Come Back Africa

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." 

George Santayana 

I was looking for the showtimes for a new film based on Salmon Rushdie's book  and screenplay, "Midnight's Children", directed by Deepa Mehta. Apparently, it doesn't start playing in local theatres until November 2, 2012.  Though it was shown at the recent Vancouver International Film Festival, I didn't get a chance to see it.

While looking for "Midnight's Children", I instead found out about a movie called "Come Back Africa", a Film by Lionel Rogosin. It was filmed in secret in late 1950s in apartheid South Africa and is a glimpse into that harsh reality that was life for many black South Africans during the apartheid years.

What I liked about this film is that it was filmed in 1950s so is likely more realistic than a recreated story of what took place in the 1950s. I also enjoyed seeing all the old cars and the dress of the day. I was amazed at how large Johannesburg was back then. I was also struck by how much the Black Africans loved music. Everywhere in the streets there were small groups of Christians singing or children or young men playing flutes and dancing.  Despite the hardships of life they did not forget the joy of music and no doubt it helped to sustain them.

I'm leaving you with a trailer for the film in case you get a chance to see it where you live.  A young, Miriam Makeba also sings in the film.

The film deals with some disturbing subject matter but it is good to be educated about what apartheid was really like. Perhaps in educating ourselves we can avoid the mistakes of the past. For more information about the film click here.