Andre Brink
Andre Brink
[Login to edit this page]
The film stars Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae, Jürgen Prochnow, Susan Sarandon and Marlon Brando (who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor). It is set in South Africa, and deals with the subject of apartheid.
In A Dry White Season, Donald Sutherland portrays the character of Ben Du Toit, a South African school teacher. The story takes place in 1976, around the Soweto Riots, during the Apartheid system that lasted from 1948 until 1994.
The story begins when a gardener at Ben's school, a black man named Gordon, seeks his help while investigating the death of his son during the Riots. Like many South African whites, Ben refuses to get involved in the racial divides that have been tearing the country apart, thinking that Gordon's claims against the white minority government are unfounded. Things change when Ben sees firsthand the brutality by his own race against blacks, particularly when he sees the dead body of Gordon at the morgue not long after being tortured at the hands of the secret, corrupt government police. Gordon's wife, Emily, is also killed later, and also under suspicious circumstances.
Upset by this turn of events, Ben retains Ian Mackenzie (Marlon Brando), a human rights attorney, to assist him with the case. Ben's political awakening is so complete by this time that his crusade to bring those responsible for the deaths of Gordon and his family members eventually take their toll on his own family. Eventually, Ben Du Toit pays the ultimate price for standing up to a corrupt government for basic human rights and equality.
Before production, Warner Brothers passed on the project and it went to MGM. Director Euzhan Palcy was able to convince Marlon Brando to work for union scale ($4,000), far below his usual fee. The salaries of Sutherland and Sarandon were also reduced and the film was budgeted at only $9 million. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, England and on location in Zimbabwe.
Brink's novel, on which the movie was based, was the first book in Afrikaans to be banned in South Africa (in 1979). The film itself was initially banned by South African censors, who said it could harm President F.W. de Klerk's attempts at apartheid reform. The ban was later lifted in September 1989 and the movie was screened at the Weekly Mail Film Festival in Johannesburg.
In A Dry White Season, Donald Sutherland portrays the character of Ben Du Toit, a South African school teacher. The story takes place in 1976, around the Soweto Riots, during the Apartheid system that lasted from 1948 until 1994.
The story begins when a gardener at Ben's school, a black man named Gordon, seeks his help while investigating the death of his son during the Riots. Like many South African whites, Ben refuses to get involved in the racial divides that have been tearing the country apart, thinking that Gordon's claims against the white minority government are unfounded. Things change when Ben sees firsthand the brutality by his own race against blacks, particularly when he sees the dead body of Gordon at the morgue not long after being tortured at the hands of the secret, corrupt government police. Gordon's wife, Emily, is also killed later, and also under suspicious circumstances.
Upset by this turn of events, Ben retains Ian Mackenzie (Marlon Brando), a human rights attorney, to assist him with the case. Ben's political awakening is so complete by this time that his crusade to bring those responsible for the deaths of Gordon and his family members eventually take their toll on his own family. Eventually, Ben Du Toit pays the ultimate price for standing up to a corrupt government for basic human rights and equality.
Before production, Warner Brothers passed on the project and it went to MGM. Director Euzhan Palcy was able to convince Marlon Brando to work for union scale ($4,000), far below his usual fee. The salaries of Sutherland and Sarandon were also reduced and the film was budgeted at only $9 million. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, England and on location in Zimbabwe.
Brink's novel, on which the movie was based, was the first book in Afrikaans to be banned in South Africa (in 1979). The film itself was initially banned by South African censors, who said it could harm President F.W. de Klerk's attempts at apartheid reform. The ban was later lifted in September 1989 and the movie was screened at the Weekly Mail Film Festival in Johannesburg.
0 Comments
Write a comment