White time of drought

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Movie
German title White time of drought
Original title A dry white season
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1989
length 97 (107) minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Euzhan Palcy
script Colin Welland
Euzhan Palcy based
on the book by André Brink
production Paula Weinstein
Tim Hampton
Mary Selway
music Dave Grusin
camera Pierre-William Glenn
Kelvin Pike
cut Glenn Cunningham
Sam O'Steen
occupation

A Dry White Season (OT: A Dry White Season ) is a film made in 1989 by Davros Films and Sundance Productions and distributed by MGM . Directed by Euzhan Palcy and produced by Paula Weinstein, Mary Selway and Tim Hampton. The script was written by Colin Welland and Euzhan Palcy based on the book of the same name by André Brink .

background

The film takes place during the Soweto uprising in 1976 during apartheid in South Africa . Around 15,000 black school children, led by the student Tsietsi Mashinini, demonstrated peacefully in the township in June 1976 against the country's racist educational policy and the entire apartheid regime. The police put down the demonstration with blood: According to their statements, 575 people died in the clashes, the other side speaks of a far higher number of victims. Numerous children and young people were arrested in raids on schools. The police tried to use torture to identify the leaders of the riot. The unrest spread to other townships in South Africa and lasted until 1978. There were also strikes among the black population and international protests.

action

The events are also reproduced in the political thriller. The police ended this anti-apartheid march with a bloodbath with 58 dead and more than 700 injured. Black families mourn and talk about resistance. In the dignified quarters of the whites, barbecues are held. Startled by the violent death of Jonathan Ngubene, the son of the black school gardener, the white teacher Ben du Toit (Donald Sutherland) begins to fight the brutal methods of the apartheid regime with the help of the lawyer Ian McKenzie (Marlon Brando) and goes with the case until the highest judgment. As a result, he is increasingly maneuvering himself into the social isolation of the racist society of South Africa.

production

Several actors waived part of their fees for this film. In early 1988, after a nine-year break in filming, Marlon Brando signed a film contract for the first time in which he portrayed a South African lawyer who fought on the side of the opponents of apartheid in a ten-minute cameo . Filming, which took place at Pinewood Studios , Buckinghamshire , England and Zimbabwe , was directed by Euzhan Palcy, best known as Hollywood's first black female director. Since there was little money available for the committed film, Brando was willing to contribute for a fee of only 4,000 US dollars, which he also wanted to donate to an anti-apartheid organization. White Time of Drought came to cinemas on September 22, 1989 (in Germany on November 16, 1989) and brought Marlon Brando a prize for the last time in his career - at the Tokyo International Film Festival - and an Oscar nomination (for best supporting actor ) a. In 1989 the film was also nominated by the Political Film Society Award for Human Rights .

Reviews

"Despite striking dramaturgy and some technical weaknesses, an argumentatively informative and important film that convincingly describes the social climate in which the apartheid policy could function in the first place."

- Lexicon of international film

“Moving racial drama by the committed young director Euzhan Palcy, which has an excellent and attractive cast. In addition to Susan Sarandon, Donald Sutherland and Jürgen Prochnow, Marlon Brando's first screen appearance after more than nine years of film abstinence caused a sensation. The gripping, fast-paced staging, which sometimes tends to be simplistic, and the marketing measures planned for the end consumer when the video starts, will help the demanding thriller, which is well worth seeing, to be a lasting success even with the broader audience. "

- Video Week

“The whole conflict is as simple and obvious as the consequences are predictable, the story so clear, the characters one-dimensional and clichéd. Whites remain mere perpetrators, some cynical and brutal, others corrupt and cowardly; the blacks, on the other hand, mere victims, some good and humble, some angry and rebellious. In between the white teacher, naive but upright, and his lawyer, without illusions, but belligerent. The white time of the drought is a bit like our time: He thinks he is heralding the great departure, and he just runs down open doors. "

- Norbert Grob : Time

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ White time of drought. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 21, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ meant Well , time of 24 November 1989

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