Mandela’s was a long walk to freedom. And producer Anant Singh’s 25-year journey from securing the rights for the book to finally seeing it come to life on the big screen has been an equally lengthy one.
The result is a sweeping biopic that attempts to tell half-a-century’s worth of this iconic figure’s complex story in little less than three hours.
Needless to say, it’s a noble endeavour, but one which, by its very nature, is fated to fall short in certain aspects.
The film initially affords us glimpses into the (imperfect) human being behind the public persona, which certainly manages to whet the appetite.
But the sheer scope of the tale that needs to be told means your hunger to know more about the man is left unsatisfied.
Instead, we are met with a series of vignettes which effectively serve as a poetic retelling of the key political moments (occasionally interspersed with the character’s personal reaction) that came to shape our country’s history.
But particularly for those not overly familiar with the finer details, there are glaring gaps in the narrative of how these events came to shape the man. Or just how and why he became the poster boy for a movement spearheaded by the likes of Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo.
In an interesting (if uninten- tional) turn of plot, it’s Winnie’s story that actually stands out. (Though Harris’ distinctly British-accented “Amandla!” did detract from the full force of her performance at times.)
While her actions and attitudes in post-apartheid South Africa may leave much to be desired, that Winnie was forced to bear the brunt of the former regime’s brutality while Madiba was effectively isolated from it all in prison, certainly sheds light on why she adopted a more radical, intolerant approach.
Thus, with her anarchist, vengeance-driven agenda firmly pitted against Mandela’s pleas for peace and tolerance, we’re also privy to why their once-great romance was doomed to end in divorce.
Other key struggle figures and their supporters such as Sisulu, Tambo, Govan Mbeki, Joe Slovo, George Bizos and Bram Fischer are mostly reduced to cameo roles, with the likes of Moosa (as Kathrada) providing moments of comic relief in what is undoubtedly a difficult movie to watch at times – one which serves as a jarring reminder of the human cruelty and injustice that will forever leave a dark cloud hanging over our history.
But whether or not the film does well at the box office, there is one element on which everyone can agree: Elba’s portrayal of arguably the 21st century’s most celebrated political figure is beyond reproach.
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom opens countrywide today.