Bopha!

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In his directorial debut, actor Morgan Freeman cast a knowing eye on the ways the racist apartheid movement in South Africa--now demolished--divided South African blacks even from each other in this story of a black policeman. Danny Glover plays the cop, who believes he's trying to help his people, even while serving as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets involved in the antiapartheid movement, he finds himself torn between his family (including long-suffering wife Alfre Woodard) and what he believes is his duty. A sorrowful, anger-tinged film featuring a complex performance by the marvelous Glover, who seems to come apart at the seams before your very eyes. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Bopha.......2007-08-09

It's a wonder that the movie it self did not receive an Oscar nomination, but I'm not going to exspress my opinion why. Danny Glover's performance in this movie was awesome and probably his best. Truly a must see.

Terribly cruel but the bitter truth.......2007-05-12

This film is like a documentary. It is the truth about a terribly viscious

period in South Africa. it ends with the cry 'Amandla' which means

'Courage' - there is a wonderful documentary called 'Amandla' which is

the next stage in the Apartheid history. Worth seeing! ( Dvd)

The dilemmma of a black cop under apartheid.......2007-03-01

1980, South Africa. It is the time of the rebellion of all townships against Afrikaans and apartheid. The originality of this film is not to only look at the savage brutality of the South African whites but to look at the reality in a small township just before this rebellion and to explore the human and race relations existing there and how they are in the process of changing with a new generation of people arriving on the scene, though still in schools. It is in these schools that it will all start in the form of a refusal to speak Afrikaans and to answer any request, order or assignment given to them in Afrikaans. The film shows how the growing consciousness is crossing the family of the main black cop in the township, because law and order is in the hands of the South African Police whose officers are white but whose rank and file and even non-commissioned officers are black. It thus becomes the son against the father, but also the mother against the father, though the mother is the maid of the the main white officer of the police station and the husband is the main non-commissioned officer of the police station. But some people from the special branch arrive one day and the whole situation will explode, because they arrived, partly, because their first heroic act is the death of an older militant who hanged himself in his cell, with his hands tied up behind his back. But they also arrive on that day because their intelligence is telling them that the younger generation is listening to the militants that are not dead like Biko or in prison like Mandela or in exile like Mbeki. It shows how the local white head of the police station disagrees about these ruthless methods but he yields, though it is never clear whether it is because he wants to keep his job or because he lets himself be convinced about the necessity to bulldoze down this emerging movement. It also shows that the main black non-commissioned officer of the police station will finally resign and go back to his wife and his son, but it will be too late because a knife will be drawn and used before it can be prevented. And then the police reinforcements, this time mainly white, are arriving in the illegal funeral for the first batch of victims. Their is no end in such a policy : violence calls for resistance and violence which calls for more violence and it may last a long time before the powerful side yields and accept to share power and the majority side accepts a compromise that means sharing power and reconciliation. When we see such a film and remember these bloody years, we are justified to say that South Africa has come a long way and had gone, if not over the brink, at least quite close to taking the deep dive into an apocalyptic catastrophe. Strangely enough it is admirable that South Africa produced the leaders it needed to get out of the stalemate it had been cornered into by the bigotry of a racist and fascist regime.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

wow.......2001-05-27

I normally do not like movie like this, I am more into teen flicks, comedys, etc. but we watched Bopha! in school and it has most of our class in tears by the end. We were studying Africa and yes we had heard all about what happened but nothing compares to seeing this movie. It made even the sort of heartless kids in my class feel strongly about the subject, it put our lives into perspective. I think that this is a very powerful and moving movie and that everyone should see it at least once. but dont take my word for it, im just a kid, see it urself

very powerful&uplifting.......2000-02-15

i really enjoyed this film.props to Aresenio Hall.Morgan Freeman does a great job behind the camera.Danny Glover gives a powerful performance.a must see film.

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