Mugabe and the White African

2010

Mugabe and the White African

Critics Consensus

As much legal thriller as objective documentary, this account of a farmer's battle with Zimbabwe's regime serves as a powerful and emotional attack upon President Mugabe.

97%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 34

90%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 978
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Movie Info

Michael Campbell is one of a handful of white farmers still left in Zimbabwe since President Robert Mugabe began enforcing his controversial land seizure program, an initiative intended to reclaim white-owned land and redistribute it to poor black Zimbabweans. Since 2000, formerly thriving farms that employed thousands, now sit derelict while poverty and hunger are rife amongst the majority of the country's citizens; but 74-year-old Mike refuses to back down. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous 2008 presidential election, 'Mugabe and the White African' follows Mike and son-in-law Ben Freeth's harrowing attempt to take Mugabe to an international court for racism and violation of their human rights. It is an unprecedented case, upon which rests not only Mike and his family's future, but also the future of millions of ordinary Zimbabweans who continue to suffer at the hands of one of the world's most infamous tyrants.

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Cast

Mike Campbell
Angela Campbell
Ben Freeth
Laura Freeth
Robert Mugage

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Critic Reviews for Mugabe and the White African

All Critics (34) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (1)

  • The result is part legal thriller, part five-hankie melodrama.

    Jan 4, 2011 | Full Review…

    Cliff Doerksen

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • In a continent where despotic rule is not uncommon, there is little argument that Mugabe is the most monstrous of rulers.

    Sep 2, 2010 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Roger Ebert

    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic

  • Bailey and Thompson managed to create a remarkably vivid portrait of a land and its people, while bringing us two unforgettable heroes in Campbell and Freeth.

    Aug 13, 2010 | Rating: 4/5

    Gary Goldstein

    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic

  • Compelling true-life story of the legal battle between a white farmer and the repressive Zimbabwean regime.

    Jul 23, 2010 | Full Review…

    Frank Scheck

    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic

  • Many viewers will leave "Mugabe and the White African" thinking that they have seen few, if any, documentaries as wrenching, sad and infuriating, and those feelings will be justified.

    Jul 23, 2010 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Mike Hale

    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • The film clandestinely captures marauders in action while embedding itself in the imperiled home of aging farmer Michael Campbell.

    Jul 21, 2010 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Eric Hynes

    Time Out
    Top Critic
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Audience Reviews for Mugabe and the White African

  • Oct 15, 2011
    "Mugabe and the White African" is a documentary about Mike Campbell's fight to retain his commercial farm in Zimbabwe(ne Rhodesia) from being forcibly taken over by President Robert Mugabe, like those of other white farmers. And what Campbell goes through under threats of intimidation could definitely be thought of as a travesty. So, it is a shame that it is all presented with the subtlety of a tractor being dropped on your head. Mugabe is evil, we get it.(The documentary opens with stating that it had to be filmed under strict secrecy. Later there is a scene where Campbell is having a showdown with a government minister's son and they are both filming each other.) All that had to be done to establish this would be to show the beaten opposition candidates. What "Mugabe and the White African" also required was a wider perspective and I think part of the problem does come from the white farmers who have an air of paternalism about them when claiming their indespensability to the local economy, implying that they can do a much better job than any black farmers. And according to a BBC report in 2000, the white population which is 1% of Zimbabwe controlled more than 70% of the arable land. That along with Zimbabwe's extremely racist past allows Mugabe to so successfully play the race card.
    Walter M Super Reviewer
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