Reviewed by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier, Charles Carson | Written by Alan Paton and John Howard Lawson
UK certification PG | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 103 minutes | Directed by Zoltan Korda
London Films' shot-on-location South African apartheid drama is a slow-burning, yet powerful film adapted from the novel by co-screenwriter Alan Paton, and one which deserves to be ridden out rather than ditched.
It takes a good 40 minutes before the pace of the film picks up and the story, centred around a black priest who journeys to Johannesburg to find his missing son, only to discover his offspring has committed murder, begins to unravel.
Cry, the Beloved Country features outstanding performances from Canada Lee (who sadly died soon following the film's release) as the priest, Charles Carson, and a young Sidney Poitier. Its slow pace devoted to character development will please in the end as it greatly contributes to the dramatic height and genuinely sad conclusion that may just induce the odd tear or two. Stick with it.
The film was remade in 1995 with Richard Harris and James Earl Jones in the lead roles.
EXTRAS None.