Drum, directed by Zola Maseko is a feature of 94 minutes and it is about the Apartheid in South Africa. The movie starts off with the sound of drums, very funny considering the title of the feature. When there was a scene with a fight the beat of the drums came back and one got the feeling of an animal being hunted and the anticipation of the last man standing.
Music in the feature played a big part for me, it set the mood that the audience was expected to feel and it added to the intensity of the scenes. This feature is very powerful and it takes the audience on a journey that makes it feel like being a participant of the plot that is viewed. All actors were outstanding and the director did a very good job with scene cut, lighting, music. It was all a very good and intense feature that will not leave you disappointed in your seat.
One major actor in this feature is Taye Diggs and he does an excellent job as a sports journalist turned to political issues. Taye Diggs is journalist Henry Nxumalo that has taken it on himself to report the injustice in his country after his wife tells him “You have a voice, use it”. I consider this to be the most powerful line in the whole movie because she does not only say it to Henry but to everyone that is watching the conversation taking place in their kitchen. The feature is about Henry’s struggle to show his country what really is going on right under their noses. His boss, an Englishman, does not at first agree to Henry’s new found mission but after a success of the first mission he stands by Henry’s side. The magazine has several writers, all South African, one photographer that is German. The feature shows the brotherly relationship of these men when struggling under harsh conditions. An interesting aspect that I noticed is how Henry has to have Jurgen (the white photographer) drive him everywhere because Henry is black and therefore not allowed to be alone without a pass. One night Henry wants to leave a party early with his wife but it is night so for him to leave his boss needs to sign a paper that gives an excuse of why Henry is out that late. This pass made me think of high school passes for the bathroom but for grown men. The director does not make a big deal of the small details but it is made sure that the audience caught that small detail.
Henry writes his stories after an old woman comes to him and asks him to find her son that was taken away a year ago and she does not know where he is. Henry infiltrates the places he writes about, the first one being a farm called Harmonie. This is a very interesting name for this type of farm because it is anything but harmonious. Could the misspelling of harmony be seen as a sign of the ironic meaning to the farm, almost like one of the work camps during World War II where the misspelling was to show new comers that it is really not a work camp but a “final stop”?
Nelson Mandela is also depicted in this feature and one of the scenes the character Mandela occurs in is where a very small group of people are demonstrating the fact that they want to abolish passes for black people. However this march is very short lived and seeing as the police are already there one knows it will be ended rather quickly. There are two ways the people try to get away from the injustice in their country, a non-violent lead by Nelson Mandela amongst others, and a violent one lead by the criminals that call themselves the “Black Robin Hood” of their people. Living in our time we know the result of these objections.
One scene that went straight to my heart, and without a doubt is the most powerful, is the final scene. This scene brings joy and hope to ones heart along with sorrow. One mans darkness is his people’s light. To save a country or group of people it is almost as if someone has to sacrifice themselves, comparison to Jesus taking all the sins of the people on himself and accepting his death. This is the message of the final scene. For a country to progress some have to fall behind. But these people will never be forgotten.
This movie was made in 2004 but why it has not been shown is beyond me. The struggles for freedom from Apartheid is amazing and it gives hope that if people stand together and work for justice then they will win.
One comment from the Major, a white man played by Greg Melvill-Smith who does a great job in depicting an ignorant and hateful man, disgusted me and did not let me forget that we have people that hate are ignorant and that they will always be in our society. We have to fight and make sure that they do not get the best of the world. He said “Whites are born to rule and Blacks are to serve us. That is the way it is.” this line in the movie made the audience, all colors of the world, young and old, react loudly. This shows that even though the world has a long road ahead of it we have taken some major steps and we are on our way to a better society, as long as we fight together side by side.
Music in the feature played a big part for me, it set the mood that the audience was expected to feel and it added to the intensity of the scenes. This feature is very powerful and it takes the audience on a journey that makes it feel like being a participant of the plot that is viewed. All actors were outstanding and the director did a very good job with scene cut, lighting, music. It was all a very good and intense feature that will not leave you disappointed in your seat.
One major actor in this feature is Taye Diggs and he does an excellent job as a sports journalist turned to political issues. Taye Diggs is journalist Henry Nxumalo that has taken it on himself to report the injustice in his country after his wife tells him “You have a voice, use it”. I consider this to be the most powerful line in the whole movie because she does not only say it to Henry but to everyone that is watching the conversation taking place in their kitchen. The feature is about Henry’s struggle to show his country what really is going on right under their noses. His boss, an Englishman, does not at first agree to Henry’s new found mission but after a success of the first mission he stands by Henry’s side. The magazine has several writers, all South African, one photographer that is German. The feature shows the brotherly relationship of these men when struggling under harsh conditions. An interesting aspect that I noticed is how Henry has to have Jurgen (the white photographer) drive him everywhere because Henry is black and therefore not allowed to be alone without a pass. One night Henry wants to leave a party early with his wife but it is night so for him to leave his boss needs to sign a paper that gives an excuse of why Henry is out that late. This pass made me think of high school passes for the bathroom but for grown men. The director does not make a big deal of the small details but it is made sure that the audience caught that small detail.
Henry writes his stories after an old woman comes to him and asks him to find her son that was taken away a year ago and she does not know where he is. Henry infiltrates the places he writes about, the first one being a farm called Harmonie. This is a very interesting name for this type of farm because it is anything but harmonious. Could the misspelling of harmony be seen as a sign of the ironic meaning to the farm, almost like one of the work camps during World War II where the misspelling was to show new comers that it is really not a work camp but a “final stop”?
Nelson Mandela is also depicted in this feature and one of the scenes the character Mandela occurs in is where a very small group of people are demonstrating the fact that they want to abolish passes for black people. However this march is very short lived and seeing as the police are already there one knows it will be ended rather quickly. There are two ways the people try to get away from the injustice in their country, a non-violent lead by Nelson Mandela amongst others, and a violent one lead by the criminals that call themselves the “Black Robin Hood” of their people. Living in our time we know the result of these objections.
One scene that went straight to my heart, and without a doubt is the most powerful, is the final scene. This scene brings joy and hope to ones heart along with sorrow. One mans darkness is his people’s light. To save a country or group of people it is almost as if someone has to sacrifice themselves, comparison to Jesus taking all the sins of the people on himself and accepting his death. This is the message of the final scene. For a country to progress some have to fall behind. But these people will never be forgotten.
This movie was made in 2004 but why it has not been shown is beyond me. The struggles for freedom from Apartheid is amazing and it gives hope that if people stand together and work for justice then they will win.
One comment from the Major, a white man played by Greg Melvill-Smith who does a great job in depicting an ignorant and hateful man, disgusted me and did not let me forget that we have people that hate are ignorant and that they will always be in our society. We have to fight and make sure that they do not get the best of the world. He said “Whites are born to rule and Blacks are to serve us. That is the way it is.” this line in the movie made the audience, all colors of the world, young and old, react loudly. This shows that even though the world has a long road ahead of it we have taken some major steps and we are on our way to a better society, as long as we fight together side by side.
2 comments:
I also saw this film and thought that it was done wonderfully. I also, like yourself liked the fact that Henry's wife held true to her belief that he needed to be a voice of his community. But, with regard to his wife and stead fast beliefs, she too had been comprimsed. Henry's wife then changes her tone once their personal lives are affected, when Henry, from the very begining said that it would be tough to write about the Apartheid. He illustrated his concern about what troubles he could potentially get into for writing against the Apartheid, his actions that followed this conversations leads him to the path of righteousness with a heavy price to pay, the changing of spirit by his wife. She later in the film advises Henry to abandon his new beliefs because of the threats possed to him and his family. What his wife doen't understand is that this slightly derails is objectives and initiates a slight reconsider, when he is needed to be strong and hold true to this fight.
In closing, his wife was a fantastic driving force to his philantropic objections, but equally as important is the doubt she instilled upon Henry in the midst of the fight.
Ranna,
i really appreciate your description of the movie. It made me want to see it perticularly because of the Henry's character. I believe if their were more Henry's in the world that every injustice that is dividing this world would be brought to light and hopefully dealt with.
we all have voices but how many of us are really willing to use it? we might have the right ideas and intentions but the fear of speaking out to a world that does not want to hear the truth about their issues makes it difficult.
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