A World Apart (film)
| A World Apart | |
|---|---|
 A World Apart (Video Cover) |
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| Directed by | Chris Menges |
| Produced by | Sarah Radclyffe |
| Written by | Shawn Slovo |
| Starring | Jodhi May Barbara Hershey Jeroen Krabbé Tim Roth David Suchet |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
| Cinematography | Peter Biziou |
| Editing by | Nicholas Gaster |
| Distributed by | Atlantic Releasing Corporation |
| Release date(s) | 17 June 1988 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom / Zimbabwe |
| Language | English |
A World Apart is a 1988 anti-Apartheid drama, written by Shawn Slovo and directed by Chris Menges. It is based on the lives of Slovo's parents, Ruth First and Joe Slovo. The film was a co-production between companies from the UK and Zimbabwe, where the movie was filmed. It features Hans Zimmer's first non-collaborative film score.
Plot summary
Set in Johannesburg in 1963, the film examines the abrupt ending of 13-year-old Molly's blithe childhood when her father, a communist and anti-Apartheid-activist, must go into exile and her mother must continue her fight against Apartheid without her husband. Avoided by her white ex-schoolfriends, Molly seeks greater closeness to her mother. The mother-daughter relationship faces a severe test due to intimidation attempts by the military police, then by Molly's mother's imprisonment. The "world apart" of the title refers to both the gap between the woman and the teenage girl--who doesn't understand why her mother is so obsessed by events beyond the comfortable white-suburban world--and the space between that world and that of the (black) majority. Essentially, the film is a tribute to Ruth First by her daughter and ends in a moment of epiphany as Molly comes to terms with her mother's political activism and understands that she too must play a part in the struggle to change South Africa.
Cast
- Jodhi May – Molly Roth
- Jeroen Krabbé – Gus Roth
- Barbara Hershey – Diana Roth
- Linda Mvusi – Elsie
- Nadine Chalmers – Yvonne Abelson
- Kate Fitzpatrick – June Abelson
- Tim Roth – Harold
- Carolyn Clayton-Cragg – Myriam Roth
- Yvonne Bryceland – Bertha
- Merav Gruer – Jude Roth
- Paul Freeman – Kruger
- Rosalie Crutchley – Mrs. Harris
- Adrian Dunbar – Le Roux
- David Suchet – Muller
- Nomaziko Zondo – Thandile
Reception
A World Apart has an overall approval rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.[1]
Awards and nominations
- 1989: Winner – BAFTA Best Screenplay Shawn Slowo
- 1989: Nominee – BAFTA Best Supporting Actor David Suchet
- 1988: Winner – 1988 Cannes Film Festival, Best Actress (tie): Jodhi May, Barbara Hershey, and Linda Mvusi[2]
- 1988: Nominee – Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm[2]
- 1988: Winner – Cannes Film Festival Special Grand Prize of the Jury: Chris Menges[2]
- 1988: Winner – Cannes Film Festival Price of the Ecumenical Jury: Chris Menges[2]
- 1988: Winner – Evening Standard British Film Award Jodhi May – Most Promising Newcomer
- 1989: Nominee – Independent Spirit Award Best Foreign Film
- 1988: Winner – New York Film Critics Circle Awards Chris Menges – Best Director
References
- ^ "Rotten Tomatoes". Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ a b c d "Festival de Cannes: A World Apart". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Repentance |
Grand Prix Spécial du Jury, Cannes 1988 |
Succeeded by Cinema Paradiso tied with Trop belle pour toi (award retitled Grand Prix du Jury) |
