The remake of Cry, the Beloved Country is a lot different than the 1951 original. The remake will have you bawling into your handkerchief, and the original will most likely struggle to keep you riveted. It's a great example of how Hollywood can take a look at an original movie and see the potential to explore more of an undeveloped storyline and turn it into its own film.
Canada Lee stars as a minister who travels all over South Africa to find his nephew. He meets up with another minister, Sidney Poitier, and as they witness apartheid, they discuss their views and feelings. There's a small portion of the movie that features an older, white couple, Charles Carson and Joyce Carey, who are also looking for their son and discover he's been killed. If you're seen the remake, you know that Richard Harris has a significantly larger part than Charles Carson. The vast majority of this movie is about Canada Lee. If you're a fan of his, you'll want to catch the few movies he made before his tragic end; this was his last.
The most interesting part of this film is the story behind the filming location. It was the first film to be made in South Africa, and the black actors had to pretend to they were indentured servants to the director, Zoltan Korda. When we make movies about that time period now, it has to be recreated. It's an entirely different feeling to watch a movie about apartheid that had to follow its rules at the time of the filming.
Canada Lee stars as a minister who travels all over South Africa to find his nephew. He meets up with another minister, Sidney Poitier, and as they witness apartheid, they discuss their views and feelings. There's a small portion of the movie that features an older, white couple, Charles Carson and Joyce Carey, who are also looking for their son and discover he's been killed. If you're seen the remake, you know that Richard Harris has a significantly larger part than Charles Carson. The vast majority of this movie is about Canada Lee. If you're a fan of his, you'll want to catch the few movies he made before his tragic end; this was his last.
The most interesting part of this film is the story behind the filming location. It was the first film to be made in South Africa, and the black actors had to pretend to they were indentured servants to the director, Zoltan Korda. When we make movies about that time period now, it has to be recreated. It's an entirely different feeling to watch a movie about apartheid that had to follow its rules at the time of the filming.