Summary:
Langston Whitfield is a Washington Post journalist. His editor provocatively sends him to South Africa to cover the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, in which the perpetrators of murder and torture on both sides during Apartheid are invited to come forward and confront their victims. By telling the unvarnished truth and expressing contrition, they may be granted amnesty. Can the deep wounds of Apartheid be healed through reconciliation? Langston is deeply skeptical. He tracks down Col. De Jager, the most notorious torturer in the SA Police and tries to penetrate the mind of a monster, an experience that obliges him to confront his own demons. Anna Malan is an Afrikaans poet who is covering the hearings for radio. As a white South African she is shattered by the accounts of the cruelty and depravity committed by her fellow countrymen. Anna and Langston must both question their sense of identity. Where do they each belong? How responsible are they for what is done in the name of their respective countries? The moving testimony of the victims affects them deeply. In different ways they are both estranged from their families, and their shared experience draws them ever closer to each other. It is a story charting the unfathomable depths of human cruelty and the redeeming power of forgiveness and love.
| Runtime: | 105 min |
|---|---|
| Rating: | Rated R for language, including descriptions of atrocities, and for a scene of violence. |
| Production: | Phoenix Pictures |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Countries: | UK, Ireland, South Africa |
| Languages: | English, Afrikaans |
| Home Release Date: | Jul 5, 2005 |
| Director | Credit |
|---|---|
| John Boorman | Director |
| Writer | Credit |
|---|---|
| Ann Peacock | Screenplay |
| Antjie Krog | Book "Country Of My Skull" |
| Principal Cast | Credit |
|---|---|
| Brendan Gleeson | De Jager |
| Juliette Binoche | Anna Malan |
| Samuel L. Jackson | Langston Whitfield |
| Cast | Credit |
|---|---|
| Aletta Bezuidenhout | Elsa |
| Dan Robbertse | De Smidt |
| Fiona Ramsey | Felicia Rheinhardt |
| Harriet Lenabe | Albertina Sobandia |
| Jeremiah Ndlovu | Old Man In Wheelbarrow |
| Langley Kirkwood | Boetie |
| Lionel Newton | Edward Morgan |
| Louis Van Niekerk | Willem Malan |
| Menzi Ngubane | Dumi Mkhalipi |
| Owen Sejake | Reverend Mzondo |
| Robert Hobbs | Van Deventer |
| Sam Ngakane | Anderson |
| Producer | Credit |
|---|---|
| Chris Auty | Executive Producer |
| David Wicht | Co-Producer: South Africa |
| Duncan Reid | Executive Producer |
| Jamie Brown | Executive Producer |
| John Boorman | Producer |
| Kieran Corrigan | Producer |
| Lynn Hendee | Producer |
| Mfundi Vundla | Executive Producer |
| Michael L. Games | Line Producer |
| Mike Medavoy | Producer |
| Neil Peplow | Executive Producer |
| Niles E. Helmboldt | Associate Producer |
| Peter Fudakowski | Associate Producer |
| Robert Chartoff | Producer |
| Sam Bhembe | Executive Producer |
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