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A journey of self-discovery is charted in Goodbye Bafana, based on the memoirs of Nelson Mandela's erstwhile prison guard James Gregory. Critics found it worthy but dull, citing its "" account of a supposedly close friendship. In the starring roles, Joseph Fiennes and Dennis Haysbert (as Mandela) didn't wow the crowds either. Ultimately the film didn't even break the top ten.
Free Speech
A half-hour featurette is all that accompanies the film on DVD. It begins with a few words from Nelson Mandela who says that he "developed a lot of respect" for Gregory during his incarceration. Whether that equates to a close friendship is still open to debate, but Gregory is also on hand to assure that it was, as he puts it, "a real relationship". Obviously this prologue is meant as a rejoinder to the accusations of embellishment that immediately followed the book's release.
Friends And Enemies
Obviously director Billie August was convinced by Gregory's story. Between takes on the South African set, he says that the most "beautiful" thing about the account is Gregory's gradual awakening. Fiennes describes the journey as someone "being stalked by his conscience," which quite cleverly makes the story sound more exciting than it really is.
Diane Kruger is a little more reserved when she talks about the challenges of playing Gregory's wife. For much of the film, she spouts a lot of racist dialogue, which Kruger says made it "terrifyingly difficult" to relate to her. On the flipside, Haysbert says he "struggled with the worthiness" of portraying Nelson Mandela.
A smattering of behind-the-scenes footage fills the gaps between interviews, but in the end, you're still only left with half the story.
EXTRA FEATURES
Goodbye Bafana DVD is released on Monday 15th October 2007.
