In My Country

After decades of apartheid and 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela is released in 1990. In 1994, democratic elections were held in South Africa for the first time, and in 1996 the hearings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission began. Eyewitnesses report on torture and targeted genocide, perpetrators are convicted or amnestied if they admit guilt. Journalists accompany the tribunal through the country, including Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche) and Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson). The tenacious struggle for justice and reconciliation through the reason of the commission is juxtaposed with white supremacism paired with self-pity and highlights the despair, anger and lack of prospects of the black population. The anti-apartheid folk song of the Xhosa, “Senzeni Na?”, permeates the film; as a slogan of perseverance against decades of oppression, it stands for a change of attitude and opinion and insists on the possibility of peaceful coexistence. (E.S.)

Photo: Cinémathèque suisse