Screened
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- In "Country of My Skull", John Boorman, never a director to shy away from a challenge, tries to understand the crimes of South Africa's apartheid system by creating a fictional drama out of that country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The TRC was South Africa's substitute for a war crimes tribunal. Over many months, this commission took testimony directly from victims and perpetrators. A full and honest confession could result in amnesty for white oppressors, yet the commission's goal -- deemed successful by some but not all South Africans -- was to reach peace and understanding through forgiveness. Such material does not yield easily to dramatic storytelling.
The script by South African-born Ann Peacock, based on a book by Antjie Krog, an Afrikaan poet who covered the trial for radio and print, imagines two fictional characters through whose eyes we witness and react to the testimony. The movie never completely succeeds with this clumsy contrivance.
With Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche as sparring reporters, Sony Pictures Classics has a fighting chance to reach adult audiences in specialty venues. But clearly, the marketing department has a chore on its hands to inspire moviegoing interest in a topic that may feel remote to many Americans.
Indeed Jackson's Langston Whitfield, a D.C.-based reporter for the Washington Post, himself wonders why his editors want him to fly to South Africa to listen to stories about white authorities abusing black citizens. He can hear that any day right at home. But off he goes, and his first encounter with an Afrikaaner is with Binoche's radio reporter Anna Malan, a character based in part on Krog.
It's a pretty hostile encounter because Langston has already made up his mind about the guilt of all Afrikaans. But with Anna's sound engineer Dumi (young South African TV star Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane) acting as an eager and often amused referee, the two continue to debate this issue as they follow the traveling commission through the countryside.
The overly melodramatic script manufactures episodes such as a flat tire and nearby bar so both can let their hair down and argue their point of view. That these two married people wind up in the sack may be stretching the meaning of truth and reconciliation. But this does point up a problem the movie never solves: how to impose a fictional drama on such overwhelming real-life events without the fictional stuff coming off as trivial.
The charisma and hard work by his two leads allows Boorman to succeed beyond all expectations. The relationship and inner struggles of these two individuals do manage to reflect the problem of how a country goes about resolving its pain. And the stories recounted to the commission get to the root of what made apartheid so evil: It was not just the viciousness of its crimes but its daily humiliations designed to make an entire group of people feel subhuman.
Occasionally, the movie cuts to an interview Langston gets with an army colonel, who is meant to embody all apartheid evil. In contrast to the spare and moving testimony at the hearings, this unrepentant, whiskey-soaked confession come off as that of a B-movie Nazi. Brendan Gleeson is a great actor, but even he can do little with such an ill-conceived character. An out-of-nowhere suicide by a minor character at the end is equally as heavy-handed.
Seamus Deasy's lush cinematography contrasts the grim testimony with spectacular landscapes, underscoring Anna's dilemma of how one who dearly loves a beautiful country can reconcile that love with the crimes committed to keep it "white." The music, a compilation of black South African secular and religious music, is another major plus.
COUNTRY OF MY SKULL
Sony Pictures Classics
Phoenix Pictures presents a Film Consortium and Merlin Films production in association with the U.K. Film Council and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa
Credits:
Director: John Boorman
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock
Based on the book by: Antjie Krog
Producers: Robert Chartoff, Mike Medavoy, John Boorman, Kieran Corrigan, Lynn Hendee, David Wicht
Executive producers: Chris Auty, Neil Peplow, Mfundi Vundla, Duncan Reid, Sam Bhembe, Jamie Brown
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Production designer: Derek Wallace
Music supervisor: Philip King
Costume designer: Jo Katsaras
Editor: Ron Davis
Cast:
Langston Whitfield: Samuel L. Jackson
Anna Malan: Juliette Binoche
De Jager: Brendan Gleeson
Dumi Mkhalipi: Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane
Anderson: Sam Ngakane
Elsa: Aletta Bezuidenhout
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- In "Country of My Skull", John Boorman, never a director to shy away from a challenge, tries to understand the crimes of South Africa's apartheid system by creating a fictional drama out of that country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The TRC was South Africa's substitute for a war crimes tribunal. Over many months, this commission took testimony directly from victims and perpetrators. A full and honest confession could result in amnesty for white oppressors, yet the commission's goal -- deemed successful by some but not all South Africans -- was to reach peace and understanding through forgiveness. Such material does not yield easily to dramatic storytelling.
The script by South African-born Ann Peacock, based on a book by Antjie Krog, an Afrikaan poet who covered the trial for radio and print, imagines two fictional characters through whose eyes we witness and react to the testimony. The movie never completely succeeds with this clumsy contrivance.
With Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche as sparring reporters, Sony Pictures Classics has a fighting chance to reach adult audiences in specialty venues. But clearly, the marketing department has a chore on its hands to inspire moviegoing interest in a topic that may feel remote to many Americans.
Indeed Jackson's Langston Whitfield, a D.C.-based reporter for the Washington Post, himself wonders why his editors want him to fly to South Africa to listen to stories about white authorities abusing black citizens. He can hear that any day right at home. But off he goes, and his first encounter with an Afrikaaner is with Binoche's radio reporter Anna Malan, a character based in part on Krog.
It's a pretty hostile encounter because Langston has already made up his mind about the guilt of all Afrikaans. But with Anna's sound engineer Dumi (young South African TV star Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane) acting as an eager and often amused referee, the two continue to debate this issue as they follow the traveling commission through the countryside.
The overly melodramatic script manufactures episodes such as a flat tire and nearby bar so both can let their hair down and argue their point of view. That these two married people wind up in the sack may be stretching the meaning of truth and reconciliation. But this does point up a problem the movie never solves: how to impose a fictional drama on such overwhelming real-life events without the fictional stuff coming off as trivial.
The charisma and hard work by his two leads allows Boorman to succeed beyond all expectations. The relationship and inner struggles of these two individuals do manage to reflect the problem of how a country goes about resolving its pain. And the stories recounted to the commission get to the root of what made apartheid so evil: It was not just the viciousness of its crimes but its daily humiliations designed to make an entire group of people feel subhuman.
Occasionally, the movie cuts to an interview Langston gets with an army colonel, who is meant to embody all apartheid evil. In contrast to the spare and moving testimony at the hearings, this unrepentant, whiskey-soaked confession come off as that of a B-movie Nazi. Brendan Gleeson is a great actor, but even he can do little with such an ill-conceived character. An out-of-nowhere suicide by a minor character at the end is equally as heavy-handed.
Seamus Deasy's lush cinematography contrasts the grim testimony with spectacular landscapes, underscoring Anna's dilemma of how one who dearly loves a beautiful country can reconcile that love with the crimes committed to keep it "white." The music, a compilation of black South African secular and religious music, is another major plus.
COUNTRY OF MY SKULL
Sony Pictures Classics
Phoenix Pictures presents a Film Consortium and Merlin Films production in association with the U.K. Film Council and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa
Credits:
Director: John Boorman
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock
Based on the book by: Antjie Krog
Producers: Robert Chartoff, Mike Medavoy, John Boorman, Kieran Corrigan, Lynn Hendee, David Wicht
Executive producers: Chris Auty, Neil Peplow, Mfundi Vundla, Duncan Reid, Sam Bhembe, Jamie Brown
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Production designer: Derek Wallace
Music supervisor: Philip King
Costume designer: Jo Katsaras
Editor: Ron Davis
Cast:
Langston Whitfield: Samuel L. Jackson
Anna Malan: Juliette Binoche
De Jager: Brendan Gleeson
Dumi Mkhalipi: Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane
Anderson: Sam Ngakane
Elsa: Aletta Bezuidenhout
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Screened
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- In "Country of My Skull", John Boorman, never a director to shy away from a challenge, tries to understand the crimes of South Africa's apartheid system by creating a fictional drama out of that country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The TRC was South Africa's substitute for a war crimes tribunal. Over many months, this commission took testimony directly from victims and perpetrators. A full and honest confession could result in amnesty for white oppressors, yet the commission's goal -- deemed successful by some but not all South Africans -- was to reach peace and understanding through forgiveness. Such material does not yield easily to dramatic storytelling.
The script by South African-born Ann Peacock, based on a book by Antjie Krog, an Afrikaan poet who covered the trial for radio and print, imagines two fictional characters through whose eyes we witness and react to the testimony. The movie never completely succeeds with this clumsy contrivance.
With Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche as sparring reporters, Sony Pictures Classics has a fighting chance to reach adult audiences in specialty venues. But clearly, the marketing department has a chore on its hands to inspire moviegoing interest in a topic that may feel remote to many Americans.
Indeed Jackson's Langston Whitfield, a D.C.-based reporter for the Washington Post, himself wonders why his editors want him to fly to South Africa to listen to stories about white authorities abusing black citizens. He can hear that any day right at home. But off he goes, and his first encounter with an Afrikaaner is with Binoche's radio reporter Anna Malan, a character based in part on Krog.
It's a pretty hostile encounter because Langston has already made up his mind about the guilt of all Afrikaans. But with Anna's sound engineer Dumi (young South African TV star Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane) acting as an eager and often amused referee, the two continue to debate this issue as they follow the traveling commission through the countryside.
The overly melodramatic script manufactures episodes such as a flat tire and nearby bar so both can let their hair down and argue their point of view. That these two married people wind up in the sack may be stretching the meaning of truth and reconciliation. But this does point up a problem the movie never solves: how to impose a fictional drama on such overwhelming real-life events without the fictional stuff coming off as trivial.
The charisma and hard work by his two leads allows Boorman to succeed beyond all expectations. The relationship and inner struggles of these two individuals do manage to reflect the problem of how a country goes about resolving its pain. And the stories recounted to the commission get to the root of what made apartheid so evil: It was not just the viciousness of its crimes but its daily humiliations designed to make an entire group of people feel subhuman.
Occasionally, the movie cuts to an interview Langston gets with an army colonel, who is meant to embody all apartheid evil. In contrast to the spare and moving testimony at the hearings, this unrepentant, whiskey-soaked confession come off as that of a B-movie Nazi. Brendan Gleeson is a great actor, but even he can do little with such an ill-conceived character. An out-of-nowhere suicide by a minor character at the end is equally as heavy-handed.
Seamus Deasy's lush cinematography contrasts the grim testimony with spectacular landscapes, underscoring Anna's dilemma of how one who dearly loves a beautiful country can reconcile that love with the crimes committed to keep it "white." The music, a compilation of black South African secular and religious music, is another major plus.
COUNTRY OF MY SKULL
Sony Pictures Classics
Phoenix Pictures presents a Film Consortium and Merlin Films production in association with the U.K. Film Council and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa
Credits:
Director: John Boorman
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock
Based on the book by: Antjie Krog
Producers: Robert Chartoff, Mike Medavoy, John Boorman, Kieran Corrigan, Lynn Hendee, David Wicht
Executive producers: Chris Auty, Neil Peplow, Mfundi Vundla, Duncan Reid, Sam Bhembe, Jamie Brown
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Production designer: Derek Wallace
Music supervisor: Philip King
Costume designer: Jo Katsaras
Editor: Ron Davis
Cast:
Langston Whitfield: Samuel L. Jackson
Anna Malan: Juliette Binoche
De Jager: Brendan Gleeson
Dumi Mkhalipi: Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane
Anderson: Sam Ngakane
Elsa: Aletta Bezuidenhout
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- In "Country of My Skull", John Boorman, never a director to shy away from a challenge, tries to understand the crimes of South Africa's apartheid system by creating a fictional drama out of that country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The TRC was South Africa's substitute for a war crimes tribunal. Over many months, this commission took testimony directly from victims and perpetrators. A full and honest confession could result in amnesty for white oppressors, yet the commission's goal -- deemed successful by some but not all South Africans -- was to reach peace and understanding through forgiveness. Such material does not yield easily to dramatic storytelling.
The script by South African-born Ann Peacock, based on a book by Antjie Krog, an Afrikaan poet who covered the trial for radio and print, imagines two fictional characters through whose eyes we witness and react to the testimony. The movie never completely succeeds with this clumsy contrivance.
With Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche as sparring reporters, Sony Pictures Classics has a fighting chance to reach adult audiences in specialty venues. But clearly, the marketing department has a chore on its hands to inspire moviegoing interest in a topic that may feel remote to many Americans.
Indeed Jackson's Langston Whitfield, a D.C.-based reporter for the Washington Post, himself wonders why his editors want him to fly to South Africa to listen to stories about white authorities abusing black citizens. He can hear that any day right at home. But off he goes, and his first encounter with an Afrikaaner is with Binoche's radio reporter Anna Malan, a character based in part on Krog.
It's a pretty hostile encounter because Langston has already made up his mind about the guilt of all Afrikaans. But with Anna's sound engineer Dumi (young South African TV star Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane) acting as an eager and often amused referee, the two continue to debate this issue as they follow the traveling commission through the countryside.
The overly melodramatic script manufactures episodes such as a flat tire and nearby bar so both can let their hair down and argue their point of view. That these two married people wind up in the sack may be stretching the meaning of truth and reconciliation. But this does point up a problem the movie never solves: how to impose a fictional drama on such overwhelming real-life events without the fictional stuff coming off as trivial.
The charisma and hard work by his two leads allows Boorman to succeed beyond all expectations. The relationship and inner struggles of these two individuals do manage to reflect the problem of how a country goes about resolving its pain. And the stories recounted to the commission get to the root of what made apartheid so evil: It was not just the viciousness of its crimes but its daily humiliations designed to make an entire group of people feel subhuman.
Occasionally, the movie cuts to an interview Langston gets with an army colonel, who is meant to embody all apartheid evil. In contrast to the spare and moving testimony at the hearings, this unrepentant, whiskey-soaked confession come off as that of a B-movie Nazi. Brendan Gleeson is a great actor, but even he can do little with such an ill-conceived character. An out-of-nowhere suicide by a minor character at the end is equally as heavy-handed.
Seamus Deasy's lush cinematography contrasts the grim testimony with spectacular landscapes, underscoring Anna's dilemma of how one who dearly loves a beautiful country can reconcile that love with the crimes committed to keep it "white." The music, a compilation of black South African secular and religious music, is another major plus.
COUNTRY OF MY SKULL
Sony Pictures Classics
Phoenix Pictures presents a Film Consortium and Merlin Films production in association with the U.K. Film Council and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa
Credits:
Director: John Boorman
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock
Based on the book by: Antjie Krog
Producers: Robert Chartoff, Mike Medavoy, John Boorman, Kieran Corrigan, Lynn Hendee, David Wicht
Executive producers: Chris Auty, Neil Peplow, Mfundi Vundla, Duncan Reid, Sam Bhembe, Jamie Brown
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Production designer: Derek Wallace
Music supervisor: Philip King
Costume designer: Jo Katsaras
Editor: Ron Davis
Cast:
Langston Whitfield: Samuel L. Jackson
Anna Malan: Juliette Binoche
De Jager: Brendan Gleeson
Dumi Mkhalipi: Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane
Anderson: Sam Ngakane
Elsa: Aletta Bezuidenhout
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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