Color of Freedom (Goodbye Bafana)

Over the long period of human history a very people have distinguished themselves far above the common crowd. These men and women took a stand not only for themselves but far more importantly for mankind. One such person is Nelson Mandela. He grew up in South Africa during the time when they had apartheid government; a system where racial prejudice was formalized by the laws of the land. As a black man his rights were subject to the ruling white minority. He fought this system valiantly and spent 27 years of his life in prison. His methods for fighting the ruling government was non-violent, based of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. During his time in prison he was placed in the lowest group of inmates permitted only one letter and one visitor per month. It is unimaginable to consider the isolation and hardship this man endured for the cause of freedom. During his decades in Robben Island he was under the watchful eyes of white warders. Mandela became closer to one of the guards and reportedly helped to change his views on racism. The film ‘Color of Freedom’, being released to DVD by Image Entertainment, tells the story of these two men. Originally the film had a limited theatrical release under the title ‘Goodbye Bafana’. While the subject matter here is intense the film falls short of truly reaching its potential. While it could have been better constructed the movie is worth watching.

The story written by Greg Latter is based on the book by James Gregory and Bob Graham. Gregory was the guard who had the relationship with Mandel. The first problem with the film is with the script. It is frequently heavy handed trying too hard to push the point on the audience. The story is an emotionally moving one and would have stood on its own without such a forceful approach to show the changes in Gregory’s view of the world. This tends to reduce a meaningful story to melodrama more suited for a television movie of the week. There has been some criticism of the novel particularly that the events depicted are for the large part fabricated. I have read that Mandela has described Gregory as an intelligent man of good breeding but nothing to indicate the closeness of the relationship shown in this story. Most of the previous script credits for Latter are in some minor dramas and a few action flicks. They include such works as ‘Cyborg Cop’, ‘American Ninja V’ and ‘Delta Force 3’. There is a long road between a character driven film like this and action flick sequels and while Latter shows promise here he just missed the mark. There is just nothing in this story to grab and hold the attention of the audience. It is angst ridden characters forcing the issue of a moral dilemma.

The film was directed by Danish film maker Bille August. He has a solid list of films under his belt including the screen rendition of ‘Les Misérables’. He also has garnered an Emmy for both of the two episodes of ‘Young Indiana Jones’ he helmed. His work here did get him the ‘Peace Film Award’ and a nomination for the ‘Golden Bear’ at the Berlin International Film Festival. Among the lengthy lists of awards he has taken he has the coveted ‘Golden Palm’ form the Cannes Film Festival. This is a man who knows how to direct. He does his best here but in the final analysis has little to work with as far as the script goes. He paces the film slowly, helping the actors to get a chance to delve into their characters as much as possible. What were needed were a few dramatic moments to highlight the change in attitude undergone by Gregory. Too little time is given to Mandela in this piece. While this is understandable considering it was from Gregory’s point of view. To have one of the noblest men in history as part of the story and not show his side decreases the impact of the film. Pacing in a film like this has to be extremely difficult. The change is extended over the period of some three decades. August does hold things together very well in this aspect.

The story begins in 1968 when Nelson Mandela (Dennis Haysbert) was transported to Robben’s Island to start his long prison term. James Gregory (Joseph Fiennes) is just one of many Afrikaans guards at the prison. One of the main reasons he was chosen as Mandala’s primary guard is Gregory is fluent in Mandala’s native language of xhosa. This would like Gregory censor the infrequent letters and monitor is rare visits. Gregory is a firm believer in the apartheid, If these black men were sentenced to prison it was because they broke the law and deserved the punishment. Outside the prison Gregory has a fairly normal life. He and his wife Gloria (Diane Kruger) have two young children. Gregory is a doting father and loving husband. This is loving environment is in stark contrast to the conditions in the prison. The black prisoners are beaten, humiliated and degraded without provocation. Through all the hardships imposed on the prisoners Gregory begins to notice that his charge was different. Mandela is quiet, unimposing and possesses a pervading sense of dignity. Gregory is certain of his racial superiority, a position virtually bred into him. Still has his interaction with Mandela increases he begins to wonder. His wife is overjoyed that her husband was chosen to guard Mandela. He is the most important political prison in the country and this could be a chance for James to advance but in his career and socially. One day while out with his children Gregory sees some soldiers rounding up random black people. The soldiers brutally beat the men and women herding some into police wagons to take them away. Gregory tries to hide the scene by covering the eyes of his children but he can’t mask the screams of pain and terror. He slowly begins to see the black population through Mandela and Gregory’s doubts about the system grow.

There is some talk about the struggling resistance movement but we never get to witness any of it. In a fashion this is realistic since the viewpoint is Gregory’s and that restricts what can be shown to the audience. Joseph Fiennes was the perfect choice for the role of James Gregory. His is an understated actor who is excellent in letting his character’s emotions simmer beneath the surface. He is not imposing here; the authority that Gregory has comes from his official position not his stature. Fiennes is able to capture the personal growth of the man over the decades. Dennis Haysbert is less convincing as Mandela, albeit this is a difficult task for any actor. Haysbert portrays the quiet nature of the man but misses out on what many have called his presence.

Image is one of the go to places for independent films like this. While this one fails to reach it’s for potential, like many Image releases it is an interesting movie and still better than many of the Indy flicks out there. Hopefully this is film that will create some conversations. It is a film about a part of history that is shameful and has to be remembered.

Posted 03/21/08