A film predominantly made to stir the pot and appeal to the emotions of as wide an audience as possible, so with this in mind you can almost forgive euzhan palcys a dry white season for its flaws made during the horrific apartheid era of south africa where political unrest and social turbulence was widespread, the film was unsurprisingly banned on release in s. Jan 17, 2019 nonetheless the black africans are all played by locals, who are given the chance to speak bantu as well as english in the film. This film is unblinking in its depiction of the most violent side of apartheid. Marlon brando has a minor role as an attorney who, for sutherlands sake, takes the government and police to court, presents overwhelming evidence of massive abuse by authorities. Though its far from subtle, a dry white season is nevertheless a powerful examination of the effects of apartheid on a privileged white man. A dry white season is a 1989 american dramahistorical film directed by euzhan palcy and starring donald sutherland, jurgen prochnow, marlon brando, janet suzman, zakes mokae and susan sarandon. A dry white season, based on the book by the late, bestselling south african author andre brink, played at the toronto international film festival earlier this month, before it plays again next. The toughminded a dry white season is the best film yet about the struggle for justice in south africa. A dry white season is a 1989 american dramahistorical film directed by euzhan palcy and starring donald sutherland, jurgen prochnow, marlon brando. The novel focuses on the death during detention of a man wrongly suspected of being a black activist. I rarely see this movie mentioned in biographical comment with regard to brandos career, and. The truth is that many welleducated, sophisticated white people lived through years of minority rule in south africa barely thinking about what was happening to the.
Robert bolt also contributed uncredited revisions of the screenplay. A dry white season is a political statement euzhan palcy tiff. A dry white season becomes a suspense film in its final act as ben and johan try to deliver secret affidavits to the press, a decision that not only costs ben his job and family, but his life. In the most disturbing drama based on andre brinks novel a dry white season, donald sutherand stars as a south african high school history teacher. He appeared in six films during the 1990s, highlighted by a sendup of his godfather character in the freshman 1990 and by his sensitive portrayal of an. A dry white seasonby andre brinkthe literary work a novel set in johannesburg and soweto, south africa, in the late 1970s. Tiff is a charitable cultural organization with a mission to transform the way people see the world, through film. In a dry white season, a successful novel which became a successful motion picture, brink visits familiar terrain, namely afrikaner south africa as opposed to british south africa at a time of. In 1989, euzhan palcy became the first black female filmmaker to direct a studio movie with the south africaset apartheid thriller a dry white season, starring donald sutherland, susan.
Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing a dry white season near you. A dry white season is political cinema so deeply felt it attains a moral grace. A white middle class south african suburbanite with no interest in politics agrees to help his black gardener find his jailed son. A dry white season looks a bit anachronistic now, but its sincerity of purpose cannot be doubted.
Dec 11, 2018 a dry white seasons portrayal of its protagonist and his growing realization of the extent of his own ignorance is an unusually nuanced exploration of the way in which institutionalized racism functions. Following the critical success of sugar cane alley, palcy became the first black woman to direct a hollywood studio feature with this adaptation. Donald sutherland stars as benjamin du toit, a teacher at a south african school who receives an unpleasant lesson in racism when his gardener commits suicide after being held for several days by the police. A novel set in johannesburg and soweto, south africa, in the late 1970s. Movies like a dry white season if you like a dry white season you are looking for emotional, disturbing and thought provoking movies about with racism, fighting the system, legal, society, crimes, injustice and interracial relations themes of drama and thriller genre shot in usa. A dry white season letterboxd social film discovery. Euzhan palcy born january, 1958 is a film director, writer and producer from martinique, french west indies. Feb 01, 2019 in 1989, euzhan palcy became the first black female filmmaker to direct a studio movie with the south africaset apartheid thriller a dry white season, starring donald sutherland, susan. A dry white season is a powerfully serious movie, but the director, euzhan palcy, provides a break in the middle, almost as shakespeare used to bring on pantomime before returning to the deaths of kings. Drys film heritage seems to be the 1985 foreignlanguage oscar winner, the official story. A dry white season 1989 marlon brando, donald sutherland guilherme kramer. In a dry white season 1989, set in apartheidera south africa, donald sutherland and zakes mokae become embroiled in an investigation into the disappearance of two black men taken into police. A dry white season 1989 a dry white season 1989 user. A dry white season a wrenching picture about south africa that makes no expedient compromises with feelgood entertainment values, a dry white season displays riveting performances and visceral style.
Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. A dry white season 1989 marlon brando, donald sutherland. His investigation opens his eyes to the horrors committed by the secret police and turns him into a target. Other articles where a dry white season is discussed. Say, for example, that you are a white schoolmaster in south africa and live in a comfortable suburban home with your wife and two children. Yet, a dry white season ends on a hopeful note, one that presages the release of nelson mandela from the prison and the collapse of apartheid. Produced whilst mandela was still in prison, this hollywood feature condemns south african apartheid and the brutal injustices of the system and authorities. It is a film shot by euzhan palcy in 1997 which is based from a novel by andre brink. A dry white season is a sad, depressing look at racial prejudices in apartheid south africa through the story of a white man trying to bring justice to the memory of a black man. She is notable for being the first black woman director of a film produced by a major hollywood studio, for a dry white season 1989, as well as being the only woman filmmaker to have directed marlon brando, whom she brought back to the screen after a gap of nine years. It was written by colin welland and palcy, based upon andre brinks novel a dry white season. Watch a dry white season full movie in hd visit during the 1976 soweto uprising, a white school teachers life and val. A bitter medicine, a painful reminder, it grieves for south africa as it recounts the atrocities of apartheid. The film itself is a splendid period piece of apartheid south africa.
White schoolteacher ben du toit donald sutherland lives in johannesburg and. A chain of voices, which recounts through many points of view a slave revolt in 1825. A dry white seasons portrayal of its protagonist and his growing realization of the extent of his own ignorance is an unusually nuanced exploration of the way in which institutionalized racism functions. A dry white season a polemic against south african apartheid, this may not meet criteria for great filmmaking, but director euzhan palcys film succeeds in being significant. The title quotes a line from the struggle poem for don m. A dry white season 1989 movies, tv, celebs, and more. A dry white season 1989 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Set in south africa in 1976, the movie draws its grim ring of truth from the reallife violence of the soweto uprising, briefly but unforgettably documented here as the. A school teacher, benjamin du toit sutherland, lives in blissful ignorance of the penuries of apartheid, thinking his. The main characters are ben du toit played by donald sutherland, captain stolz played by jurgen prochnow, stanley played by zakes mokae and gordon played by winston ntshona. It is sometimes horrifying and hard to take, although there also is considerable ironic humor in the clarence darrowlike trial tactics of the lawyer. A dry white season is a worthy yet frustrating film.
Ben du toit is a schoolteacher whose life changes when he becomes involved with the family of the school caretaker gordon ngubene. The film a dry white season essay example for students. Also remarkable is the fact that the film was able to deliver its message in opposition to the propaganda of the apartheid state at a time. Jul 16, 2017 a story set in apartheidera south africa. A dry white season donald sutherland pictures cbs news. There is a film of comparison to a dry white season, not mainstream and simplified and certainly without the draw of major stars, but one that drops us right down into life in the townships. With donald sutherland, janet suzman, zakes mokae, jurgen prochnow. A dry white season with marlon brando in hollywood. A dry white season full film online watch a dry white season full english film a dry white season full movie stream free download a dry white season full movie studio a dry white season pelicula. A dry white season by jeanne cooper washington post staff writer september 22, 1989. In the most disturbing drama based on andre brinks novel a dry white season 1989, donald sutherand stars as a south african high school history teacher.
The film, set against the political upheaval of 1967, tells a tale of two families. Susan sarandon appears briefly as a british journalist, but she doesnt have to do much. With this bracing drama, made at the climax of the antiapartheid movement, director euzhan palcy issued a devastating indictment of south africas racist governmentand made history in the process, becoming the first black woman to direct a hollywood studio film. Susan sarandon is a british newspaperwoman working in that country. The cast, clearly dedicated to the project, is uniformly excellent, and there is no sense in the skillfully built, suspenseful flow of the story that this. A white south african schoolteacher, ignorant about racism in his country, becomes involved when his black gardener is killed. White schoolteacher ben du toit donald sutherland lives in johannesburg and remains blissfully incurious about the lives of. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies.