Cry, the Beloved Country Movie Review 1995

Alan Paton's classic South African apartheid novel (first filmed in 1951) depicts a Zulu Christian pastor and a wealthy white farmer finding common ground through personal loss--both of their sons were killed in regional violence. Rural black minister Stephen Kumalo (Jones), travels to Johannesburg only to discover his sister (Kente) is a prostitute, his younger brother John (Dutton) no longer believes in Christianity and his son is in prison for the murder of a white man. That man turns out to be the son of rich farmer James Jarvis (Harris), from Kumalo's own village. Both Jones and Harris turn in wonderfully understated performances in this hopeful tale of potential racial harmony.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS
Running time 120 minutes.
Originally from South African.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Urban Drama, Apartheid, Nuns & Priests, Oldest Profession, Dads

Screenplay

Ronald Atwood

Cast

James Earl Jones, Richard Harris, Charles S. Dutton, Leleti Khumalo, Dambisa Kente, Vusi Kunene, Eric Miyeni, Ian Robers

Cinematography

Paul Gilpin

Director

Darrell Roodt

Music

John Barry

Producer

Anant Singh, Sanjeev Singh, Sudhir Pragjee, Harry Alan Towers, Distant Horizon, Miramax Films