A journey of 27 years - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom film review
This review of Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom can do little justice to Chadwick’s impeccable depiction of the life of the legendary Nelson Mandela. Even days after his passing, I am still left baffled on whether to address him as the ‘late’ Mandela, seeing as how Chadwick’s production breathed life right back into him. Goosebumps were inevitable.
Derived from Mandela’s autobiography of the same name; the film depicted a fair (and dare I say human) account of his life despite the 146 minute timeline.
We were witness to Mandela’s prime years, evolving from troublemaker to suave bachelor lawyer then married man and father. We saw him struggle as a black freedom fighter of a pre-dominant white nation – all this within just the first 45 minutes of the movie.
The movie not only depicted his struggle for equal rights, but Mandela’s plight as a family man brought on by acts of poor judgment which eventually led him to lose his first wife, Evelyn Made (Terry Pheto) and ironically meeting his second (and more famed) wife, Winnie.
While the film painted an accurate picture of Mandela’s life before and during his 27 year imprisonment; it was the battles fought on outside of his prison walls that were the main focus of the film - particularly Naomi Harris’ powerful performance as Winnie Mandela. It was Winnie we felt sympathy for, single mother of two and the only connection to Mandela’s movement.
Harris captured the essence of the Winnie’s struggle as she took upon the burden of finishing what her husband had started. There were moments of fear, sympathy and eventually bittersweet sorrow seeing a powerful couple separate on the account of polarizing ideals. Mandela’s release meant the end of Winnie’s 27 years of sole leadership of a party that would not cave in to the government’s proposed deal.
As the story unfolds, you find yourself rooting back for Mandela and his non-violent but cleverly woven approach, only to realize you've always been supporting him; just waiting for the Mandela we knew to appear. This was a testament to Idris Elba’s portrayal, showing us Mandela as human and his transformation to saint hood.
Even though this film could never convey all the achievements and the contributions Mandela had on the world; this film was able to beautifully illustrate why he was so highly revered – perhaps for many generations to come.
Seeing this film screened at the 10th Dubai International Film Festival and on the evening of his memorial, I was reminded time and again about this man’s sacrifice to a cause that was bigger than all of us. Even as the credits rolled, I sat there lost in a conundrum of overwhelming emotions of pride, admiration and disappointment. Disappointed because there will never be anyone like Madeba for years to come.
“Don’t say you’re giving me freedom after 27 years of being away from my wife, failing to see my children grow up – just open the gates and let me go.”
Rest in Peace, Nelson Mandela.
As part of our coverage for the 10th Dubai International Film Festival this week (6th December-14th December), we’ll be bringing you the latest updates on the red carpet, film reviews, Q&A with filmmakers, industry panels and workshops. Read other DIFF posts here and watch out for more!
Written by Karthik Menon
