A World Apart

Released 1988
Stars Barbara Hershey, Jodhi May, Jeroen Krabbe, Carolyn Clayton-Cragg, Linda Mvusi
Directed by Chris Menges

Personal story of South African apartheid as seen through the eyes of a teenage girl whose mother, a Communist activist, is jailed under the notorious 90-day detention act in 1963. Both a story of government abuse and a look at one mother's neglect of her family because of her involvement with a larger cause. Unfortunately, it becomes too diffuse to succeed completely on either count. Young May is remarkable as the girl, however. Autobiographical script was written by Shawn Slovo.

Summary by Leonard Maltin