Jackson appears uncomfortable in his role, the scenes leading up to his romantic involvement are strangely unconvincing and the arc of both characters' emotional and political growth is choppy and contrived.
In My Country (2005)
Tomatometer
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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
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Reviews for In My Country
Ugly secrets unfold in staccato succession with the intent to incite but inspiring only groans.
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.
An academic dis-cussion punctuated by shots of magnificent countryside harboring unspeakable grief.
In My Country accomplishes its goal -- but does so largely through obvious plot devices.
Worth seeing for many reasons, including for the obvious educational aspects.
Offers a rounded and revealing story of the radical experiment in restorative justice in South Africa following the downfall of apartheid.
High-minded and tin-eared, it finds one of our greatest blood-poets staggering around "forgiveness," unable to suss out a visual vocabulary for this strange, new language.
The film, an international co-production about the aftermath of South African apartheid, has won peace awards and comes with a thumbs up from Nelson Mandela himself, none of which make its contrivances easier to swallow.
A wasted opportunity to tell in filmic terms two important histories: the crimes of apartheid and the love with which they were answered.
Because Ann Peacock's pedestrian script couldn't make any movie come to life, our interest in these two characters is nil.
It's always a bit sad when a good director takes aim at an important target and misses.
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.
A convoluted plot that takes away from the film's important central message
See In My Country anyway, because it's doubtful we'll get another movie too soon that raises the issue of vengeance versus forgiveness -- and endorses the latter in the name of a nation's spiritual well-being.
The combo of cultural cringe and a schematic, didactic screenplay strangles the human emotion.
Latest News for In My Country
August 17, 2006:
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September 08, 2005:
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