Red Dust

Not knowing a great deal about the Truth and Reconciliation commission, I can only look at this as a piece of entertainment. I started watching it too late in the evening (recorded from BBC2 earlier this year) but once I'd started I had to watch to the end.

The down-side is that it's effectively a courtroom drama - never my favourite genre - but it's stunningly photographed (largely in super-saturated ochres) and well acted. Like a good novel, I couldn't put it down. All the way through, I wished I was watching it in a cinema to do the music and photography justice. What happened to its release in theatres? I'm an admirer of Chiwetel Ejiofor since I saw him in Dirty Pretty Things, and Hilary Swank looks terrific in this - very female and sexy for a change (possibly out of place, but she adds to the visual attractiveness of the film).

This picture deserves a wider audience than it seems to be getting.

I haven't seen a film in a long time that moved me and gripped me in such a way; that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I was busting for the loo; and I didn't even want to pause it because I was drawn right in. Emotive; powerful; very moving; horrific and heart-breaking. It gives you an amazing insight to South Africa; their struggles and their lives. The acting by the leads were mind-blowing and the script was incredible. Despite the terrible events that unfold in this film and how horrific the story is; I was captivated. I don't want to even try and explain the story; it's way too complex and I wouldn't do it justice. Please see this; you'll understand why when you do. Cheers, Hol

The South African lawyer Sarah Barcant (Hilary Swank) travels from New York back to her hometown to represent the member of the Parliament Alex Mpondo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission since torturer police officer Dirk Hendricks (Jamie Bartlett) has made an application for amnesty. The parents of Steve Sizela request Sarah to represent them also since their son that was arrested with Mpondo but has gone missing.

Hendricks uses one break in the trial to threaten Mpondo, promising to destroy his political career telling that he was a traitor. But Mpondo, who is a man traumatized with the torture, anticipates and tells what has happened to Steve Sizela and him in the hands of Hendricks and his superior Piet Müller (Ian Roberts). Will the remains of Steve be found and the truth disclosed?

"Red Dust" is a very well-acted drama about amnesty of torturers, with stunning performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor. The story takes place in South Africa post-Apartheid but could have been in South America, for example, where many torturers have granted their amnesty despite their cruel past during dictatorships. Truth and reconciliation seem to be very difficult to achieve in these situations, when usually torturers grant their freedom and victims are forced to forget what they did to them and live with their traumas and losses. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is seldom a favorite of mine, said that everyone should see this film as it is something that can help heal the world....

It is one of the most poignant movies I have seen and delivers on Tutu's comments.... I have read many comments and while they range from good to average to comments on the choice of actors... The fact is that it deals with one of the most extra-ordinary events in our world. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission.... for the first time a country has opted to air it's horrific history, to find a way forward and to create a way for people to heal...

WHile the movie starts out with the White Policeman being offered a chance to absolve himself for brutal crimes and the Black guy is trying to ensure that he does not get away with it, it delves into the humanity of the people and the enormous need for healing that we all need....

Definitely a thumbs up..... To everyone involved.... Once again, I am proud to be a South African.....

An interesting comment can be found here: http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/97/5223.html

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

No one is likely to pick up a DVD of Red Dust without knowing that it is about South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Hilary Swank stars as a South African exile who returns to her home town as a lawyer representing Alex Mpondo (Chiwetel Ejiofer), a member of the South African parliament who was tortured by a prison guard, Pete Muller (Ian Roberts), who is seeking to escape prison by testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. They could certainly have found an actress who has or could imitate a South African accent; Ms. Swank makes no attempt whatsoever to cover her unmistakably American accent. Nevertheless she is the only well-known actor in the movie, and it would probably not have been made without her or someone equally well known. She does a passable job. However, Ejiofer and Muller (pronounced in the German way with an umlat over the "u") are outstanding as is Jamie Barlett as the chief of police, responsible for murdering Mpondo's comrade and fellow prisoner. The torture scenes are shown in brief flashes but they are vivid and believable. What is not believable is the Truth and Reconciliation process -- except that it actually happened. "Red Dust" should be seen for that reason alone because it was and is unbelievable that the ANC prisoners could actually forgive the torturers, and this is as close as we are likely to get to seeing the process in action.