Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

I know this is a minority opinion, and I think if I was South African I would have been very moved by the film. But I just did not understand the issues well enough or know the history and weight of the people interviewed, except for Miriam Mekeba and Hugh Masekela. The film would have worked better for me if it had provided more background and focus for an uninformed American. It certainly never answered the first question I had: how can an entire nation sing so beautifully in four-part harmony? It must have seemed so normal to the filmmakers that they never even noticed that question. But for me, in a world where very few non-professional people know how to sing harmony, it's a stumper.

The definitive documentary for illustrating the struggle of the black South Africans,as told through the eyes of the White prison guards and executioners, black activists & Musicians. Some of the straight forward comments from the black activists, remain embellished in my mind."The train was Africa's first tragedy" (highlighting the need for the large corporates to mobilise the cheap black labour)& "We were treated like s*** and we still never smashed the place up"(showing how much they loved their country) The way in which the townships and their matchbox houses were quickly erected, and then demolished so that the black labour could be moved on to the next corporate project,effectively explains how black labour is no more than a dispensable and renewable chattel, a sort of nomadic feudalism destroying any sense of community. And finally the music which puts to shame the commercialised manufactured dross we hear on today's radio, masquerading as Jazz & Blues.The superb piece of music towards the end in the dark dingy club,where the female black singer with the haunting pitch delivers the names of those who died in the struggle,would moisten the eyes of the most hardened cynic.Could the world be in for an explosive treat of Black South African roots, jazz, rhythm and blues music? I hope so.

The music of "Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony" is as powerful a force for the South African revolution, as Lucas would have us believe it is for the Jedi.For our time, it also provides a near view of slavery. Thus, this motion picture is a must see not only for people of color, it is such for all the people to see. DLF

Amandla! is one of the first documentaries about the fight against apartheid in South Africa. More importantly, it tells the story in a way that is inspirational, funny, factual and humanizes the struggle.The film was the most decorated film at Sundance 2002, where it won the Audience Award for Documentaries and the Freedom of Expression Award.I have seen it many times. Each time I try to hide the tears that well up in my eyes and control the pride I feel for knowing the people of South Africa. It is difficult to capture the warmth and dignity of the African people in the face of poverty and oppression but Amandla! succeeds.Don't let your preconceptions of Africa last a day longer - go see this film and see the world is a little larger than you thought.