CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY

 

New 4K Restoration for little seen anti-apartheid film set in South Africa

This 1951 release was directed by Zoltan Korda (The Four Feathers), based upon the novel by Alan Paton and starring Sidney Poitier and Canada Lee, in his last film role while being photographed by Robert Krasker, who shot The Third Man, this is a welcome addition to the StudioCanal library

The film follows the story of a black priest Kumalo portrayed by Lee, who leaves the township he resides over to go to the big city, in this case Johannesburg to search for his estranged son, played by Poitier. Each step on his journey, much like Joseph Cotton's he is blindsided by sudden revelations that leave him shattered, from the discovery that his sister is a prostitute to finding his son has been charged with death for the murder of a prominent white figure in the community.

Meanwhile, back in the village white farmer Jarvis (Charles Carson) who is indifferent to the injustices of apartheid, hears of the murder of his son who was an activist combating the oppression of Black South Africans and so learns more of their struggles and begins to understand.

This is a story adapted from Alan Paton's novel of the same name, and it marks out as a key text in the unification of grief and the admonishment of the apartheid rule, two fathers dealing with the death of their sons and how this could bring peace amidst the turmoil.

Shot on location in South Africa, this is a deeply poignant political drama and it is a marked segway between two different styles of picture. The white farmer scenes are shot like the dressing room dramas that is reminiscent of Ealing Studios perhaps while the location shots of Johannesburg shows a new brevity and bravery in film-making, shooting on location makes the city a character and with illustrious actors such as Lee and Poitier being so prominent shows a production unafraid to comment on racial injustices by putting the oppressed front and centre instead of this becoming a white saviour narrative; unfortunately that would become the norm in Hollywood cinema such as Mississippi Burning or A Time To Kill but British cinema has never been afraid to voice the stories of black characters such as Horace Ove.

Extras on the Blu-Ray and DVD include an interview with Mona Z Smith - biographer of Canada Lee, archive footage of the production, a documentary on cinema under apartheid and interviews with African filmmaker Lionel Ngakane and writer Alan Paton as well as a fascinating 16 page booklet.

CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY is out 9th October on Blu-Ray/DVD from Studiocanal UK