''Goodbye Bafana'', or ''The Color of Freedom'' ( US), is a 2007

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

, directed by

Bille August Bille August (; born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. August's 1987 film ''Pelle the Conqueror'' won the , Academy Awards, Academy Award and Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Awar ...

, about the relationship between

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

( Dennis Haysbert) and James Gregory ( Joseph Fiennes), his censor officer and prison guard, based on Gregory's book ''Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend''. The film also explores the relationship of James Gregory and his wife as their life changes while Mandela is under Gregory's watch. Bafana means 'boys'. Gregory lived on a farm and had a black friend when he was a child, which explains his ability to speak

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

Plot

The young revolutionary and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela is arrested, and it is the task of censor and prison guard James Gregory to watch him. He has long since moved to South Africa with the family for his work in the prison of

Robben Island Robben Island () is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...

, and slowly he clashes with the politics and racist culture of his countrymen.

Cast

* Joseph Fiennes as James Gregory * Dennis Haysbert as

* Diane Kruger as Gloria Gregory * Norman Anstey as Jimmy Kruger * Faith Ndukwana as

Winnie Mandela Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist, second wife of Nelson Mandela. During ...

* Terry Pheto as

Zindzi Mandela Zindziswa "Zindzi" Mandela (23 December 196013 July 2020), also known as Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane, was a South African diplomat and poet, and the daughter of anti-apartheid activists and politicians Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. ...

* Zikhona Mda as Zenani Mandela * Leslie Mongezi as

Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC ...

* Zingizile Mtuzula as

Raymond Mhlaba Raymond Mphakamisi Mhlaba OMSG (12 February 1920 – 20 February 2005) was an anti-apartheid activist, Communist and leader of the African National Congress (ANC) who became the first premier of the Eastern Cape. Mhlaba spent 25 years of his ...

* Mehboob Bawa as

Ahmed Kathrada Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada OMSG (21 August 1929 – 28 March 2017), sometimes known by the nickname "Kathy", was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist. Kathrada's involvement in the anti-apartheid activities of the African Natio ...

* Shakes Myeko as Andrew Mlangeni * Sizwe Msutu as

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

Factual basis

The autobiography film was based on, ''Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend'', was derided by Mandela's longtime friend, Anthony Sampson. In Sampson's book '' Mandela: the Authorised Biography'' he accused James Gregory, who died of cancer in 2003, of lying and violating Mandela's privacy in his work ''Goodbye Bafana''. Sampson said that Gregory had rarely spoken to Mandela, but censored the letters sent to the prisoner and used this information to fabricate a close relationship with him. Sampson also claimed that other warders suspected Gregory of spying for the government, and that Mandela considered suing Gregory. Writing in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, critic and historian Alex von Tunzelmann stated that the film was a "dubious tale" of

's imprisonment based on his prison guard's memoirs, and that it was a story that contradicted all other known accounts of his time in prison. She went on to say that there was no excuse for the "historical negligence in this movie", while stating that its implicit dismissal of the contradictory accounts of Nelson Mandela and others could be seen as insulting. In his own autobiography, ''

Long Walk to Freedom ''Long Walk to Freedom'' is an autobiography by South Africa's first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela, and it was first published in 1994 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 yea ...

'', Nelson Mandela mentions James Gregory on two occasions. The first is during Mandela's recollection of his incarceration in

Pollsmoor Prison Pollsmoor Prison, officially known as Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, is located in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Pollsmoor is a maximum security penal facility that continues to hold some of South Africa's most dangerous c ...

: The second time Mandela mentions Gregory in his autobiography is when he recalls the day of his release from prison in 1990: On the ''Goodbye Bafana'' DVD, a segment about the creation of the film, ''The Making of Goodbye Bafana'', contains an interview with Nelson Mandela where he speaks of James Gregory:

References

External links

* *
BBC news, 12 February 2007: ''Mandela movie launches in Berlin''
Retrieved 2012-07-10 {{SAFTA Award for Best Feature Film 2007 films 2000s biographical films Belgian biographical films British biographical films French biographical films German biographical films Italian biographical films Luxembourgian drama films South African biographical films 2000s English-language films English-language Belgian films English-language French films English-language German films English-language Italian films English-language Luxembourgian films English-language South African films Xhosa-language films Films scored by Dario Marianelli Films about Nelson Mandela Cultural depictions of Nelson Mandela Cultural depictions of Winnie Mandela Films about Nobel laureates Films based on biographies Films directed by Bille August Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1970s Films set in the 1980s Films set in prison Films set in South Africa Films set on islands Films shot in the Eastern Cape Films shot in Gauteng Films shot in the Western Cape 2000s British films 2000s French films 2000s German films 2007 multilingual films Belgian multilingual films British multilingual films French multilingual films German multilingual films Italian multilingual films Luxembourgian multilingual films South African multilingual films 2000s Belgian films English-language biographical films 2000s South African films