X
  • 1989
  • R
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • 1 h 46 m
  • 1989
  • R
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • 1 h 46 m

Summary Ben du Toit is a schoolteacher who always has considered himself a man of caring and justice, at least on the individual level. When his gardener's son is brutally beaten up by the police at a demonstration by black school children, he gradually begins to realize his own society is built on a pillar of injustice and exploitation.

Directed By: Euzhan Palcy

Written By: André P. Brink, Colin Welland, Euzhan Palcy

  • 1989
  • R
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • 1 h 46 m
  • 1989
  • R
  • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
  • 1 h 46 m

A Dry White Season

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
68
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.7
My Score
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Where to Watch

Summary Ben du Toit is a schoolteacher who always has considered himself a man of caring and justice, at least on the individual level. When his gardener's son is brutally beaten up by the police at a demonstration by black school children, he gradually begins to realize his own society is built on a pillar of injustice and exploitation.

Directed By: Euzhan Palcy

Written By: André P. Brink, Colin Welland, Euzhan Palcy

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
68
63% Positive
12 Reviews
37% Mixed
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
68
63% Positive
12 Reviews
37% Mixed
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Donald Sutherland is perfectly cast and quietly effective as a man who will not be turned aside, who does not wish misfortune upon himself or his family, but cannot ignore what has happened to the family of his friend.
By Roger Ebert FULL REVIEW
80
A wrenching picture about South Africa that makes no expedient compromises with feel-good entertainment values, A Dry White Season displays riveting performances and visceral style.
FULL REVIEW
75
Here's a good, honorable, but not great anti-apartheid movie, the first directed by a black woman. A Dry White Season unravels when it opts for a wrap-up-the-loose-ends thriller finish, but there's no faulting the level of acting or the level of commitment in it. [17 Sept 1989, p.B4]
By Jay Carr FULL REVIEW
70
Dry White Season is no less predictable than its predecessors, but its frankness and sincerity matter more than its fundamental bluntness.
By Janet Maslin FULL REVIEW
60
Like its predecessors, A Dry White Season is too reserved to effectively depict the hell of South Africa. Its most powerful moments occur in the courtroom, in jail cells and morgues filled with dead black children when its starched white protagonist is safely off-screen. [06 Oct 1989, p.6]
By Hal Lipper FULL REVIEW
50
Marlon Brando is airily light and masterly as the veteran anti-apartheid barrister who takes the case even though he knows that he can't get anywhere with the rigged court. He saves the picture for the (short) time onscreen. But the director, Euzhan Palcy, seems lost; her work is heavy-handed, and the script (by Colin Welland and the director, from a novel by Andre Brink) is earnest and didactic.
By Pauline Kael FULL REVIEW
40
Like Cry Freedom, it's still whites debating racial injustice: fine for a book published in Afrikaans a decade ago, but a poor premise for a message movie.
FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.7
83% Positive
5 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.7
83% Positive
5 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Davros Films, Star Partners II Ltd., Sundance Productions
Release Date Sep 20, 1989
Duration 1 h 46 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline One man has opened his eyes to the truth.
View All Details

Awards

Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Tokyo International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations

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