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A Dry White Season

  • 1989
  • R
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
5.9K
YOUR RATING
A Dry White Season (1989)
DramaThriller

A white middle class South African suburbanite with no interest in politics agrees to help his black gardener find his jailed son. His investigation opens his eyes to the horrors committed b... Read allA white middle class South African suburbanite with no interest in politics agrees to help his black gardener find his jailed son. His investigation opens his eyes to the horrors committed by the secret police and turns him into a target.A white middle class South African suburbanite with no interest in politics agrees to help his black gardener find his jailed son. His investigation opens his eyes to the horrors committed by the secret police and turns him into a target.

  • Director
    • Euzhan Palcy
  • Writers
    • André P. Brink
    • Colin Welland
    • Euzhan Palcy
  • Stars
    • Donald Sutherland
    • Janet Suzman
    • Zakes Mokae
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    5.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Euzhan Palcy
    • Writers
      • André P. Brink
      • Colin Welland
      • Euzhan Palcy
    • Stars
      • Donald Sutherland
      • Janet Suzman
      • Zakes Mokae
    • 43User reviews
    • 24Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 wins & 9 nominations total

    Photos50

    "Dry White Season, A" Marlon Brando
    A Dry White Season (1989)
    A Dry White Season (1989)
    A Dry White Season (1989)
    Marlon Brando and Michael Gambon in A Dry White Season (1989)
    Marlon Brando and Michael Gambon in A Dry White Season (1989)
    Marlon Brando in A Dry White Season (1989)
    Marlon Brando in A Dry White Season (1989)
    Michael Gambon in A Dry White Season (1989)
    Marlon Brando in A Dry White Season (1989)
    Marlon Brando in A Dry White Season (1989)
    Marlon Brando in A Dry White Season (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Donald Sutherland
    Donald Sutherland
    • Ben
    Janet Suzman
    Janet Suzman
    • Susan
    Zakes Mokae
    Zakes Mokae
    • Stanley
    Jürgen Prochnow
    Jürgen Prochnow
    • Captain Stolz
    • (as Jurgen Prochnow)
    Susan Sarandon
    Susan Sarandon
    • Melanie
    Marlon Brando
    Marlon Brando
    • McKenzie
    Winston Ntshona
    Winston Ntshona
    • Gordon
    Thoko Ntshinga
    • Emily
    Leonard Maguire
    • Bruwer
    Gerard Thoolen
    Gerard Thoolen
    • Col. Viljoen
    Susannah Harker
    Susannah Harker
    • Suzette
    Andrew Whaley
    • Chris
    Rowen Elmes
    • Johan
    Stella Dickin
    • Susan's Mother
    David de Keyser
    David de Keyser
    • Susan's Father
    • (as David De Keyser)
    John Kani
    John Kani
    • Julius
    Sophie Mgcina
    • Margaret
    Bekhithemba Mpofu
    • Jonathan
    • Director
      • Euzhan Palcy
    • Writers
      • André P. Brink
      • Colin Welland
      • Euzhan Palcy
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      With this movie, writer and director Euzhan Palcy became the first Black woman to direct a major Hollywood movie.
    • Goofs
      When the camera pulls away from the court house (Harare City Hall) a bus drives past displaying an advertisement for Balkan Bulgarian Airlines, which flew to Zimbabwe, but not to South Africa under apartheid during the 1970s.
    • Quotes

      Ian McKenzie: Justice and law, Mr. Du Toit, are often just... well they're, I suppose they can be described as distant cousins. And here in South Africa, well, they're simply not on speaking terms at all.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Black Rain/Heavy Petting/In Country/A Dry White Season/Heart of Dixie (1989)
    • Soundtracks
      Unomatheba
      Written by Joseph Shabalala

      Performed by Ladysmith Black Mambazo

      Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records

      Produced by Danny Lawson for Night After Night, Ltd.

    User reviews43

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    could have been more compelling as a movie
    It's 1976. Ben du Toit (Donald Sutherland) is a liberal South African schoolmaster and a former rugby star. He is shocked by the police beating of his gardener Gordon's son but does nothing. When the kids gather to protest the teaching of Afrikaans, the police reply with violence. Gordon's son goes missing. Ben, in his sheltered life, tries to help and the police tells him that he's dead. Ben again advises Gordon to leave it alone. Gordon continues to investigate and gets arrested. Captain Stolz (Jürgen Prochnow) is the man in charge of torturing Gordon. Gordon's wife brings lawyer Stanley Makhaya (Zakes Mokae). The police claims that Gordon committed suicide. Stanley brings Ben to the Soweto township and shown the truth of his torture. Melanie Bruwer (Susan Sarandon) is a newspaper reporter. Civil rights lawyer Ian McKenzie (Marlon Brando) relents to Ben and takes on the case.

    Ben is a clueless idiot at the start of the movie and that is the part that I dislike most about the movie. It would be so much better for Ben to be in denial. Sutherland plays it so wide eye and ill-informed. It would be more dramatic and better as character development that he doesn't come off as ignorant at the beginning. The court case in the middle drags on a little too much. It's often hard to switch into court like that. There isn't the shock of revelation since the movie already showed the torture earlier. This is also very heavy handed. This feels like a sermon more than a drama. Having Marlon Brando there pontificating doesn't help. The other problem is that after the court case, the movie goes back to the white folks. Even though it's not the movie intention, the black folks get sidelined. Nevertheless, it's an interesting attempt at bringing South Africa to the big screen.
    helpful•7
    2
    • SnoopyStyle
    • Sep 17, 2014

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 20, 1989 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Afrikaans
      • Zulu
    • Also known as
      • Weiße Zeit der Dürre
    • Filming locations
      • Zimbabwe
    • Production companies
      • Davros Films
      • Star Partners II Ltd.
      • Sundance Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $9,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,766,879
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $202,507
      • Sep 24, 1989
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,766,879
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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