Country of My Skull (2004)

Director:

John Boorman

Writers (WGA):

Antjie Krog (book)
Ann Peacock (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 May 2004 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A South African Story of Truth, Love and Reconcilliation

Plot:

Langston Whitfield is a Washington Post journalist. His editor provocatively sends him to South Africa...

Plot Keywords:

Interracial Relationship | South Africa

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Samuel L. Jackson	...	Langston Whitfield
Juliette Binoche	...	Anna Malan
Brendan Gleeson	...	De Jager
Menzi Ngubane	...	Dumi Mkhalipi (as Menzi 'Ngubs' Ngubane)
Sam Ngakane	...	Anderson
Aletta Bezuidenhout	...	Elsa
Lionel Newton	...	Edward Morgan
Langley Kirkwood	...	Boetie
Owen Sejake	...	Reverend Mzondo
Harriet Lenabe	...	Albertina Sobandia (as Harriet Manamela)
Louis Van Niekerk	...	Willem Malan
Jeremiah Ndlovu	...	Old Man in Wheelbarrow
Fiona Ramsey	...	Felicia Rheinhardt (as Fiona Ramsay)
Dan Robbertse	...	De Smidt (as Daniel Robbertse)
Robert Hobbs	...	Van Deventer

Also Known As:

Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa (UK) (working title)
In My Country (USA)
Truth (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, including descriptions of atrocities, and for a scene of violence.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK | Ireland | South Africa

Language:

English | Afrikaans

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | UK:15 | Australia:M | Brazil:16 | Germany:12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Mexico:B15 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

Chartoff Productions

Quotes:

[first lines]
Nelson Mandela: Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The South Bank Show: John Boorman (#28.18)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

De Aar

probably an undervalued masterpiece

I am wondering about the mostly bad reactions on that film. For my side it is a brilliant film and proves that Boorman is a very good story teller. The fact where this films deserves attention is that Boorman never imposes his point of view as an south African one.

He emphasizes his view from outside to this countries history. The relation ship between a white south African writer and the black American journalist evokes for me that two different people linked with different histories give this film a strange depth. There are links to American racism (Whitefield made probably experiences with it) The irony is that Binoche is split between her identity as a critic of the racism in Southafrica. Her family says she is betraying her people and at the beginning Whitefield does not accept her as an African. Whitefields history like all of afro Americans is the tragic history of African slaves who were deported from Africa to all parts of the world. There are different links between different persons and their history. I believe that this film is misunderstood by many like they misunderstood at the beginning Renoirs masterpiece THE RIVER. In COUNTRY OF MY SKULL fiction framed by history is always presented as a fictive story like Renoirs film was always transparent as a story which takes place in India but made by a western film director. Otherwise I think that Boorman is very subtle and careful with documentary material. He is not aiming to shock or to raise emotions more than necessary. These are only a few reasons why I consider this film as an undervalued masterpiece.