Like "Cry Freedom" and "A World Apart", "A Dry White Season" looks at someone who begins to see the truth of life for black South Africans under apartheid. In this case, it's a teacher (Donald Sutherland) in a whites-only school in 1976. When the son of his gardener gets attacked by the police at a protest, the teacher investigates, drawing the ire of the authorities. There are some pretty gruesome scenes of massacres and torture (and remember, this was in a country that the west claimed was a democracy).
One line caught my attention. The teacher's wife (Janet Suzman, niece of anti-apartheid activist Helen Suzman) says of South Africa's black population "Don't you think they'd do the same to us if given the chance?" Crime has persisted since the end of apartheid, and most of the black population is no better off than it was under apartheid. In fact, due to massive privatization as apartheid was ending, much of the country's infrastructure is in a state of disarray. The question is whether one prefers a totalitarian government that provides services or a democratic one that doesn't.
Anyway, a good movie. Despite the emphasis on Susan Sarandon and Marlon Brando, they have smaller roles than I expected. Whatever the case, I recommend it.
One line caught my attention. The teacher's wife (Janet Suzman, niece of anti-apartheid activist Helen Suzman) says of South Africa's black population "Don't you think they'd do the same to us if given the chance?" Crime has persisted since the end of apartheid, and most of the black population is no better off than it was under apartheid. In fact, due to massive privatization as apartheid was ending, much of the country's infrastructure is in a state of disarray. The question is whether one prefers a totalitarian government that provides services or a democratic one that doesn't.
Anyway, a good movie. Despite the emphasis on Susan Sarandon and Marlon Brando, they have smaller roles than I expected. Whatever the case, I recommend it.