Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)
Country: GB
Technical: bw 103m
Director: Zoltan Korda
Cast: Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier, Charles Carson, Michael Goodliffe, Joyce Carey, Geoffrey Keen
Synopsis:
A Zulu priest journeys to Johannesburg to help his sister and look for his son, only to find that the old tribal conventions and solidarity have been broken down by poverty, criminality and fear. In a parallel narrative, a prejudiced white farmer has his eyes opened by the efforts of his son to bridge racial divisions in a South Africa about to be ruled by Apartheid.
Review:
London Films produced this pretty faithful and thorough adaptation of Alan Paton's own novel, sensitively directed by Korda, once more showing his penchant for African subjects. It is anchored by Canada Lee's agonised performance as the heartbroken priest (the actor would die the following year, aged only 45), while Poitier's is purely a featured role. The white characters seen are mostly of the decent, well-intentioned sort, while the majority of screen time is given to the black characters; the author's desire to omit nothing leads to a somewhat cluttered dramatis personae which, along with some unclear delivery of names and such, can lead to loss of clarity. 'Earnest', even pious, it may be, but this is a profoundly moving film, treating themes as broad, and pertinent, as land erosion, faith, poverty and compassion, and it demonstrates with the poignancy of hindsight what might have been achieved if the two communities had worked together.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 103m
Director: Zoltan Korda
Cast: Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier, Charles Carson, Michael Goodliffe, Joyce Carey, Geoffrey Keen
Synopsis:
A Zulu priest journeys to Johannesburg to help his sister and look for his son, only to find that the old tribal conventions and solidarity have been broken down by poverty, criminality and fear. In a parallel narrative, a prejudiced white farmer has his eyes opened by the efforts of his son to bridge racial divisions in a South Africa about to be ruled by Apartheid.
Review:
London Films produced this pretty faithful and thorough adaptation of Alan Paton's own novel, sensitively directed by Korda, once more showing his penchant for African subjects. It is anchored by Canada Lee's agonised performance as the heartbroken priest (the actor would die the following year, aged only 45), while Poitier's is purely a featured role. The white characters seen are mostly of the decent, well-intentioned sort, while the majority of screen time is given to the black characters; the author's desire to omit nothing leads to a somewhat cluttered dramatis personae which, along with some unclear delivery of names and such, can lead to loss of clarity. 'Earnest', even pious, it may be, but this is a profoundly moving film, treating themes as broad, and pertinent, as land erosion, faith, poverty and compassion, and it demonstrates with the poignancy of hindsight what might have been achieved if the two communities had worked together.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 103m
Director: Zoltan Korda
Cast: Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier, Charles Carson, Michael Goodliffe, Joyce Carey, Geoffrey Keen
Synopsis:
A Zulu priest journeys to Johannesburg to help his sister and look for his son, only to find that the old tribal conventions and solidarity have been broken down by poverty, criminality and fear. In a parallel narrative, a prejudiced white farmer has his eyes opened by the efforts of his son to bridge racial divisions in a South Africa about to be ruled by Apartheid.
Review:
London Films produced this pretty faithful and thorough adaptation of Alan Paton's own novel, sensitively directed by Korda, once more showing his penchant for African subjects. It is anchored by Canada Lee's agonised performance as the heartbroken priest (the actor would die the following year, aged only 45), while Poitier's is purely a featured role. The white characters seen are mostly of the decent, well-intentioned sort, while the majority of screen time is given to the black characters; the author's desire to omit nothing leads to a somewhat cluttered dramatis personae which, along with some unclear delivery of names and such, can lead to loss of clarity. 'Earnest', even pious, it may be, but this is a profoundly moving film, treating themes as broad, and pertinent, as land erosion, faith, poverty and compassion, and it demonstrates with the poignancy of hindsight what might have been achieved if the two communities had worked together.