Movie: Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
The word privileged comes up anytime you hear of someone meeting the great man and that’s how I felt to see a preview of this poignantly timed film.Preview audiences vary enormously but this was on the very day of his memorial service, ahead of his burial last weekend. That may have something to do with the fact that the room was full.There were sniffles throughout this obviously emotional drama, especially from me but the lady next to me had to retrieve a new tissue when Mandela learnt of the death of his son but was not allowed compassionate leave from prison to bury his eldest. Other than the sniffles, I didn’t hear one popcorn bag being rustled from the packed audience. Indeed, I was parched but my bottle of water, along with my cinema sweets, remained untouched until my thirst could bear no more and had to avert my eyes momentarily to grab the bottle 20 minutes from the end.That’s some hold on the audience for 2.5 hour film which tells the love story of Nelson & Winnie as much as the long struggle to end apartheid.The film is emotional throughout but littered with happy, uplifting moments that can only make you smile. That says a lot about Mandela’s sense of fun, even - especially – during those 27 years of incarceration - something we’ve heard much about lately as all the tributes pour out after his passing on December 5th. We open with Mandela as an ambitious lawyer (something about him that I’d either forgotten or never learnt) defending a black maid who has been accused of stealing from her white employer. She is so flabbergasted that a black man is confidently throwing her (alleged) bloomers around the court that she leaves! Case dismissed.It’s not long before Mandela attracts the attention of the ANC who’s only aim is to have equal rights for the blacks. Simple things like the right to vote, marry who they want and equal pay among being able to ride any bus and go into any café. This part is a stark reminder of The Butler that I have just recently seen too, which talked off the same argument going on in 1960s America. Eventually, with a young family already in place, Mandela joins and is at the forefront of the violence which leads him to be branded as a terrorist by many prominent politicians in the UK and beyond.Remembering this is based on Mandela’s autobiography, the film explains this as the last resort to obtain equal rights. Just like what happened during the prime Freedom Fighter years in America, I have sympathy with the anger felt then and indeed, in the present day. Clearly people should not be treated differently just because they’re a different colour – or for that matter, race, religion, orientation or any other differentiation. If was earning just 13%* salary of someone else doing my job, I’ll have something to say about it. Luckily, I live in the free world and can choose not to do the job. And it’s illegal to do have such pay differences in the UK. How is it still OK today in South Africa?So yes there is grave violence, which I saw from behind my hands while my friend tried to watch and I could tell her reaction despite having my eyes closed. But the worse violence is not in prison, which is what I was dreading (I don't do prison movies) but mercilessly in the streets between white authorities and black women, men and children. There is of course unfathomable abuse in prison, but Mandela and his fellow incarcerated crew hold steady and he decide their negotiation with the guards would start with the right to have long trousers, like the one white man amongst their midst has. Simple rights, especially when you’re forced to manual labour in the soaring heat outside. The keep each other going and are respectful of the guards as best they can be under the dire circumstances.It takes time but there is a scene of Mandela’s daughter finally being old enough to visit (16) where the main guard is clearly looking out for his prisoner’s well-being. (They made a film about his story I believe). I am surprised they kept all the ANC terrorists in the same place, separating them would be the easiest form of torture but I guess this way they only needed to record/listen in to one set of conversations, something they constantly did, even when Mandela was released into a luxury, guarded home when, 25 years later, they began negotiating his release.It has been said that the reason Mandela just loved being around children so much is that he was told when entering Robin Island that he will ‘never see another child or feel a woman for the rest of his life.’With amazing performances, especially from Idris Elba (Mandela) and Naomi Harris (Winnie), there are many more poignant moments and in my mind, every person in the world needs to see this film. Please do and let me have your thoughts below.Nelson Mandela 1918 – 2013 RIP10/10 It’s faultless. A first 10 for this film goer. Smile factor 7/10Coffee rating: Ristretto *The EconomistFollow on Twitter @RickieWrites