Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, directed by Justin Chadwik; depicts the life of the south African president, Nelson Mandela. It starts off with his childhood, coming of age, education, his 27 years spent in prison before becoming president to once again rebuild the segregated society.
The movie starts out with Mandela (acted by Idris Elba) as clever, young lawyer who is defending a lady who is accused of stealing her mistress's knickers. After a drunk was beaten to death by the police, while the they said that it was because of medical reasons. Mandela starts to get involved with the ANC, by burning identity papers, and transporting between safe houses. During this time the movie also shows Mandela cheating on his first wife and neglecting his infant son.
In the midst of fighting for a democratic South African, he was caught by the police and in court he willingly said that he would die for the freedom of South Africa. But instead of the death sentence, he was sentenced life imprisonment. And was flown out to Robben Island; where they were treated like boy scouts, and had to break rocks. After 27 years, Mandela was finally let out and was elected the president of South Africa.
One thing I really liked about this movie is that they clearly shows how Mandela and his second wife react to being in prison. While Mandela was in prison, he still fought for equal rights. For example, when he first went to Robben Island, the "boys" (African) were given shorts; while his friend, Kathy got long pants. The first thing Mandela did was request for long pants, which he eventually did get. While Mandela handled the situation calmly, his second wife did not.
When Mandela's second wife, Winnie (Naomie Harris) was in prison. She used her hatred to fuel herself, she thought that as long as they were white, they were bad. The 27 years Mandela was in prison, she used violence to prove her point. For example, if she was to ever figure out that an African was helping the Europeans. She would kill them right on the spot, by putting a tire over them, pouring gasoline over them and setting them on fire.
Although this movie clearly shows the difference between Mandela and his wife and how they handled reacted to being in prison. It also clearly showed how South Africa changed after Steve Biko's death. Although in the movie Steve Biko was never mentioned, he played a key role into shaping South Africa with the help of Mandela. Steve Biko was brutally beaten to death because he opposed the laws of the westerners; who at that time had full control over South Africa. Also during this time, South Africa was highly segregated; whites being the superior race, and Africans being the lesser race. The death of Biko opened up everyone's eyes to the brutality of the westerners. And leads to the presidency of Mandela. When Mandela was still in prison, he talked to many other African states, hoping that they could help him in overthrowing the western powers in South Africa. And during his elections in 1994, the western powers were finally diminished.
Although this was a long movie, it kept me engaged and I learned a lot from it. I would recommend anyone who wants to learn more about Nelson Mandela to watch this movie.
The movie starts out with Mandela (acted by Idris Elba) as clever, young lawyer who is defending a lady who is accused of stealing her mistress's knickers. After a drunk was beaten to death by the police, while the they said that it was because of medical reasons. Mandela starts to get involved with the ANC, by burning identity papers, and transporting between safe houses. During this time the movie also shows Mandela cheating on his first wife and neglecting his infant son.
In the midst of fighting for a democratic South African, he was caught by the police and in court he willingly said that he would die for the freedom of South Africa. But instead of the death sentence, he was sentenced life imprisonment. And was flown out to Robben Island; where they were treated like boy scouts, and had to break rocks. After 27 years, Mandela was finally let out and was elected the president of South Africa.
One thing I really liked about this movie is that they clearly shows how Mandela and his second wife react to being in prison. While Mandela was in prison, he still fought for equal rights. For example, when he first went to Robben Island, the "boys" (African) were given shorts; while his friend, Kathy got long pants. The first thing Mandela did was request for long pants, which he eventually did get. While Mandela handled the situation calmly, his second wife did not.
When Mandela's second wife, Winnie (Naomie Harris) was in prison. She used her hatred to fuel herself, she thought that as long as they were white, they were bad. The 27 years Mandela was in prison, she used violence to prove her point. For example, if she was to ever figure out that an African was helping the Europeans. She would kill them right on the spot, by putting a tire over them, pouring gasoline over them and setting them on fire.
Although this movie clearly shows the difference between Mandela and his wife and how they handled reacted to being in prison. It also clearly showed how South Africa changed after Steve Biko's death. Although in the movie Steve Biko was never mentioned, he played a key role into shaping South Africa with the help of Mandela. Steve Biko was brutally beaten to death because he opposed the laws of the westerners; who at that time had full control over South Africa. Also during this time, South Africa was highly segregated; whites being the superior race, and Africans being the lesser race. The death of Biko opened up everyone's eyes to the brutality of the westerners. And leads to the presidency of Mandela. When Mandela was still in prison, he talked to many other African states, hoping that they could help him in overthrowing the western powers in South Africa. And during his elections in 1994, the western powers were finally diminished.
Although this was a long movie, it kept me engaged and I learned a lot from it. I would recommend anyone who wants to learn more about Nelson Mandela to watch this movie.