CRY FREEDOM
A film review by Manavendra K. Thakur
Copyright 1987 by Manavendra K. Thakur and THE TECH.
Reprinted with permission.
1987 CRY FREEDOM 155 mins.
United States English Rated PG Dolby Stereo Color 70 & 35mm/2.35
Cast: Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton, John Hargreaves, Alex McCowen, Kevin McNally, Zakes Mokae, Ian Richardson, Josette Simon, John Thaw, Timothy West, Miles Anderson, Tommy Buson, Jim Findlay, Julian Glover, Kate Hardie, Alton Kumalo, Louis Mahoney, Mawa Makondo, Joseph Marcel, John Matshikiza, Sophie Mgcina, Wabei Siyolwe, Gwen Watford, Juanita Waterman.
Credits: Produced and Directed by Sir Richard Attenborough. Executive Producer: Terence Clegg. Co-Producers: Norman Spencer and John Briley. Screenplay by John Briley. Director of Photography: Ronnie Taylor, BSC. Edited by Lesley Walker. Music by George Fenton and Jonas Gwanga. Art Director: Stuart Craig. Costume Design by John Mollo. Sound Recordist: Simon Kaye.
Studio: A Marble Arch Production
Distributor (North America): Universal Pictures
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
(818) 777-1000
Recently, a reviewer for THE BOSTON PHOENIX (a local arts and news weekly) called the film MATEWAN an example of "liberal Pavlovian movie making." This is a far more apt label for CRY FREEDOM, Sir Richard Attenborough's new film about Stephen Biko (played by Denzel Washington), the black South African student activist leader, and his friendship with Donald Woods (played by Kevin Kline), a white South African newspaper editor who considered his own liberal views as his contribution to the reform of Apartheid.
CRY FREEDOM begins by showing Woods' initial contact with Biko in 1975 and ends with the Woods' family's escape from South Africa after Biko's death under mysterious circumstances while in police custody in 1977.
Technically, the film is thoroughly conventional. Sir Richard himself has said that this was the easiest of his films to make. There are inspired moments, however. The sound montage that accompanies a series of freeze-frame images of a pre-dawn police raid on a shantytown is quite effective as part of the film's opening sequence. Flashbacks are sparingly used, and the film is blessed with good performances from the major leads as well as the large number of supporting characters. The widescreen composition and stereo sound are serviceable, but they break no new ground. George Fenton's and Jonas Gwanga's music is notable, as is Sir Richard's expertise at directing large crowd scenes with as many as 15,000 extras.
The film's major flaw stems not from its production qualities, but from the sacrifices under which Sir Richard made this film. These sacrifices become especially apparent as the film progresses from its first half to its second. Within its limitations as a major Hollywood film, CRY FREEDOM works quite well, but the very existence of its compromises prevents the film from completely fulfilling is avowed educational purpose.
The first half of the 155-minute-long film focuses on the power of Biko's charismatic personality as Biko leads Woods to understand for the first time the harsh realities blacks face both as third class citizens and as "banned" persons. The depth of Biko's confidence in the humanity of himself and his fellow blacks is demonstrated time and again as Biko refuses to succumb to the authorities' provocations. The genius of Stephen Biko is that even as he urges Woods and others to "Drink up!" while relaxing in a bar in a black township, he is able to point out the stark contrast between Woods' opulent lifestyle and the poverty of of black shantytowns. It is in eloquent scenes such as these where individuals and events in South Africa are allowed to speak for themselves that the film is at its greatest.
Unfortunately, Biko's death comes almost exactly halfway through the film. In order to make the film palatable to Westerners--which is to say white audiences--the second half of the film concentrates on the Woods family as they flee South Africa and the personal turmoil Biko's death has created for them. The family eventually settled in England, where Donald Woods published his two books BIKO and ASKING FOR TROUBLE on which the film is based.
There is no denying that Mr. Woods and his family suffered greatly during their ordeal, and their story deserves to be told as well. The film, however, trivializes and cheapens their escape from South Africa by degenerating into an inane melodrama worthy of a made-for-TV movie. The film goes so out of its way to help audiences identify with the Woods family that it becomes self-apparent and almost begins to wallow in cheap sentimentality.
The film's most inexcusable moment comes when Mrs. Woods and her five children pause during their flight to freedom at the white line on the bridge between South Africa and Lesotho. Instead of hurrying over the bridge to safety, they take one slow step over the line under a torrential downpour while Donald Woods waits for them at the Lesotho end of the bridge. Efforts like this one to heighten suspense and drama fall flat because the Woods family did make it out and Donald Woods did write his books. When the end result is known, viewers can relax because they know subconsciously that the Woods' family's current predicament will be resolved in their favor.
Furthermore, the film is factually mistaken at a point where it most needs to be accurate. The finale of the film--quite stirring and moving in its own right--wrenches the audience back to the horrors the Woods family escaped from by recreating the 1976 massacre of several hundred black students in Soweto who were protesting mandatory teaching of the Afrikaans language in schools. This incident touched off rioting and protests and is an important part of the history of black struggle in South Africa.
The film shows the attacking policemen to be all white, whereas in actuality, many of them were black. Sir Richard told The New York Times that he took cinematic license here so as not to confuse Western audiences away from the film's central reminder that Apartheid is "an obscenity." This simplification of complex political realities demonstrates the sort of compromises Sir Richard made in order to assure box-office success. It is exceedingly unfortunate that Sir Richard feels he must disguise his intelligence and sensitivity in order to bring his message to American audiences.
When Biko first meets Woods, he makes a comment that he is about to begin "the education of a white liberal." These words describe the film exactly. Conservatives like Jesse Helms and Jerry Falwell will deride the film and attempt to discredit it by calling attention to its few but significant deviations from journalistic accuracy. Those who are already sympathetic to the issue of racism yet know little or nothing about the details of South Africa pass laws and other restrictions will find this a moving and distressing film. This film will challenge them to seek ways to help dismantle Apartheid in whatever small way they can. Those who have kept up with current events and know more about South Africa will find little new in the film. Indeed, some may even consider the "liberal Pavlovian" second half demeaning and insulting because of its typical Hollywood oversimplifications.
In spite of all this, Sir Richard must be commended for creating the film in the first place. His commitment against Apartheid was made clear when he refused to attend South African premieres of his previous film GANDHI in 1982, and his meetings with Winnie Mandela and other black leaders in 1984 gave him the background necessary to make a film such as CRY FREEDOM. It is no exaggeration to say that Sir Richard is more qualified than any other director to make this film. Sir Richard's humanity and conviction is unassailable.
Nevertheless, given his stature and his avowed purpose to help educate people about Apartheid, it is somewhat frustrating that his film has not carried the debate past its state last fall when both houses of Congress voted to override President Reagan's veto of a limited economic sanctions bill against South Africa.
The most notable accomplishment of CRY FREEDOM is its stirring portrayal of Stephen Biko and its effort to keep the issue of South Africa's racist policies alive in the news in Western countries. For now, that will have to be enough.
Directorial Filmography of Sir Richard Attenborough:
OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR 1969 144 mins. YOUNG WINSTON 1972 157 mins. A BRIDGE TOO FAR 1977 175 mins. MAGIC 1978 107 mins. GANDHI 1982 188 mins. A CHORUS LINE 1985 113 mins. CRY FREEDOM 1987 155 mins.
Sir Richard Attenborough is an actor-producer-director who has been involved with film since an early age. He has acted in films such as THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963), DOCTOR DOOLITTLE (1967), DAVID COPPERFIELD (1969), and LOOT (1971). His films have been critically acclaimed, especially A BRIDGE TOO FAR and GANDHI. He won an Oscar for Best Director in 1982 for GANDHI. He was knighted in 1976, and he won India's Padma Bhushan award and the Martin Luther King Peace Prize in 1983.
Manavendra K. Thakur
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thakur@eddie.mit.edu
thakur@athena.mit.edu
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