1988 film
A World Apart
is a 1988 anti-
apartheid
drama film
directed by
Chris Menges
, and starring
Barbara Hershey
,
David Suchet
,
Jeroen Krabbe
,
Paul Freeman
,
Tim Roth
and
Jodhi May
. Written by
Shawn Slovo
, it is based on the lives of Slovo's parents,
Ruth First
and
Joe Slovo
. The film was a
co-production
between companies from the UK and
Zimbabwe
, where it was filmed. It features
Hans Zimmer
's first non-collaborative
film score
. The movie was filmed on location in northeastern Zimbabwe.
[4]
The film received acclaim, winning
BAFTA Awards
for Best Screenplay for Shawn Slovo and Best Supporting Actor for
David Suchet
,
[5]
as well as the
Special Grand Prize of the Jury
at the
1988 Cannes Film Festival
.
[6]
Plot
[
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]
Set in
Johannesburg
in 1963, the film examines the abrupt ending of 13-year-old Molly's blithe childhood when her father, a member of the
South African Communist Party
, flees into exile. Ostracised by her peers, Molly draws closer to her mother who is part of the campaign against
apartheid
. Their relationship is challenged by hardship, political intimidation, and the mother's eventual arrest.
The film title references both the gap between the mother and her teenage girl, who fails to grasp why their family is so fixated with events beyond their comfortable white suburb, and another separating this world from that of South Africa's poverty-stricken black townships.
Essentially, the film is a tribute to
Ruth First
by her daughter and concludes in a moment of epiphany as Molly comes to terms with her mother's activism and understands that she too must play a part in the struggle against racial injustice.
Cast
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Reception
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The film opened at Cinema 1 in New York City on 17 June 1988.
A World Apart
has an overall approval rating of 91% on
Rotten Tomatoes
from 11 critics.
[7]
The film was placed on 40 critics' top ten lists, making it one of the most acclaimed films of 1988.
[8]
Box office
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]
The film grossed $20,815 in its opening weekend in New York
[9]
and $35,835 (£21,200) for the week. Two months later it opened at the
Curzon
West End in London and sold out for the week, with a gross of £43,167.
[1]
It went on to gross $8 million worldwide, including $2,326,800 in the United States and Canada
[9]
and £800,000 at the UK box office.
[3]
[2]
Awards and nominations
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]
References
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]
External links
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]