Sarafina!

Sarafina! is all about strength, about people lacking it and people overflowing with it. Sarafina herself is a Soweto girl with great hopes for the future, despite her family's poverty and her mother's (Miriam Makeba) work away from home, forcing Sarafina to take care of her younger siblings. This is South Africa, Johannesburg, during the Apartheid regime, Mandela is in prison and the black children are forbidden to speak their own language, Xosa (you know, the click language... :)). Yet, Sarafina dreams. Her world brightens up when her class get a new teacher (Whoopi Goldberg), who teaches them about their worth and to be proud of their heritage. I fully recommend this movie, the actors, young and practically unheard of, are fantastic, the script is sharp, and the music! See this movie for the music alone. No Makeba, but lots of powerful political Soweto tunes. Go Sarafina!

I believe Sarafina is a tremendous effort of Whoopi Goldberg. Besides her, there are no other stars in the film and her role is smaller than the title character, Sarafina. Since I work in a high school with urban children, I think this is an important film to show South African history of apartheid. Sarafina is a movie about education and a teacher's relationship with her student, Sarafina. I bought the video for practically nothing at a videostore. I watched it and fast forwarded through the musical numbers. But I strongly recommend this film to educators and their students to understand. Now while I don't know the other actors and actresses in the film, I assume that they are very popular in South Africa and I am glad that they filmed with a South African cast and crew with the exception of Goldberg in a small role but if it gets people to see this movie, than Whoopi reaches worldwide appeal.

I saw this movie, and the play, and I have to add that this was the most touching story that I had ever seen. Until I saw this movie I was unaware of how awful life was and probably still is for the South African children and adults that were and are living in that era. It brought tears to my eyes and much sadness to my heart that any human being should have to struggle like that just to stay alive, And to bring the children right out of that area and teach them to act and preform and turn them loose to tell their own story is simply amazing. This simply surpass a five star, I rate it a ten. Thank You Mr. Mbongeni Ngema for such a astonishing story. Although it has been 12 years since this story has been told, it is still one that lays heavy in my heart.If there is a VHS, or DVD out there on the play, Please notify me ASAP.Thank You. PS There was nothing wrong with the kids wanting to bring awareness of their problems and conditions to the attention of other countries in hopes that some one would have a heart and offer assistance.

Sarafina! the film is based on Mbongeni Ngema's play of the same name and it draws inspiration from the student riots that took place in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1976. The film/play was never intended to be a historical documentary explaining Apartheid for an international audience but rather a story about young black South Africans living under Apartheid.

The film is an excellent adaptation and the musical numbers are well integrated but also evoke the stage through their inclusion. Some may feel that it is inappropriate in a film about such serious issues, but songs and music formed an important element to anti-apartheid protests and they should be seen within this context. The film 'Mapantsula' made five years earlier, demonstrates this same tendency as prisoners sing as they are led into the cells.

The film is beautifully shot - the red earth features very strongly - subtly reminding us of mother Africa. It's incredibly well written - I don't think there has been such a well-written film to come out of the country since. Ngema captures the struggle for freedom - the big picture - but does not lose sight of the fact that these were also just teenagers filled with the same angst as teenagers everywhere. Ultimately the film portrays a realistic view of oppression and freedom fighting. It was not easy to live under apartheid neither was it easy to fight against it and there are no heroes in the killing of people, no matter how good the cause.

A fantastic film that needs to be better understood.

I only saw a few minutes of Sarafina!, but I must comment. I think a musical can never be a great teaching tool for anything but a drama class. I have been to South Africa, and granted, it has changed since the days of apartheid, what I saw in this movie is nothing like reality. Even today, the classrooms are not that nice, and the black people I met were nothing like the ones in the movie. I was privileged to see a few concerts of African music, and to spend a large amount of time in classrooms, both in white schools and black schools (yes, they are still segregated, although by location, class and money, rather than law). The general attitude of the people I saw in the movie was inaccurate, as were many details. I couldn't even figure out exactly what story they were trying to tell until I looked it up on TV Guide because it was so generically "African". I am sure that as entertainment and emotional manipulation, the movie is quite effective, but if you are interested in history, please find a more accurate source.