Bopha! (1993)

In his directorial debut, actor Morgan Freeman cast a knowing eye on the ways the racist apartheid movement in South Africa--now demolished--divided South African blacks even from each other in this story of a black policeman. Danny Glover plays the cop, who believes he's trying to help his people, even while serving as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets involved in the antiapartheid movement, he finds himself torn between his family (including long-suffering wife Alfre Woodard) and what he believes is his duty. A sorrowful, anger-tinged film featuring a complex performance by the marvelous Glover, who seems to come apart at the seams before your very eyes. --Marshall Fine Amazon.com essential video

What is civilization and where does it end?

Today apartheid is a broken system, but to end it blood flowed in the streets... The blacks have spent many centuries as the prey
to both eastern and western predatory practices. The Moslim
slave traders were there before the Christians.
That the Dutch heritage settlers with their Afrikaans sought to hold onto
a "special" place above those whose land it really was
seems to show why movies like this were necessary.
Son against father and death stalking the township streets
makes this a movie that has impact even after the fact.
Danny Glover acts very well in this movie. March 10, 2008

Bopha!

I purchased this video prior to my trip to South Africa in order to learn more about the history of apartheid. The film focuses on the lives of a black policeman's family in contrast to the privileges of his white class bosses. It is a struggle between a father and son

You could say that it is the age old struggle between the older generation's acceptance of the status quo (the father)and accommodating their lives within the allowed social parameters and the idealism and impetus toward change of the younger generation (the son).

It also portrays a white middle class caught in a whirlwind of change, one it is not prepared to cope with. The prospect of not having a place to go outside South Africa is frighting, particularly to the women who have grown accustomed to a life of privilege. These scenes have been played in many former colonies where those of privilege feel abandoned by the mother country.

In the end, with the death of the father, the old generation cedes the way to the youth and their new ideas and demands for a free black Africa that no one can stop.

As a post script to the review, I toured Robbens Island, where Nelson Mandela and the other political prisoners where kept, and I spoke with a tour guide that had been imprisoned in the very same island with Mandela. He told me that his biggest regret is that the youth of today have no idea of their struggle or the interest in learning about it. Sounds familiar with the disinterest of our own youth in the American civil rights struggles.

I recommend the film as a historical aid.

Saludos, Rolando March 7, 2008

OK

THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT A MAN WHO WORKS FOR THE LAW ABUSING HIS OWN PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY WANT A CHANGE IN LAWS AND THIS COP ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE POLICE FORCE TOTALLY ABUSE THESE PEOPLE IN ALL WAYS ALONG WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE INNOCENT UNTIL THE DAY HIS OWN SON GET CAUGHT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE THEN HIS PROBLEMS BEGIN. DO NOT ORDER THIS MOVIE FROM MOVIEMARS I DID AND NEVER RECEIVED IT HAD TO GO TO ANOTHER VENDOR. December 22, 2007

Bopha

It's a wonder that the movie it self did not receive an Oscar nomination, but I'm not going to exspress my opinion why. Danny Glover's performance in this movie was awesome and probably his best. Truly a must see. August 9, 2007

Terribly cruel but the bitter truth

This film is like a documentary. It is the truth about a terribly viscious

period in South Africa. it ends with the cry 'Amandla' which means

'Courage' - there is a wonderful documentary called 'Amandla' which is

the next stage in the Apartheid history. Worth seeing! ( Dvd)

May 12, 2007

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