Athol Fugard Movies
An actor, writer, and director whose intensely political works has sometimes overshadowed his remarkable talent for character detail, Athol Fugard has been creating compelling dramas since the late '60s. A native of Middleburg, South Africa, who was born to English and Afrikaner parents, the aspiring writer was raised in Port Elizabeth and honed his skills at the University of Cape Town. Education eventually gave way to adventure, however, and Fugard soon abandoned school to hitchhike through Africa and, eventually, sail the world as a deckhand. Experimentation with acting led to writing, and though his efforts became notably more political, Fugard never lost sight of his characters -- conflicted figures whose deep internal conflicts often find them withdrawing from society. His freshman play No Good Friday earned Fugard notable attention in Johannesburg's Rehearsal Room, and his second, Blood Knot, proved so controversial that the playwright's passport was withdrawn. A return to Port Elizabeth led to an association with The Serpent Players, and the collaboration eventually yielded Boesman and Lena (in which Fugard served as both writer and star). Since then, the talented actor and playwright's work has been performed around the globe, with Boesman and Lena being adapted to film twice (in 1974 and again in 2000 with Danny Glover and Angela Bassett). In 1992, Fugard made his directorial debut with the film version of his enduring play The Road to Mecca. Outside of appearing in many of his own works, Fugard's compelling performances in Gandhi (1982) and The Killing Fields (1984) were a highlight of the politically motivated features. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
An amoral teenager develops an unexpected paternal side in this powerful drama from South Africa. Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae) is the street name used by a young Johannesburg delinquent who has taken to a life of crime in order to support himself. Tsotsi comes from a blighted upbringing -- his mother died slowly from AIDS-related illnesses, and his father was torturously abusive -- and he has developed a talent for violence borne of necessity as well as taking strange pleasure in hurting other people. One evening, Tsotsi shoots a woman while stealing her car, and only later discovers that her infant son is in the back seat. Uncertain of what to do with the baby, Tsotsi takes the boy home and tries to care for it -- going so far as to force Miriam (Terry Pheto), a single mother living nearby, to nurse the baby. With time, Tsotsi learns the basics of child care, and the presence of the baby awakens a sense of humanity in him that life on the street had stripped away. Tsotsi was adapted from a novel by the award-winning South African writer Athol Fugard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, (more)
Angela Bassett and Danny Glover star in this gripping film adaptation of Athol Fugard's renowned play. Though written during the apex of apartheid and first staged in 1970, director John Berry downplays the work's historical background and strips the play of its poetic symbolism, lending the film a raw, universal quality. The film opens with stock footage of shantytowns being flattened by bulldozers followed by the two titular characters carrying what they can on their backs and heads. Recalling the tortured human bonds seen in such productions as Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? and Waiting for Godot, Boesman (Glover) and Lena (Bassett) are a couple united by pain and grief. Stopping at some god-forsaken roadside wasteland for the night, Lena spends much of the first half of the film heaping verbal abuse on her husband, while Boesman doggedly tries to jerry-rig some shelter to protect against the cold of the night. This dynamic changes went an elderly African tribesman shows up. Boesman scorns the old man, while Lena invites him to sit at their campfire. This film, which was screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, was the last film that noted director John Berry made before his death on November 29, 1999. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Bassett, Danny Glover, (more)
- 1992
In this unusual drama, set in a tiny South African town, an odd widow has a spiritual revelation that causes her to create a large model of Mecca in her yard. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Bates, Yvonne Bryceland, (more)
- 1984
Marigolds in August was written by Athol Fugard, who in the early 1980s was South Africa's most celebrated playwright. Fugard's intense political opinions were enough for the USSR to object to Marigolds being shown in the 1980 Berlin Festival, but the objections were dropped when it was learned that Fugard had already built up a strong fan following in Eastern Europe (for various reasons, the film was not released in the US until 1984). Winston Ntshona stars as a black South African gardener who travels by foot into the white community looking for a job. Upon arriving, Ntshona discovers that another black, John Kani, may have been hired for that job. Ntshoa ruins the chances for himself and Kani by accusing the other man of planning a theft. Both men are eventually hired by a fellow outcast, a white poacher (played by Anthol Fugard himself). The message would seem to be that if the have-nots of the world stick together, it matters little how badly they're treated by the "haves." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winston Ntshona, John Kani, (more)
The Killing Fields is a romanticized adaptation of an eyewitness magazine story by New York Times correspondent Sidney Schanberg. Covering the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1975, Schanberg (Sam Waterston) relies on his Cambodian friend and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) for inside information. Schanberg has an opportunity to rescue Dith Pran when the U.S. army evacuates all Cambodian citizens; instead, the reporter coerces his friend to remain behind to continue sending him news flashes. Although his family is helicoptered out of Saigon (a recreation of the famous TV news clip), Dith Pran stays with Schanberg on the ground. Racked with guilt, Schanberg does his best to arrange for Dith Pran's escape, but the Cambodian is captured by the dreaded Khmer Rouge. Accepting his Pulitzer Prize on behalf of Dith Pran, Schanberg vows to do right by his friend and extricate him from Cambodia. The rest of the film details Dith Pran's harrowing experiences at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and his attempt to escape on his own. The Killing Fields won Academy Awards for Hang S. Ngor (a Cambodian doctor who lived through many of the horrific events depicted herein), cinematographer Chris Menges, and editor Jim Clark; an Oscar nomination went to Roland Joffe, who made his directorial debut with this film. Spalding Gray, who played a small role in the film, later elaborated on this experiences in his one-man stage presentation Swimming to Cambodia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Waterston, Dr. Haing S. Ngor, (more)
- 1984
Adapted from the semiautobiographical play by South African author Athol Fugard, Master Harold...and the Boys is set in Port Elizabeth in 1950. "Master Harold" is what the black employees are ordered to call young Hally (Matthew Broderick), the son of a well-to-do white couple who own a fashionable tea room. Hally wanders into the establishment one day and sees two black male workers (Zakes Mokae and John Kani) practicing for an upcoming ballroom competition by dancing together. The two employees and Hally exchange kidding rebukes, not meant to offend anyone. But after Hally receives some bad news about his father, he takes out his anger upon the workers. Efforts to smooth out the situation erupt into an all-out racial conflict. Though running a scant 75 minutes, Master Harold...and the Boys seems twice as long, making one wonder what it was about the original 1982 Broadway production that so overwhelmed the critics. Still, it is easy to see why Zakes Mokae won a Tony award for his performance. This TV version of the Fugard play first aired in the U.S. on November 12, 1984, over the Showtime Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
It was Richard Attenborough's lifelong dream to bring the life story of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi to the screen. When it finally reached fruition in 1982, the 188-minute, Oscar-winning Gandhi was one of the most exhaustively thorough biopics ever made. The film begins in the early part of the 20th century, when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of "passive resistance," endeavoring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed. In the horrendous "slaughter" sequence, more extras appear on screen than in any previous historical epic. The supporting cast includes Candice Bergen as photographer Margaret Bourke-White, Athol Fugard as General Smuts, John Gielgud as Lord Irwin, John Mills as the viceroy, Martin Sheen as Walker, Trevor Howard as Judge Broomfield, and, in a tiny part as a street bully, star-to-be Daniel Day-Lewis. Gandhi won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, (more)
- 1979
Peter Brook, one of the pioneers of the experimental theatre movement of the 1950s and 1960s, was the director of Meetings with Remarkable Men. Brook tells the story of Asian mystic G. I. Gurdijeff, here played by Dragan Maksimovic. Gurdijeff devotes his entire existence, from youth to old age, in quest of the meaning of life. He eventually develops a form of meditation incorporating modern dance. Terence Stamp, who in Meetings with Remarkable Men plays Prince Lubovedsky, himself briefly retreated from his career after this picture, in favor of Eastern meditation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dragan Maksimovic, Terence Stamp, (more)
- 1977
The Guest at Steenkampkraal is based on the controversial writings of South African playwright/activist Athol Fugard. Cast in the lead role is Fugard himself, playing a scientist in the field of evolutionary studies. Unfortunately, Fugard's blind-sided devotion to his work leads him to morphine addiction (art imitates life, and vice versa: Fugard's real-life substance abuse has been well-documented elsewhere). The scientist's drug habit has a profound effect upon the family with which he is staying. The Guest at Steenkampskraal doesn't waste much time on psychological motivation: the central situation is set and dealt with in one-two-three fashion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Athol Fugard, Marius Weyers, (more)
- 1976
South African poet/political activist Athol Fugard is the star of Boesman and Lena. Directed by the still underappreciated Ross Devenish, the film translates South Africa's apartheid policies into purely personal terms. Emphasis is placed upon an American couple, whose life is thrown into despair when they come up against the rigidity of government-sanctioned racism. Supporting Fugard are actors Yvonne Bryceland and Sandy Tube. Not surprisingly, Boesman and Lena was not released in South Africa: it also was barely shown in the U.S., though its TV exposure on the Arts & Entertainment cable service later prompted theatrical engagements in several American cities ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
