The last three words in the title of “The State Against Mandela and the Others” make an apparent afterthought of the nine men tried alongside Nelson Mandela for crimes against the apartheid state in the landmark Rivonia Trial of 1963-64. Even in the opening credits, they appear after a lag, as if to say, “Oh, and those guys too.” Directors Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte are quite aware that they’re reflecting general public awareness with this tongue-in-cheek sidelining, for their absorbing, surprisingly inventive documentary account of the trial makes these “others” its heroic stars. Weaving the reflections of those still alive into an artful fusion of recently excavated archive audio and atmospheric interpretive animation, the film brings emotive, enlightening perspective to a case that may be most famous for putting Mandela in prison for 27 years, but ruptured many other lives besides.
That said, ongoing international fascination with Mandela’s...
That said, ongoing international fascination with Mandela’s...
- 5/22/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
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