Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom Review

The Man, Mr. Mandela 

Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom Review – I cried when I found out Princess Diana died in a car accident, I cried when I learned about Mother Theresa’s passing and I also shed tears when I heard Mr. Nelson Mandela had ‘left’ our Earth. These some of the people whom I’ve never met in person although I wish I had but somehow they had a deep influence in my life. These are the people who dared to be different and actually made a difference in our world. Mention the name Mandela and the image of South Africa comes to mind. I remember the time when our Malaysian passport had South Africa’s name as places we are banned from travelling. Back then I didn’t understand what the meaning of Apartheid was. It was just a word which became a clear picture after I watched this movie.

...from Courtroom....

...to the Congress... 

This film is an adaptation of Mandela’s ‘struggle to fight for his people’s right’. It portrays his journey from being a lawyer to later joining the African National Congress (ANC) for fair share of the country ruled by the ‘whites’. We get to witness ANC’s ‘effort’, be in peacefully or aggressively so that the ‘blacks’ will not be subjected to brutality by their ‘white masters’ thru-out the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s! We also get to see the ‘trial’ where Mandela and his comrades was sentence to life in prison which was later reduced to 27 years and his subsequent appointment at the age of 75 as the first black President. Another side of the movie also captured his wife own battle to bring the people together. It may have looked simple in the movie but sure was not an easy task to go against guns, booms and brutal beatings.

True love....

The cast…hmm…Idris Elba as Mandela…I was not convinced because my favourite ‘Mandela’ is Morgan Freeman, he did a home-run on ‘Invictus’ so I’m biased towards Mr. Freeman. Not to undermine Idris effort, he still did a decent job playing world’s most famous Blackman (sounds racist, I’m sorry). Just that I would have preferred if Morgan was again picked to helm this ‘Walk’. I was however impressed with Naomie Harris (who played Winnie Madikizela-Mandela); she simply stole my attention whenever she came into screen with her strong character. It was nice to see the spotlight on Mrs. Mandela every once in a while. Well picked cast with some original footage thrown in to show what went on during the time of unrest really makes you value your freedom. The music, the scenery, the feeling truly captured the essence of Africa.

Mandela....eh I mean Morgan! Hehehe 

I watched Diana and was not-so-happy-with-the-end-result. Thank God this film didn’t disappoint me. Some of the scenes were truly heart-wrenching. How people of their own country are made to suffer for the pleasure of a few. Sounds kinda familiar doesn’t it? because there is no denying that this situation still exists at some if not most parts of the World still. From the outside it might look like nothing but if one were to dig deeper, one have no idea what one might find. I’m glad that I was born during Mandela’s time to witness his service to his community until his last breath. I just wish I could make a difference big or small before my time comes. I sincerely thank Madiba for all his contribution and hope he is resting in peace.