Bopha!
| Bopha! | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Morgan Freeman |
| Produced by | Lawrence N. Taubman |
| Written by |
Brian Bird John Wierick |
| Starring | |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Cinematography | David Watkin |
| Edited by | Neil Travis |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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September 17, 1993 (Toronto International Film Festival) September 24, 1993 (USA) |
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Running time
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120 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Bopha! is a 1993 American drama film the directorial debut of Morgan Freeman, and stars Danny Glover. It was adapted from a 1986 play of the same name.
Micah Mangena is a black police officer in South Africa during the apartheid era. Micah is tough but honest, and he believes he is doing the best for his people. He is a sergeant, with a white superior officer and in a mostly-black force. You see him training new recruits, all of them black.
His son, Zweli Mangena is in a difficult position - Micah wants him to become a policeman and follow his example. Zweli loves his father, but has doubts about whether it is right to follow in his father's footsteps.
Wider events are barely seen, though they obviously have an influence. In 1986, when the play was written, Nelson Mandela was still in prison. By 1993, when the film was released, he was free but the future was still very uncertain. Bopha says little about such matters. This is a conflict in a small township involving people of which the outside world would not have heard.
The film opens with a black crowd burning alive a black police officer, from a nearby ghetto that they regard as a traitor. It then switches to the peaceful home of Micah Mangena, a black sergeant in the South African Police.
His son Zweli Mangena increasingly questions Micah belief and Micah's wish that Zweli would follow him into the police. Micha's wife also has doubts as the once-peaceful township gets polarised and her neighbours start treating her as an enemy.
The initial issue is the use of Afrikaans in the all-black school. The school children speak English, Afrikaans and their own African language, but they resent being taught Afrikaans. To reply in English is an act of rebellion.
Zweli dislikes the system but fears the consequence of open opposition. He arranges a meeting between some of the hot-heads and Pule Rampa, a respected figure who has been in prison for anti-Apartheid activities. He seems to be trying to calm the situation, but the police have learned of the gathering and break it up, arresting some of the students and also Pule Rampa. He had been trying to slip away quietly, but Micah anticipates this and arrests him. Micah is in charge of the operation and has attempted moderation, letting some of the students go free.
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