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Actors: Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon, Janet Suzman, Jurgen Prochnow, Marlon Brando
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about A Dry White Season |
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Filmed in Zimbabwe and England, and based on the novel by Andre Brink, this is the tale of a mushy liberal facing up to the situation under apartheid in 1976 South Africa. Sutherland is excellent as thoughtful Benjamin du Toit, a schoolteacher at first puzzled then outraged when his black gardener disappears and turns out to have been jailed and beaten into "suicide" after participating in a demonstration with black schoolchildren. In pursuing the truth, he alienates most of his family, loses his job, but finds meaning to his life, if not satisfaction. Suzman is good as his puzzled, unsympathetic wife, Sarandon has a brief appearance as a reporter, but Brando's 10 minutes on screen as a cynical but philosophical attorney who takes on the hopeless task of prosecuting the state police are magnificent -- he is a Dickensian figure with his half-eye reading glasses and gentle rasp. This 1989 film is earnest and a bit stolid (rather like "Mississippi Burning"), but does a good job.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of A Dry White Season |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Polit/Social/Race/Gender activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- liberal/lefty activism
- fighting government corruption
- rrrrrracism!!!!!
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- learns to be more sensitive
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- teacher/professor
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
- caring
- sad
- tougher
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Africa
Yes
Kind of Africa:
- Black Africa
- White Enclave
Misc setting
- prison
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to torture
Movie makes you feel...
- thoughtful
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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