Goodbye Bafana (2007)

GOODBYE BAFANA is the true story of a white South African racist whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner he guarded for twenty years. The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela.

Director:

Bille August

Writers:

Bille August, Bob Graham (book),

Stars:

Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Diane Kruger

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Fiennes	...	James Gregory
Dennis Haysbert	...	Nelson Mandela
Diane Kruger	...	Gloria Gregory
Patrick Lyster	...	Major Pieter Jordaan
Shiloh Henderson	...	Brent Gregory
Tyrone Keogh	...	Brent Gregory
Megan Smith	...	Natasha Gregory
Jessica Manuel	...	Natasha Gregory
Faith Ndukwana	...	Winnie Mandela
Terry Pheto	...	Zindzi Mandela
Leslie Mongezi	...	Walter Sisulu
Zingizile Mtuzula	...	Raymond Mhlaba (as Zingi Mtuzula)
Mehboob Bawa	...	Ahmed Kathrada
Shakes Myeko	...	Andrew Mlangeni
Sizwe Msutu	...	Cyril Ramaphosa

Storyline

James Gregory once lived in a farm and had befriended a native youth, Bafana, and had even had a photograph taken with him. Years later, now married to Gloria and father of three children (Chris, Brett, and Natasha), James has nothing but shame and regret, as many South African Caucasians in the oppressive Apartheid-era ridiculed him, leading him to hate Africans. He seeks to redeem himself by spying on imprisoned African National Congress Leader, Nelson Mandela. In the restrictive high security prison his job is to censor all written and verbal communications between prisoners, their visitors, and correspondence. James is uncomfortable when he witnesses Caucasian police and security officers' brutality against civilians, including infants, and tries to understand why Nelson became a rebel. This leads him to examine the 'Freedom Charter', a banned document, reportedly known to incite violence against 'whites'. And when he does read this document, he changes his mind about Nelson's ...

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Plot Keywords:

nelson mandela | african national congress | prison life | racism | apartheid | 

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Taglines:

Based on the memoirs of Nelson Mandela's prison guard

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Germany France Belgium South Africa Italy UK Luxembourg

Language:

English Xhosa

Release Date:

11 April 2007 (France)

Also Known As:

The Color of Freedom

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Banana Films, Arsam International, Film Afrika Worldwide

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Nelson Mandela: [in prison, to his visiting wife, speaking Xhosa; subtitles read] Tell him that all of us in here agree he should escalate the armed struggle. The country must become ungovernable.

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Soundtracks

"Manqoba"
Composed, Produced and Arranged by Johnny Clegg
Guitar, Mouthbow, Vocals by Johnny Clegg
Vocals by Mandisa Dlanga
Drum Programming by Verny Scholtz
Recorded and Mixed by Verny Scholtz at Eleven Studios, Johannesburg

User Reviews

goodbye discrimination

Goodbye Bafana is a touching, thought-provoking movie. Extremely well acted, I loved Joseph Fiennes (James Gregory) and Dennis Haysbert (Nelson Mandela) in their roles, and Diane Kruger (Gloria Gregory) did well, too. The movie has the slow, a bit mysterious charm in it, as August's movies usually do. The color scheme was like African dust, diluted, sometimes almost raw in the scorching sun. Music supported various scenes very well, without being too prominent.

The movie starts when a young prison warden James Gregory arrives to Robben Island 1968 and is addressed to keep an eye on Nelson Mandela, who is being imprisoned there for his political views. Gregory gets this mission, because he speaks xhosa, the local language, and therefore is able to read (and censor) the correspondence in and out of the prison, as well as understand what the prisoners talk to each other.

James Gregory is a faithful supporter of apartheid. He believes these black men are behind bars for a good reason and he supports the government politics. After he and his family witness a raid in a busy street, where black people are randomly harassed, Gregory has to answer the questions of his children - and his explanations sounded shallow even in his own ears. Very slowly, over the years, he became to see through the apartheid and change his views.

Dennis Haysbert was chosen to the role of Mandela, because of his quiet, distinctive charm and mental power. He did a great job. Joseph Fiennes was chosen because Bille August wanted an actor, who was tough and yet sensitive, someone who would be able to portray the change in the character in a period of almost thirty years. It was a very challenging role but Joe did a marvelous job.

There has been a lot of talk about his South African accent, and mostly it has been praised. I followed it very closely, and I think Joe did fine in that area, too. In some scenes the British accent is more or less audible, but most of the time he does a wonderful job.

Diane Kruger did a good job as James's wife, a mother of two, who was also raising their kids to support the apartheid. She opposed her husband being a warden for Nelson Mandela, because she could see that the close contact with the inmate made cracks to James's shield and his racistic opinions were vanishing rapidly. She tried to hold onto the apartheid views for much longer than her husband.

The movie ends to a year 1990, when Nelson Mandela is released from prison after being incarcerated for 27 years. The era of the new South Africa was to begin.