Boesman and Lena (2000)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

John Berry

Writers:

John Berry (writer)
Athol Fugard (play)

Release Date:

4 April 2001 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Intense love and hate bring a man and woman through personal tragedy.

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Based On Play | Character Name In Title

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Danny Glover	...	Boesman
Angela Bassett	...	Lena
Willie Jonah	...	Old Man
Graham Weir	...	Recycle man
Anton Stoltz	...	Farmer

Also Known As:

Boesman & Lena (France)

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

South Africa | France

Language:

English | Afrikaans

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | France:U | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Company:

Pathé Image Production

Movie Connections:

Version of Boesman and Lena (1974)

When you have fallen into a pit, the edge of the ground is your horizon.

An absorbing (although repetitive and rather didactic) analysis of exploitation and despair in a situation where there is no way forward or up, where the attempts to make yourself feel better by violating and putting down whoever is below you seems to be the only option. But even here, in this desolate wasteland of lost dreams and no future, that does not work, and reaching out to something or someone to comfort and share with, a simple act of charity, gives some reward, even if it just makes the present bearable by reviving memories of the past.

Although there is little actual on screen violence, this is a harsh and brutal film about the small mindedness of oppression (politically and personally) that does not make for easy entertainment. Clearly based on a play, with a small cast, a broader more expansive relation to the general social and political environment would possibly have helped the film to reach a wider audience.