A Dry White Season

Euzhan Palcy is a great director. She has broken many barriers for Black Female Filmmakers. Most of her work has been political with strong impact, as this film is. Never before have we seen such a story told through the eyes of a black woman and done so well that she received critical acclaim. I have to disagree with Mr. Trevor Moses that this was an awful film. Also, Mr. Moses get your facts straight. The director of this film Ms. Palcy was not a racist hence the amazing cast. And one last thing these actors did this movie for almost nothing, including Robert Redford who did it for FREE, all because they saw her vision. FYI check out www.euzhanpalcy.com

The story tells of the terror and horror that abounded in segregated South Africa. The torture of the man servant mirrored that of what the Gestapo did to their victims during World War 2. I thought Donald Sutherland performed admirably, as did the entire supporting cast. What one piece of dialogue remains with me was the sentence spoken by Marlon Brando when he identified the corrolation between the law and justice, brilliant!

Having just seen it on the TV again after a number of years it is a stark reminder of the terror imposed on the black population by the security apparatus of S. Africa during the years of Apartheid. The part with Marlon Brando as the human rights lawyers is particularly good exposing the ludicrous nature of a system that is completely repressive while maintaining the fiction that it is not. This film should be compulsory viewing in any educational course studying recent African history A personal reminiscence:- I was living in Zimbabwe from 87-89 and I remember when the film was being shot on location there. They were shooting the scene at the end when it is raining but it was during the dry season in Zimbabwe in the local news they recorded the fact that they'd had to make their own rain with lots of hoses etc.