen Holden : Truth, Justice and Love in South Africa In: The New York Times , March 11, 2005. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
