The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
Long Walk to freedom poster Photo: Courtesy
Directors: Justin Chadwick.
Cast: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Terry Pheto and Deon Lotz.
Genre: Drama.
Runtime: 2 hr. and 26 mins.
Rating: 6/10.
The film, which is based on the autobiography Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela features Idris Elba and Naomie Harris in the lead roles as Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela respectively. The film promises to capture the legend of Nelson Mandela and gives the audience front row seats into the life of one of Africa’s greatest legends. When it begins we meet Mandela as a teenager in his Xhosa village completing a ritual initiation into manhood.
A few minutes later, he is a hotshot defence lawyer and amateur boxer, whose first wife, Evelyn, leaves him because of his womanizing ways. He then meets Winnie, and they are bound together by their love and a common struggle for racial equality. We then see Mandela evolve from a young lawyer to a political leader. The film also deals with Mandela’s arrest along with other ANC members including Oliver Tambo. They are sentenced to death and instead receive life imprisonment on Robben Island.
After 27 years Mr Mandela is finally released from prison, and the audience gets to watch as he negotiates an end to apartheid.
Thumbs Up
The performances of both Idris Elba and Naomie Harris lift this film above the usual cliché Hollywood-type biographies with both giving memorable performances. And true, Idris Elba
