Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony (2002)

Director:

Lee Hirsch

Writer:

Lee Hirsch (writer)

Release Date:

6 November 2003 (Australia)

Genre:

Documentary | History | Music

Plot:

Interviews, archival footage, and filmed performances highlight the role of music in the South African struggle against apartheid.

Plot Keywords:

Apartheid | Freedom | Civil Rights | Protest | South Africa

Awards:

11 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Walter Cronkite	...	Himself (voice)
F.W. de Klerk	...	Himself (archive footage)
Abdullah Ibrahim	...	Himself
Jesse Jackson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Duma Ka Ndlovu	...	Himself
Ronnie Kasrils	...	Himself
Sibongile Khumalo	...	Herself
Vusi Mahlasela	...	Himself
Miriam Makeba	...	Herself
Nelson Mandela	...	Himself (archive footage)
Winnie Mandela	...	Herself (archive footage)
Hugh Masekela	...	Himself
Sophie Mgcina	...	Herself
Thandi Modise	...	Herself
Sifiso Ntuli	...	Himself
Sibusiso Nxumalo	...	Himself
Dolly Rathebe	...	Herself
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lindiwe Zulu	...	Herself

Also Known As:

Amandla! (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some images of violence, and for momentary language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

South Africa | USA

Language:

English | Zulu

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

ATO Pictures

An inspiring look at music as a catalyst for change

"Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony" is a documentary that is riveting and educational, uplifting and heartbreaking. The contrasts are all laid bare in this project, making it a worthwhile film to watch.

The focal point of the documentary is the role music played in the lives of South Africans as they endured and overcame the Apartheid movement. Director Leon Hirsch interviews a number of singers, composers, DJs and freedom fighters, young and old. He follows the history of Apartheid by tracing the music that came out of the struggle and what happened to those who created it.

I think what grabbed me was how much of a role music plays in great periods of change. It was also a driving force of African-Americans in the U.S. who were fighting segregation during the 60s. The spirituals that buoyed them share a similar history to those songs sung in South Africa.

The music chosen was a wonderful collection I want to hear again. I also enjoyed seeing the laughter of many of the singers as they looked at old photographs, remembering younger days.

I also liked that Hirsch interviewed a white freedom fighter who was sent to Pretoria prison for several years. His interviews with the white Afrikkaners who formerly worked as riot police and jailers are chilling but necessary.

My hope is that more Americans will see this film so they fully realize the scope of Apartheid in South Africa and what a triumph it was to see it overturned. Was it really 1994 when black South Africans were finally allowed to vote? It breaks my heart.

As a teenager in the 80s, I knew hardly anything about Apartheid. This film did a good job in changing that.