{"id":80879,"date":"2022-02-03T13:54:30","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T20:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=80879"},"modified":"2022-02-03T21:27:32","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T04:27:32","slug":"cry-the-beloved-country-1951","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=80879","title":{"rendered":"Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It was my son that killed your son.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poster-198x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-80880\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poster-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poster-677x1024.png 677w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poster-85x128.png 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poster-179x270.png 179w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poster.png 727w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn Apartheid-ridden South Africa, a rural black minister (Canada Lee) journeys to Johannesburg and receives help from a fellow minister (Sidney Poitier) in seeking out his sick sister Gertrude (Ribbon Dhlamini), his successful brother John (Edric Connor), and his long-lost son Absalom (Lionel Ngakane), who has impregnated a teenager (Vivien Clinton) and commits a crime that deeply impacts the lives of a white farmer (Charles Carson) and his wife (Joyce Carey).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Africa<\/li>\n<li>Father and Child<\/li>\n<li>Priests and Ministers<\/li>\n<li>Racism and Race Relations<\/li>\n<li>Sidney Poitier Films<\/li>\n<li>Zoltan Korda Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nDirector Zoltan Korda&#8217;s next-to-last film was this bold (for its time) adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cry,_the_Beloved_Country\">Alan Paton&#8217;s 1948 novel of the same name<\/a>. The storyline begins by following a man (Lee) encountering close family members again for the first time in years, learning about the paths their lives have taken, and reconciling their choices with his own faith and beliefs: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poitier-Lee.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poitier-Lee-1024x703.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"439\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-80893\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poitier-Lee-1024x703.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poitier-Lee-300x206.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poitier-Lee-128x88.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poitier-Lee-768x527.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poitier-Lee-393x270.png 393w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poitier-Lee.png 1359w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Along the way, we&#8217;re shown some of the realities of Apartheid-era South Africa, with pervasive poverty and challenging dilemmas all around: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-Baby.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-Baby-1024x693.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"433\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-80887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-Baby-1024x693.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-Baby-300x203.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-Baby-128x87.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-Baby-768x520.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-Baby-399x270.png 399w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-Baby.png 1369w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The crime at the center of the film is appropriately shocking, and leads us swiftly towards its second half, as the impact of systemic racism and crime on citizens from all walks of life is explored: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poverty2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poverty2-1024x698.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"436\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-80894\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poverty2-1024x698.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poverty2-300x205.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poverty2-128x87.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poverty2-768x524.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poverty2-396x270.png 396w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Poverty2.png 1371w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There are no easy answers, but thankfully, we see shifts-for-the-better occurring as a result of tragedy, with Carson coming to understand the power of the work his activist-son (Henry Blumenthal) had been engaging in before his death. <\/p>\n<p>The fact that Lee and Poitier &#8212; in just his second film role after <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37792\"><em>No Way Out<\/em> (1950)<\/a> &#8212; had to be smuggled into South Africa as &#8220;indentured laborers&#8221;, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/71971\/cry-the-beloved-country#articles-reviews?articleId=216212\">endured bitterly harsh restrictions<\/a> while there, speaks directly to the challenges inherent in making this film, which remains worth a look given its unprecedented exploration of issues otherwise untouched in mainstream cinema of the time. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Canada Lee as the Reverend Stephen Kumalo<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-1024x706.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"441\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-80882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-1024x706.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-300x207.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-128x88.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-768x530.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee-392x270.png 392w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Lee.png 1359w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Charles Carson as James Jarvis<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Carson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Carson-1024x693.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"433\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-80883\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Carson-1024x693.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Carson-300x203.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Carson-128x87.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Carson-768x520.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Carson-399x270.png 399w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Carson.png 1369w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A powerful glimpse of Apartheid-era South Africa<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Funeral.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Funeral-1024x691.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-80895\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Funeral-1024x691.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Funeral-300x202.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Funeral-128x86.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Funeral-768x518.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Funeral-400x270.png 400w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Cry-the-Beloved-Country-Funeral.png 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its historical value and as a quietly powerful film.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0043436\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/71971\/cry-the-beloved-country#articles-reviews?articleId=216212\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It was my son that killed your son.&#8221; Synopsis: In Apartheid-ridden South Africa, a rural black minister (Canada Lee) journeys to Johannesburg and receives help from a fellow minister (Sidney Poitier) in seeking out his sick sister Gertrude (Ribbon Dhlamini), his successful brother John (Edric Connor), and his long-lost son Absalom (Lionel Ngakane), who has impregnated a teenager (Vivien Clinton) and commits a crime that deeply impacts the lives of a white farmer (Charles Carson) and his wife (Joyce Carey)&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=80879\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80879"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80911,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80879\/revisions\/80911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}