Rent Cry, the Beloved Country (1951)

Jo'burg Melodrama. - Cry, the Beloved Country review by Steve

Alan Paton's adaptation of his own famous novel about South African apartheid, is only a partial success. The main weakness is a long diversion into Christian self analysis. And because the film strives for balance when surely a polemic would be more appropriate. Also the casting of amateurs in minor parts slows the film down.

The technical film making is rudimentary, but there is such a strong impression of this country at a turning point in its history. The book was published the year apartheid began in 1948. Three years later, the film was made under duress from the government, particularly to the black actors who travelled to star in the film.

Canada Lee plays a (black) country minister who undertakes an odyssey to Johannesburg to find members of his family who have disappeared into its underworld of prostitution and crime. Sidney Poitier is a more streetwise city priest who helps in the quest. While the country is ostentatiously rich, the black majority is exploited for profit while living in squalor.

This is the first draft of history, and sometimes it's unconvincing, though the raw location photography is realistic. Paton's script exposes endemic racism, but mostly vindicates the church. The film ultimately leaves us with hope... But, there would be 46 years of apartheid.