Teringer
An Exercise In Nonsense
Kaydan Christian
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Yazmin
Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Lee Eisenberg
In 1992, South Africa's transition away from four decades of institutionalized racism was underway, so it made sense to release a movie about apartheid. There had been a couple of movies about the topic by this point (Cry Freedom, A World Apart, A Dry White Season), but to my knowledge no famous movie had featured black South Africans as the main characters until "Sarafina!". It makes clear that the apartheid government was a militaristic, near fascist regime - sending armed guards into the schools to make sure that the black students only learn the government-approved syllabus - but also that the black majority knew that they had power in their numbers. It's got some of the most impressive music.While Whoopi Goldberg's presence gets touted, another important cast member is singer Miriam Makeba. Makeba was one of the most famous activists in the country. Here she plays the mother of the title character, working as a domestic servant for a white family. When Sarafina goes to visit her mother, the employer casually greets her. Cordial though it may seem, it's clear that this white family will never accept Sarafina or Sarafina's mother as their equals.We could be cynical and say that even since the end of apartheid, conditions remain the same for blacks white many of the whites still cling to racist attitudes. Even so, it's important to understand the history, especially since the apartheid government did things like send troops to Angola to back an autocrat against the country's independence movement.And yes, the recently deceased Hugh Masekela did some of the music.
Francesca Romana Garroni
Apartheid from the touching perspective of a hopeful teenager dreaming and fighting for a better future for her generation.Sarafina! Is a brilliant adaptation of a 1988 Boadway musical narrating the struggles and hopes of a young South African student and her schoolmates during the controversial era of Apartheid, characterised by escalating violence and intolerance against the black community.It stars Hollywood star Whoopy Goldberg cast as Mary Masombuka, Sarafina's courageous teacher, imprisoned for daring to inspire her students to feel proud of their origin.In this film emerging actress Leleti Khumalo gives an exceptional interpretation of the leading character, a fierce, bright and optimistic young woman from Soweto.It also features singer Mariam Makeba cast as Angelina, Sarafina's mother, employed as a domestic servant by a white family in order to support financially her children living in a deprived area of Soweto.The remaining extraordinarily talented cast, mainly composed by internationally unknown South African actors, the powerful soundtrack, featuring a glorious "Freedom is coming" amongst other fabulous songs and the intensity of the dialogues, tackling controversial political and social issues, make this film a masterpiece not to be missed.Sarafina!thoroughly succeeds in depicting the tremendous power of education and knowledge for social and political change.I highly recommend it to everyone, especially young audiences for its powerful message on equality and hope for a brighter future.
moonspinner55
An apartheid musical, adapted from a minor Broadway hit from 1988, and ostensibly directed at families (with Whoopi Goldberg's casting a commercial hook). South African students, led by headstrong teenager Sarafina, protest and riot when their beloved teacher, Goldberg's politically-wise Mary Masombuka, is taken to prison over arguments implementing the West Germanic Afrikaans as the school's language. Would-be inspirational effort, a pet project for Whoopi, was shot on-location in Soweto and Johannesburg, and does a fairly interesting job mixing the harsh realities of this strife-ridden city with unabashed singing and dancing (mainly used as fantasy subtext). However, the political points are made early on in Mbongeni Ngema's and William Nicholson's screenplay, so there's really no place surprising the picture can go. The impetus of the material is to teach us something through the students' passionate fervor, but director Darrell Roodt can only work up a mild head of steam, while his film quickly falls back on that old stand-by: sermonizing. Goldberg, in sedate mode, smiles serenely at the kids, nodding quietly in agreement with their protestations (she has the patience of 100 saints). Her first involvement in an early number, a musical prayer set on the school grounds, is ridiculously clumsy. The teenagers, energetic to a fault, fare somewhat better. *1/2 from ****
fierce_mink_2000
I only saw a few minutes of Sarafina!, but I must comment. I think a musical can never be a great teaching tool for anything but a drama class. I have been to South Africa, and granted, it has changed since the days of apartheid, what I saw in this movie is nothing like reality. Even today, the classrooms are not that nice, and the black people I met were nothing like the ones in the movie. I was privileged to see a few concerts of African music, and to spend a large amount of time in classrooms, both in white schools and black schools (yes, they are still segregated, although by location, class and money, rather than law). The general attitude of the people I saw in the movie was inaccurate, as were many details. I couldn't even figure out exactly what story they were trying to tell until I looked it up on TV Guide because it was so generically "African". I am sure that as entertainment and emotional manipulation, the movie is quite effective, but if you are interested in history, please find a more accurate source.