Goodbye, Bafana: Poor Script Bogs Down Promising Film

James Gregory was the prison guard who looked after Nelson Mandela for over 20 years. An ardent supporter of Apartheid for most of his life, Gregory's opinions slowly change as he spends more time with the kind and charismatic Mandela. "Good Bye, Bafana" is based on the memoirs of Mr. Gregory and tells the tale of his slow transformation from jailer to friend of one of the world's greatest and most influential people.

Gregory (played by Joseph Fiennes) grew up on a South African farm and learned the Xhosa language from his only friend, a local black child. As a man, knowledge of this language makes him imminently suitable to become the jailer assigned to look after Nelson Mandela (played by Dennis Haysbert) and his associates during their incarceration on Robben Island. His job was simple: keep an eye on Mandela and report his findings to his superiors. Gregory, with his strong racist tendencies and sets out to accomplish his job with determination. Over the long years of close association with his prisoner, he discovers his views have begun to change and becomes one of Mandela's strongest supporters and close friends. This sets him at odds with his fellow guards as well as his grasping wife.

Both Fiennes and Haysbert do solid, if slightly dull, jobs at portraying their characters, although we see almost nothing of Haysbert's until the second half of the film. While there are a few intense moments early on, the movie tends to drag on quite a bit. Another noticeable flaw is that none of the characters seem to age over the course of two decades, with the exception of a little hair tinting. Haysbert's portrayal of the great Nelson Mandela, while good, is a little flat. This isn't the fault of either the actors, or of director Billie August. The story is slow because the book it is based off of is tedious.

The good points of this movie are there, but you'll need to look for them because they are somewhat muted. "Goodbye, Bafana" manages to hold our attention, but just barely. Greatness is close, but just out of reach and we find ourselves with mediocrity instead. This film is another case of good actors bogged down by a less-than-stellar script. If you're interested in the history of Apartheid or the social views of South Africa, this movie will prove an interesting ride. If you're looking for a good story about Nelson Mandela, I recommend you look elsewhere.