Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) User Reviews

Mercy for The Preacher's Son

[deanofrpps · 8/10 · 19 March 2006]

It's been a long time since I read the Alan Paton book upon which this film is based. Paton was banned in his own country and officially silenced but the book was universally popular throughout the 1960s.

James Earl Jones once again renders a bravura performance as the African minister whose son has accidentally killed a white man. One can feel his grief and his burden as he tries to straighten the mess out. His son has confessed but others involved have denied knowledge of the offense.

Richard Harris plays an equally difficult role that of Mr Jarvis the white boy's father. One feels his grief and pain especially when he finds to his surprise that his son had disowned "baaskap," the over-lordship of the white race, something accepted as a given by most whites without a second thought just as the white housewife perfunctorily dismissed the black cleric in priestly garb as if he were a pesty door to door salesman.

Will mercy be extended to the preacher's son who accidentally pulled the trigger and cooperated with authorities or will he suffer the ultimate penalty while accomplices go free? Yet for all the misery the movie, surprisingly without excessive preaching, ends on a flicker of hope for the future.

You don't have the right to miss it!

[Emerenciano · 8/10 · 1 May 2002]

This is certainly one of the best movies I've seen in the last weeks. "Cry, the Beloved Country" brings very good acting and touching plot that make you see the cruel reality of apartheid without scenes of violence and blood. James Earl Jones and Richard Harris show how talented they are playing two great roles.

My Rate 8/10

THE ROOF LEAKS

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 18 April 2019]

Rev. Stephen Kumalo (James Earl Jones) travels to the big city only to be ripped off, find his sister is working as a prostitute, and his son is accused of murder. After having a bad day he encounters the father (Richard Harris) of the man his son killed. They lament for the situation in South Africa as we see the murder as a microcosm of their situation of despair.

The film which had a great performances desperately attempted to created a feeling of despair and sympathy for a murderer. In fact I thought it tried too hard, creating instead what seemed like a faux-drama.

A 5 hanky story if you're NOT easily moved.

[rondine · 10/10 · 28 February 1999]

I could not believe as I read other reviewers of this movie that they thought it "irrelevant"! The struggle for equality, peace and love is NEVER irrelevant. This was a movie that by any standards is brillant and moving. James Earl Jones does a magnificent job of playing the main character with dignity and restraint. He makes you suffer with him as a result. A drama coach I once had told me, don't you cry, let them cry. He does both through his amazing minimalist acting. He doesn't waste himself on meaningless gestures & histronics, he lets you see the suffering of his soul. Equally brillant is Richard Harris as the father of the son killed by Jones' son. These two men are brought together in the worst of circumstances and that is when the true character of the man is revealed. Despite all his racist comments earlier in the movie, he overcomes his own self-hate (translated to Africans) to see the bigger picture that his own son knew all along. Someone once said, you cannot hate anything in someone else, unless it reflects something you hate within yourself. Through the pain & death of his son, he transcends his own sense of self-loathing. He sees with the eyes of love that people are just people, no matter what color their skin is. A movie that communicates that is never irrelevant or unimportant.

Not as meaningful as the book but works OK as a human story of individual strength

[bob the moo · 29 June 2003]

Rev Kumalo receives a letter from Johannesburg telling him that his sister, who went there many years ago to look for her husband, is very sick and that he should come immediately. When he arrives he is robbed but finds a home with the sender of the letter. His sister is working as a prostitute in a brothel in town and his quest to help her soon turns to finding his brother and then his own son. However events will bring the nature of the racial divide into full focus.

It has been many years since I read the book but I always remember it as it was quite thought provoking – bringing in wider issues into the framework of the main story. I was surprised to find this version made by Disney and was prepared for almost a child's film, happily I was wrong. The plot is quite well developed in terms of the central story and, although I wasn't moved to the point of tears, I did find it pretty involving and moving to some degree. What it failed to do though was bring out wider issues from the period and setting. True it let us see the places and the divide but there was no subtext – only visual images.

The direction is good – whether it is the outdoors, a rain swept church or a small indoors room, it all has a good sense of place and time. The cast is all pretty good. Jones is the strongest and acts as the moral backbone of the story – he is seeing these things for the first time just like we are as an audience. The late Richard Harris is also good but has less screen time. I think his character needed more as it is he who has the biggest journey of discovery – where Kumalo's is physical, his is more into himself and learning to overcome his feelings. The South African cast are mainly very good and give good support – the only real flaw was that I wasn't totally convinced that Kumalo's relatives were really his relatives – only Dutton managed to bring out an emotional history and have a sort of bond with Jones, the rest were a little too distant.

Overall this is a good version of the book albeit with the focus more on the core narrative than other themes. The leads are good and it is an involving story. Not fantastic but a good drama about one man's strength.

touching

[anne 83 · 10/10 · 30 March 2001]

I've seen this movie twice and I absolutely love it! I think it's highly underrated with the average of 6.4 from the imdb voters.

This is a movie about black and white. A welknown theme in Hollywood, but I've never seen a movie which deals with this subject so excellent as this one.

I couldn't help crying at the end.

my rate: 10

uhm...

[spark15 · 2/10 · 26 April 2003]

wow...this has got to be the DUMBEST movie I've ever seen. We watched it in english class...and this movie made ABSOLUTELY no sense. I would never, EVER watch this movie again...and my sympathy to those who have ever PAID to see it.

A timeless classic, a film everyone should see

[al_gd · 10/10 · 5 September 2002]

What makes this film so good, is that it deals with the issues of Apartheid in a sensitive, and moving way. There is no overt message of hatred, but shows rather how lives both black and white are affected by division and hatred. The words of Jarvis's dead son are incredibly powerful, significant, even to this day. I grew up in Natal, and lived in Johannesburg, and experienced the evils of Apartheid. Yes, the film is in a way too soft in this regard, but this is not what the film is about. James Earl Jones's depiction of an African Cleric in this time period is amazingly accurate. I had tears in my eyes watching his performance. Harris too shines. This is a movie for today, and is as relevant now, as it was 50 years ago. Must see viewing.

More An Attempt at Filming a great Novel

[sithembisomkhize-18629 · 5/10 · 30 October 2019]

Besides the hype, This fails big time. This is more an attempt at Filming a great Novel than an actual Film. The great cast does try but their performances are just beautiful isolated pieces in the end. It is still watchable but not mandatory.

Good story of apartheid in S. Africa.

[TxMike · 13 January 2007]

Emily, a senior, is reading the book as an assignment for her English class. We watched to movie on VHS, as part of her getting extra credit. She hadn't finished the book yet, but commented that much of the movie was directly out of the book, so I suspect overall it is faithful to its source.

James Earl Jones is Rev Stephen Kumalo, living in the country, and goes to Johannesburg to find his son and a young woman. Much of the first half of the movie can be bordering on boring as the characters are established.

Richard Harris is wealthy white James Jarvis, who also lives in the country near Kumalo. They have seen each other, but do not actually know each other. Jarvis also has a son, who is in Johannesburg, and works with the poor, even the poor blacks, in a life that the elder Jarvis doesn't quite understand. He still subscribes to the idea that "they have their place and we have ours", apartheid.

The movie is competently done, with competent acting, but comes across as a simple, no-frills movie. The message is important, but the movie itself is rather bland.

SPOILERS. Jarvis's son turns up dead, murdered by three black men who are in his home to rob him. The shooter is Kumalo's son, who confesses, but says he was scared, didn't mean to kill anyone. After a trial the son is found guilty and sentenced to hang. On the day of the hanging, the dad goes up to the mountain to reflect, and Jarvis meets him there. Through this tragedy both men come to appreciate each other, and the need for healing amongst the blacks and whites in S. Africa.

This movie is actually about Africa and gets a lower score than Black Panther....

[kevinagillihan · 9/10 · 11 March 2018]

Came to write this review because the recent hoopla around the Black Panther movie made me think of this. Our society truly is clueless when a superhero movie that isn't even a "movement" or even about Africa gets a vaulted review over gems like this. This movie here has depth, emotion, substance, heart and power behind it. All things that Black Panther does not have. One of my most favorite movies of all time and one of my go-to's when I talk about powerful movies.

Beautifully filmed, two great actors (Jones and Harris)

[TeOfLeDiKi · 9/10 · 29 September 2009]

I know most readers won't find my comments useful, but here goes anyway. I saw this movie a long long time ago but recently went looking for it on IMDb (not sure why), probably to look up snippets about Richard Harris. What I remember most about the movie was 1) the incredible cinematography - no denying that African countryside is gorgeous, and 2) the one long extended scene between James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. I don't even remember most of the dialogue, only that these two great classically-trained actors almost literally chewed the scenery. I remember that the scene was calmly played, yet both actors simmered with just-perceptible passion.

I once performed in the Kurt Weill opera of the same name. I'm accustomed to having music propel me through the story, but I didn't miss it in this movie. One casting note - probably because of recent trends in NTC (non-traditional casting), most stage shows refer to the racial divide in the opera as "whites" and "coloreds," which, under apartheid, included all non-whites. Whether or not this was intentionally done by the librettist, it gives opera companies the freedom to hire Asian-Americans, African-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans (or Europeans) as the "colored" cast. In the movie, it was starkly white and black. Nevertheless, if you lack any other reason for seeing the movie, see it for the wonderful performances of Jones and Harris.

A "House Divided" Literally: Apartheid in South Africa in 1948

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 18 March 2007]

I read CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY in high school, and was quite impressed by it's dignified and somber retelling of the tragedy of modern South Africa under the apartheid system that was in place at the time. Alan Paton had a literary and political career in the Union of South Africa, and was opposed to the system that kept down the native Black Africans while the native white Africans ruled them. His novel was quite shocking in his home country, and led to his being forbidden to be published there. Now he seems remarkably prescient.

The novel was made into a film in 1951, which I never saw. But I have finally seen this version today and while it whittles down the plot a bit, it's emphasis on the dual tragedy of the Kumalo and Jarvis families actually enhances the effect.

James Earl Jones plays Rev. Stephen Kumalo, an honorable man from the countryside who goes to Johannisburg to find his son Absolom. From the start we see contrasts. The beauties and glories of the magnificent veld v. the dirt and grime of the city. The large home of the Jarvis family as opposed to the poor homes of Rev. Kumalo.

Rev. Kumalo goes to an address in one of the slums of Johannisburg that the Blacks were forced to live in. He tries to trace his son, with the assistance of a fellow minister, Rev. Msimangu ( Vasi Kunene) and gets less helpful assistance from his brother John Kumalo (Charles S. Dutton). The latter is a local politician, but is soon revealed to be an opportunist and crook.

Eventually Rev. Kumalo finds his son has been in trouble with the police, and recently released from a reformatory. This was due to Absolom having a pregnant girlfriend. The Reverend traces his son to the girlfriend, but she has not heard from him for a few days. The next thing that the Reverend hears is that Absolom and two others (including the son of John Kumalo) were involved in a burglary murder that resulted in the death of Ian Jarvis.

Tom Jarvis, long used to accept the harsh separation of the races as natural, comes to a stunning discovery - his son's posthumous condemnation of the social system of South Africa as one to abhor as it breeds crime and hatred. The discovery of this side to his son leads him to slowly find a bridge uniting him with Rev. Kumalo, as they both find the system destroy their boys.

One has to see the film to understand this bridging of the the lives of the fathers (ironically neighbors who rarely knew each other or each other's families in the "normal" period). One also sees the warning that Paton instilled in his readers: Rev. Msimangu's fear that when the White race finally turns to love the Black race will only accept hate.

Much is dropped of the four hundred fifty page novel, such as Paton's ritualistic use of descriptions again and again (which can't be translated to film successfully) or plot threads regarding the final break between the Reverend and his brother John, or the Reverend trying to trace other lost children from the town (one is mentioned briefly). But the somberness of the tragedy of Absolom, who with Ian become joint blood sacrifices to a racist state is total. The performances of Jones and Harris are equally effective. Altogether a first rate film version of the novel.

Read and loved it

[kashmir · 11 October 1998]

As a Student taking my English proficiency exams I was obliged to read the novel by Alan Paton. As an African born every title related to this land appeals to me. The film is a good translation of the book, nevertheless I liked the book more than the film. James Earl Jones was a good choice to play Rev. Stephen Kumalo an in the whole it matched my imagery of the novel and the apartheid policy in South Africa. The center of the drama is very well transcript to the screen:The holy black man´s son who kills the mighty white man´s son,in the sinful city far away from the origins in the peacefull countryside where the black people, however already threatened by the apartheid brought from the urban centers, are still respected and free to have their ownn choices and ideals.

movie of two people divided by color only

[nagnuronuj · 10/10 · 19 September 2006]

i thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and am using it as the basis for my human geography paper on Class issues of the 'new' south Africa. i am south African but live in new Zealand now as a result of apartheid. James Earl Jones is amazing as rev Khumalo, very believable how a man so strong can at times look so powerless in this role of a father who can do nothing. I also enjoyed the portrayal of Jarvis, fantastic acting. I was surprised that most of the movie was shot in Cape Town, although i might be mistaken as the video that i watched was poor quality. Amazing to compare something set in 1946 and to realize that not much has changed, REALLY, but that , even then there were opportunities to break the barrier that humans created.

Loved the movie,

Inspiration?

[demon-drifter · 9/10 · 29 January 2007]

Since i am South African, this movie has significant meaning. while it is not many viewers' drama of choice, it does show the result of extreme contrasts. Alan Paton was heavily criticized for this novel simply because they believed the change in Jarvis was so drastic that it did not have much realism. We do however have to ask ourselves whether 'realism' was a more significant theme than 'change'. I think it is probable that the novel and movie were designed to inspire 'change' rather than document it. To those who have yet to see it i encourage you to do so. If you are able to view it from a South African perspective (who i might add are among the most patriotic on the planet) it is an excellent film.

The story is very sad--but also forgiving

[kijii · 10/10 · 3 December 2016]

I read Alan Paton's novel about 30 years ago and had seen this movie version of the story once before. But, since it was playing on TCM recently, it was great to revisit the movie. I love the story. Everything about it is a thing of beauty: the manner in which the South Africans greet and leave each other has a certain sense of simplicity and grace to its sound; the scenery is beautiful; and the story is very sad, but also forgiving.

Perhaps, the thing that one notices the most is the way that Rev Stephen Kumalo (James Earl Jones), a simple man of God, almost takes the weight of the world on his shoulders. When he receives a dreaded letter from Johannesburg. The letter can only mean that one of the many members of his family, who have left his small village, in Ixopo, are in trouble. Many in his family—his brother, his sister, his son and his nephew--had left to work in the mines or had left to find out about someone who left for the mines...and never came back. None that leave the village seem to return or write back to Rev Kumualo and his wife, played by Dolly Rathebe, to let them know anything about what had happened to them. The letter that Kumalo receives is about his sister who is sick and needs care.

When Kumualo finally arrives in Johannesburg after a long journey, he is met by the priest, Theophilus Msimangu (Vusi Kunene), who had written him about his sister, Msimangu befriends him as they trace down the sister. When they find her, they discover that she had become a prostitute in order to stay alive. She agrees to return to the village.

Later, he finds his brother John (Charles S. Dutton)—as brash as he is humble--now a highly-respected politician, who is organizing a black community in Johnnesburg to boycott the bus system in protest for the way blacks are treated. Kumalo continues to go from place to place, doing errands for people from his village or checking on people from his family. He tries to find his son, Absalom (Eric Miyeni), only to discover that he had left a girl alone and pregnant.

Later in his search he learns that Absalom, his cousin (the son of John), and another young black man had been involved in the killing of a white man, Arthur Jarvis. Jarvis had been a champion of the black man's plight in Johnnesburg. Arthur was also the son of Kumalo's neighbor, wealthy landowner, Jame Jarvis (Richard Harris). Kumalo and Jarvis first come face to face in the courtroom, even though they had passed each other in their distant village many times in the past. The movie then deals with how both Jarvis and Kumalo deal with their sons' pasts and how they will deal with their own reactions to it in the future. There are some memorable scenes with Jones and Harris in this movie. One is the scene at Kumalo's church when the two men take shelter during a rainstorm.

A beautiful film

[GeneralB · 29 April 2000]

This is a wonderful movie, based on the famous book. It features excellent camera work, which took full advantage of the beautiful scenery in the South African countryside. It also features an exceptional score by John Barry. In addition, the performances were quite good, although I've heard some people say they thought that James Earl Jones made Rev Kumalo too "soft around the edges". In any case, this is a quite good movie.

A Mighty Sad Tale of Two Solitudes set in RSA

[zabokrugby8 · 10/10 · 16 July 2012]

With this film, I am pleased to say, they (the producers/director/actors) finally got one right: South Africa, caught in the throes of a growing racial divide already had much to atone for. Sooneror later, justice had to prevail. And it did, though much later and at great cost in the innocent lives lost.

The film's setting is Natal Province, South Africa during the early apartheid era. Albeit 'the separation of the races' was not officially sanctioned by the state at that time. Still, the prejudice against the blacks was practiced by practically all of the foreign settlers. It didn't matter whether you were of British descent or of Boer blood. The 'pecking order' with whites atop of the ladder had to be maintained. And it was preserved with little or no regard to the loss of human dignity and lives.

Richard Harris delivers an outstanding performance as James Jarvis. He's a wealthy white landowner. To his family and peers, Jarvis is more than respected. He's revered. To his workers, especially the African natives he's feared. They all call him 'Baas Man'. That title says it all.

On the other side of the racial divide, we encounter Rev. Stephen Kumalo. Make no mistake: James Earl Jones portrayal of the quiet man was so intense yet sensitive it almost moved me to tears. In fact, it did on at least two occasions, maybe more.

Although they live in the same remote rural community, the two respective leaders of their 'volk or tribe' rarely if ever have met even in public. Soon, that would change. In Joburg, the largest city and also the commercial hub of the Republic, a gruesome murder has taken place. This random act of violence though unbeknown to either Jarvis or the Reverend Kumalo, will ultimately unite the two disparate men. They both would suffer the loss of a son: Jarvis through murder, and Kumalo through capital punishment. No doubt, nothing short of a cruel fate was necessary to draw both men closer to themselves and eventually each other.

Now as a citizen living abroad, after having sojourned in the Republik for many years, I will say I was deeply moved by each man's journey. Save the political message (way too much liberalism) I believe the film first and foremost conveyed a single, laudable tenet: as human beings, we owe it to God to walk in our neighbor's shoes even though we've grown so comfortable in our own, 'private' space.

By Jove, this film achieved just that emotive plane. And thank Almighty God too for inspiring Alan Paton's novel of the same title as well. Moreover, I am certain the silver screen adaptation did the author, the beloved country and the characters much righteous justice.

A very fine motion picture that uplifts despite its sadness

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 8/10 · 4 July 2017]

This is an excellent film.

I've always enjoyed James Earl Jones, and this portrayal of a South African minister is among his better efforts because he underplays what many would have done. I've NEVER seen a film in which I liked Richard Harris until this one; he's rock steady here in his portrayal of a previously bigoted father struggling to cope with the murder of his son. Charles Dutton is, perhaps, the best here I have seen him. And Vusi Kunene, a South African actor, is wonderful as another minister who assists James Earl Jones in finding his son.

The story is so good. Touching while showing us the evil face of apartheid and all that that system of government spawned.

Many of the scenes of the countryside are remarkably beautiful.

All around, this is a fine motion picture, and I'll give it a rare commodity for me -- an "8".

Cry, yes you will

[HotToastyRag · 9/10 · 6 March 2022]

Get out your Kleenexes, folks. This heavy drama is a massive tearjerker. After the credits rolled, I remember crying for half an hour; thankfully, I was home alone at the time. Even if you're not a parent, this movie will tug on your heart.

There was an original version in 1951, but it was very low-budget and simply made. The remake focuses on the real meat of the story, of two fathers connecting over the bond of their sons. In South Africa, set during the 1940s, James Earl Jones plays a minister with a wonderful heart who has set a good example for his son. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that his son is missing, on the run from law. When he sets on a journey to find and exonerate him, he meets another missing boy's father, Richard Harris. Richard is prejudiced, but as he's forced to spend time with James to find out what happened to his son, he learns many lessons.

The title tells you to cry, and cry you will. Some performances are so emotional, I feel embarrassed to see the actors putting themselves in such vulnerable positions. Admittedly a double-standard, I always find it much more tragic and effective to see men cry. In essence, this movie turns me into a puddle. Watch at your own risk, but you'll see some fantastic performances if you do.

Why the beloved country?

[paul2001sw-1 · 14 October 2004]

Apartheid was a grotesque social experiment aimed at perpetuating the evils of colonialism after the age of empires was past; white liberal Alan Paton one of its most celebrated literary critics. Darrell Roodt's film of perhaps his most famous book, Cry, the Beloved Country', stars Richard Harris and James Earl Jones (better known as the voice of Darth Vader, which leads to some unintentionally comic moments) and is not an awful film; but politically, it misses its targets. Aided by some slushy background music, it invests most of its black characters with a frankly ludicrous level of dignity; while oddly underplaying its depiction of the routine dehumanisation that black people suffered under white rule. In consequence, the film's only real anger appears directed not at the system but at Jones's brother, a nasty and opportunist anti-apartheid campaigner, which was surely not quite the original point. At the end of the film, an impassioned quote from Paton appears on the screen; it's a shame it seems so unconnected with what has preceded it.

A fine rendering of a timeless classic

[harveygarrettmail · 9/10 · 24 August 2006]

This is an exceptionally good rendering of Alan Paton's timeless novel. Turning such a book into a film is always fraught with challenges, but this one succeeds admirably in capturing both the story and the almost biblical tone of Paton's writing. If the language of the novel moved you, this film will too. James Earl Jones seems at first to be an unlikely Stephen Kumalo, but, like Richard Harris as Jarvis, Snr, he both captures and enriches the character. These feel like real people. Watch this film bearing in mind that the novel was written in the 1940s, and much of it becomes truly prophetic - not least the suggestion that Aparteid's architects and enforcers would be consigned "to the sewers of history." Highly recommended.

The Best

[dcarroll74 · 10/10 · 24 April 2021]

A movie that was ahead of it's time. I don't believe I need to add except, it was and still is, a brilliant movie.

Jones & Harris are Powerhouse Players!

[Sylviastel · 8/10 · 8 October 2014]

James Earl Jones and the late Richard Harris give stellar performances as fathers in apartheid South Africa. This film is an adaptation of the novel by writer, Alan Paton. Since I haven't read the novel, I can only go by the presentation. Jones and Harris are two of the finest actors in film. This film captures the heartache, immorality, injustice, and other depictions of South Africa in the 1940s. For two men of different races, they are brought together by tragedy. The art director and scenery is quite spectacular. The depiction of an earlier time period is well done with art direction and costumes. The film is less than two hours. The film is more character driven than action driven. It's a sad film overall about a dark history in humankind. South Africa's apartheid separated the races where the minority whites lived affluently while the blacks lived in poverty. The cast includes Charles Dutton, an American actor, as a South African preacher. Still it's Jones and Harris' film overall. Their performances are powerhouses.