RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / In My Country
In My Country

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

In My Country (2005)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
23 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:80

Fresh:18

Rotten:62

Average Rating:4.8/10

Consensus: A well-intentioned but melodramatic look at post-Apartheid South Africa.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, including descriptions of atrocities

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Mar 11, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is a Washington Post journalist. His editor provocatively sends him to South Africa to cover the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, in which the... Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is a Washington Post journalist. His editor provocatively sends him to South Africa to cover the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, in which the perpetrators of murder and torture on both sides during the Apartheid era are invited to come forward and confront their victims. By telling the unvarnished truth and expressing contrition, they may be granted amnesty. Can the deep wounds of Apartheid be healed through reconciliation? Langston is deeply sceptical. He tracks down Col. De Jager, the most notorious torturer in the SA Police and tries to penetrate the mind of a monster, an experience that obliges him to confront his own demons. Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche), is an Afrikaans poet who is covering the hearings for radio. As a white South African she is shattered by the accounts of the cruelty and depravity committed by her fellow countrymen. Anna and Langston must both question their sense of identity. Where do they each belong? How responsible are they for what is done in the name of their respective countries? The moving testimony of the victims affects them deeply. In different ways they are both estranged from their families, and their shared experience draws them ever closer to each other. It is a story charting the unfathomable depths of human cruelty and the redeeming power of forgiveness and love. -- © Sony Pictures Classics [More]

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Samuel L. Jackson, Brendan Gleeson, Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Samuel L. Jackson, Brendan Gleeson, Menzi "Ngubs" Ngubane

Director: John Boorman

Director: John Boorman
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock
Producer: Robert Chartoff, Mike Medavoy, Kieran Corrigan
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • In My Country Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jul 5, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for In My Country

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

In spite of narrative missteps that negate the possibility of an empathetic protagonist, "In My Country" does viably introduce the African principle of "Ubuntu" whereby evil transgressions are absolved rather than revenged.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/16/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out New York
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

A familiar, superficial lesson.

Full Review Source: F5 (Wichita, KS) | comment Comment
04/22/06
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
AV Club

Points for trying and all, but this particular chapter of South Africa's history deserves a movie a bit more sincere -- and a lot less corny.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
07/21/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
DVDTalk.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/05/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

It shows what can go wrong when a good-intentioned filmmaker mixes historical tragedy with Hollywood banality.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
06/09/05
Richard Nilsen
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Intelligent piece that does its job as entertainment. More importantly, it should advance public knowledge about the apartheid government's human rights violations.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
06/02/05
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Watching [apartheid victims’] testimony become background noise for Jackson and Binoche's tawdry melodrama is aggravating.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
05/13/05
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Its star, Juliette Binoche, may be a fine actress, but she's also very French. And no matter how hard she tries to perfect the tricky Afrikaans accent, she's simply not believable playing a South African poet.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/13/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

I do not question the filmmaker's sincerity, but he has made a flat, uninvolving movie. The road to boredom is paved with good intentions, after all.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
05/09/05
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

...the foxhole relationship that develops between Anna and Langston is completely natural -- up until the point where they fall into bed together.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
04/29/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The gripping material is given short thrift in favor of routine melodrama and a love story that has nearly nothing to do with what should be the crux of the story.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
04/28/05
Paul Doro
Paul Doro
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

There is great material here and ample food for thought, but the presentation is lacking.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
04/23/05
Marrit Ingman
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle

Ostensibly about the aftermath of apartheid, but the pain of a people serves only as a backdrop for the most contrived of love stories.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
04/22/05
John Monaghan
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You feel insulted you're expected to care about the petty problems of the leads when other characters are dealing with child murder, political torture and genocide.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
04/22/05
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

[E]xhaustingly heartbreaking... An unforgettable film about justice...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
04/22/05
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

We want to know more about the stories of real-life South Africans, but the Oscar nominees keep standing right in front of them.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
04/14/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for In My Country

August 17, 2006: Critical Consensus: "SOAP," "Material Girls" Not Screened; "Accepted" Denied; "Sunshine" Shines
This week at the movies, we've got snakes.... on a plane ("Snakes on a Plane," starring Samuel L. Jackson), slackers on a campus ("Accepted," starring Justin... More...

September 08, 2005: Critical Consensus: Critics Pan "Emily Rose," "The Man"
This week at the movies features two of our favorite story elements: demonic possession ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") and fish-out-of-water-cop-buddy-action stuff... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
40% 40% Surrogates
83% 83% Whip It
29% 29% Gamer
97% 97% The Hurt Locker
81% 81% Michael Jackson's This…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
87% 87% A Serious Man
37% 37% The Time Traveler's Wife
78% 78% Bronson
11% 11% The Stepfather

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Runaways Pictures

Runaways Pictures

Run away with Kristen and Dakota!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tom Cruise Accepts Another Mission: Impossible Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
32
  • Chris Nolan on Board for Dark Knight Sequel -- and Superman Reboot? Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
258
  • Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern Source: Hollywood Reporter
58
  • Fox Moves Forward with 24 Movie Source: HitFix
8
  • Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters III Source: Sunday Mail [UK]
56
  • Captain America News, News, and More News Source: Collider.com
20
  • Taylor Lautner Is Stretch Armstrong Source: MTV
78
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
288
  • Percy Jackson Star (Briefly) Rumored for Spider-Man Reboot Source: Hollywood Reporter
35
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
140
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Jeff Bridges' Best Movies
114
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Finally Toppled by Dear John
104
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
96
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
70
  • Five Favorite Films With Precious' Gabby Sidibe
35
  • Friday Harvest: The Last Airbender, The A-Team, and more!
27
  • Critics Consensus: From Paris With Love Is Not Bon
22
  • Total Recall: Anthony Hopkins' Best Movies
19
  • Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni Rose
17
  • Awards Tour: Pixar and Disney Rule The Annies
15
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Oscar Nominee Gabby Sidibe Talks Precious
20
  • One Man's Quest To Find The Worst Movie Ever
7
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
77
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
22
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
3
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
13
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • In My Country at Rotten Tomatoes
  • In My Country at IGN
  • In My Country at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Celebrity Yearbook Photos
Celebrity Yearbook Photos External Link

Check out PopEater's collection of childhood photos of celebs, from Tom Cruise to Kim Kardashian.

Who Will Win the Oscars?
Who Will Win the Oscars? External Link

TIME's Richard Corliss pores over the Oscar noms for the major awards and offers his take on who will win.

Oscar Fever = Terminal Illness?
Oscar Fever = Terminal Illness? External Link

For a different take, the AV Club delves into why awards season is terrible.

Who's the Razziest?
Who's the Razziest? External Link

Moviefone has put together a list of the actors with the most Razzie noms ever.

Mass Effect Movie?
Mass Effect Movie? External Link

Hollywood.com makes a case for a big screen adaptation of popular game Mass Effect.

Promos
Get the Flixster App Now!
Get the Flixster App Now! External Link

Download it from iTunes and get Tomatometer scores straight to your iPhone!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2010, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.