{"id":82454,"date":"2022-03-25T11:11:26","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T18:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82454"},"modified":"2022-04-30T17:51:58","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T00:51:58","slug":"come-back-africa-1959","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82454","title":{"rendered":"Come Back, Africa (1959)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;The liberal doesn&#8217;t want a grown up African.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Poster-206x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-82455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Poster-206x300.png 206w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Poster-88x128.png 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Poster-185x270.png 185w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Poster.png 489w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA Black South African (Zacharia Mgabi) leaves his poverty-stricken kraal to work in the Johannesburg gold mines, but finds his efforts to work foiled at every turn; meanwhile, his wife (Vinah Bendile) puts her own life at danger while working as a domestic servant.\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>African Films<\/li>\n<li>Racism and Race Relations<\/li>\n<li>Survival<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThe making of this underground film about Apartheid-era South Africa &#8212; chronicled in the documentary <em>An American in Sophiatown<\/em> (2007) &#8212; is inextricable from the movie itself, which simply follows a loose script and shows non-actors living out their existence amidst real-life settings. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Still.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Still.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Still.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Still-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Still-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Still-363x270.png 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Director <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lionel_Rogosin\">Lionel Rogosin<\/a> &#8212; influenced specifically by Italian neo-realists and Robert Flaherty&#8217;s work &#8212; wanted to make a &#8220;docufiction&#8221; film, but told a number of cover stories to people he encountered in order to get this done, primarily insisting he was making a musical (which accounts for the many scenes of various musicians, including the appearance of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Miriam_Makeba\">Miriam Makeba<\/a> just before she reached international fame):<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Musicians.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Musicians.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Musicians.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Musicians-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Musicians-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Musicians-363x270.png 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Teddy-Bear.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Teddy-Bear.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Teddy-Bear.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Teddy-Bear-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Teddy-Bear-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Teddy-Bear-363x270.png 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Makeba-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Makeba-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Makeba-2.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Makeba-2-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Makeba-2-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Makeba-2-363x270.png 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The dominant theme of the film, however, is of Mgabi&#8217;s unsuccessful attempts to find and keep any kind of steady employment. We see his terrible mistreatment at the hands of a bigoted white housewife (Myrtle Berman, who in real life was an anti-Apartheid activist): <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-African-Berman.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-African-Berman.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-African-Berman.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-African-Berman-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-African-Berman-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-African-Berman-363x270.png 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and his short-lived attempts at working as a garage attendant, a waiter, and a laborer. Life is cruel and dehumanizing for Blacks in this setting, and the culminating scene merely brings this home with a sickening punch. While the storyline and acting are as amateur as you might expect from a low-budget venture like this, it remains worth a look simply for the glimpse it provides of a certain hidden era in history. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Invaluable footage of Apartheid-era South Africa<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Police.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Police.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Police.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Police-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Police-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Come-Back-Africa-Police-363x270.png 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its historical relevance. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/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\/tt0049087\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1960\/04\/05\/archives\/screen-social-dilemma-documented-come-back-africa-at-bleecker.html?searchResultPosition=2\">NY Times Original Review (spoiler alert)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The liberal doesn&#8217;t want a grown up African.&#8221; Synopsis: A Black South African (Zacharia Mgabi) leaves his poverty-stricken kraal to work in the Johannesburg gold mines, but finds his efforts to work foiled at every turn; meanwhile, his wife (Vinah Bendile) puts her own life at danger while working as a domestic servant. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Africa African Films Racism and Race Relations Survival Review: The making of this underground film about Apartheid-era South Africa &#8212; chronicled in&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82454\"> 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-82454","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\/82454","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=82454"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83558,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82454\/revisions\/83558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}