Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (DVD REVIEW)
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
DVD
Review by Kam Williams
Adaptation of South African Icon’s Autobiography Arrives on
DVD
Nelson
“Madiba” Mandela (Idris Elba) started secretly writing his autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom” while still serving what he had every reason to
believe might very well be a life sentence on Robben Island.
The lawyer-turned-spokesman for the outlawed African National Congress had been
convicted of treason for trying to dismantle South Africa’s racist regime.
But
he was indeed freed following 27 years in prison of imprisonment when
the bloody civil war was on the brink of bringing an end to Apartheid. At that
point, Mandela assured the apprehensive white minority that despite the fact
that, “Fear has made you an unjust and brutal people, when we come to power,
there will be no revenge.”
Soon
thereafter, he was democratically elected the nation’s first black president,
assuming the reigns of power in 1994. And that transition to majority rule did
prove to be smooth, with the help of pardons for crimes against humanity being
granted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to guilty parties from both
sides of the conflict.
Directed by
Justin Chadwick, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is
an epic biopic chronicling the rise, incarceration and ultimate redemption of
the recently-deceased political icon. Versatile British actor Idris
Elba exhibits the requisite combination of outrage, dignity, empathy and steely
resolve needed to portray the late leader convincingly.
Still,
since Mandela spends the bulk of the movie behind bars, much of the action
revolves around his wife Winnie’s (Naomie Harris) efforts to raise their
children while spearheading the movement in her husband’s absence. Sadly, the
decades-long separation eventually took a toll on their marriage, between the
denial of conjugal visits and Winnie’s resorting to ruthless methods to silence
suspected snitches.
This film
easily eclipses a biopic covering the same subject-matter called Winnie
Mandela, released just a couple of months ago. That relatively-pathetic
disappointment co-starring Terence Howard and Jennifer Hudson as Nelson and
Winnie, respectively, was marred by the protagonists’ atrocious accents as well
as by a disappointing script.
By
contrast, this inspirational adaptation of Madiba’s autobiography more than
does justice to his legacy first as a freedom fighter and later as a unifying
figure for all of South Africa.
Excellent
(4 stars)
PG-13 for sexuality, intense violence, disturbing images and
brief profanity
In English, Afrikaans and Xhosa with subtitles
Running time: 141
minutes
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Entertainment / The Weinstein Company
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Extras: Mandela: The Leader You Know,
The Man You Didn’t; Behind-the-Scenes featurettes; Tribute Video Gallery; and
Director’s Feature Commentary;
To see a trailer for Mandela:
Long Walk to Freedom, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyo-XeVcan4
To order a copy of the Blu-ray/DVD
Combo Pack, visit:
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