Have You Heard from Johannesburg (Sunday, April 25, 2010) (34-36)

I normally don't review documentaries like this - made for television and multi-part - but I watched this one at Film Forum, where it played for two weeks, so I'm counting it and reviewing it. This is a seven-part, nearly-nine-hour history of the anti-Apartheid movement. It follows the early political actions of the 1950s through the 1980s and the American movement to divest from South African firms who were complicit in the racist movement.

Much like Eyes on the Prize, it tells a beautiful story of how over time, people such as Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Govan Mbeki led the movement in its early days in the streets of Soweto and how they were all arrested and jailed or exiled from the country. It shows key points in the movement, like the murder of Steve Biko, the Soweto riots and the government beat-down of activists in the 1970s.

Through the different chapters many different parts of the movement are shown. One part deals with the sporting arena and how by the 1970s, South Africa was not allowed to participate in many international competitions as they couldn't find opponents who would play their all-white squads. Another part shows the rise of anti-Apartheid sentiment in the United States and how university students forced their schools to sell stock in South African business.

There is not much here critical of the movement - all the leaders come across as saintly men and women who do nothing but good throughout their lives. This is clearly not the true case. Just as in any political movement, there were misplayed moments and even some outright bad stuff. But what they did to end the Apartheid system is important enough for me to let the omissions slide.

This is a great work and one that should be taught in classrooms around the world.

Stars: 3 of 4