Cry, the Beloved Country

Released 1995
Stars James Earl Jones, Richard Harris, Vusi Kunene, Charles Dutton, Leleti Kumalo, Eric Miyeni
Directed by Darrell James Roodt

Two very different men come to the city of Johannesburg. Though they are both from the rural district of Natal and have a mutual dislike of city life, they have never met. The first is a black pastor, Reverend Stephen Kumalo (James Earl Jones), who has left behind his poor community to make the journey in search of his son. The second is a white landowner, James Jarvis (Richard Harris), who has come to Johannesburg to bury his only child, Arthur, the victim of a shooting by three black youths, one of whom was Absalom Kumalo, Stephen's son.

Both James Earl Jones and Richard Harris, two screen veterans, are superb. Separately, these two are riveting, but their scenes together lift Cry, the Beloved Country to a higher plateau. The initial meeting between Stephen and James is one of the most potent scenes not just of the year, but of the decade.

Producer Anant Singh has said he wanted to wait to film this version of Cry, the Beloved Country until after apartheid's death so that the new climate in South Africa could provide a more hopeful backdrop. The timing is right, for today's circumstances quiet one of Paton's great concerns: that "when the white man turns to loving, the black man will have turned to hating." Cry, the Beloved Country shows the path of tolerance and compassion that the leaders of South Africa have finally found.

Summary by James Berardinelli