CharlotteAnne

We are going to Africa in mid April. Are there any good movies to watch?
We will be visiting South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia with Vantage Tours. Thanks for all the previous help about taking Malaria pills! I have really enjoyed reading some of these forums!
Ready to Go!

Patty

Not a movie, but there was an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations in Namibia that you might find interesting. I've seen it rerun a few times.

MyDogKyle

That Anthony Bourdain episode is a good one... but you'll need a strong stomach!

There's a great documentary about South African history and music called "Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony" that I highly recommend. Also about South Africa, the movie "Tsotsi." If you're looking for something a little more light-hearted, "Duma" is a beautiful family film about a boy and a cheetah. I'm pretty sure it was filmed in southern Africa.

cary999

Well, I doubt if this applies to you but have you ever seen a National Geographic TV program on African wildlife? Especially one filmed at MalaMala?

I'm sorry to remind even MYSELF of this, but I'll swear some of the honeymoon/newlywed couples I've been on games drive with didn't have a clue as to what they would see on safari. They did seem to know an elephant from a lion but I'm not sure they knew a zebra from a giraffe.

On second thought, do not watch a TV show filmed at MalaMala, because then you will be disappointed if you go anywhere else except MalaMala

regards - tom
ps - sorry for the rant, nothing personal. I just got through trying to deal with a government agency. I'm starting to feel better now

Gardyloo

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34775734

afterall

Sure there are movies. But you might do better with books.

ragsi

I understand this because the anticipation of the upcoming trip is so great that one need to pacify the curiosity with visuals.

Lately, there have been a few movies from Africa shown on the premium channels. So I'll post what I've watched.

1. The Gods Must Be Crazy
2. Blood Diamond
3. Nowhere Out of Africa
4. Constant Gardener
5. Ghost in the Darkness
6. Walking with Lions

You can also Goggle "Movies filmed in Africa" and get a list from the websites. Hunker down with popcorn and soda!

Otis72

You folks are all working to hard at this cinema thing. Once you've seen the Big Noah's Ark Stampede Scene in "King Solomon's Mines", you pretty much have the whole safari excitement thing nuked out. Plus, you have Deborah Kerr looking all misty-eyed at Stewart Granger every chance she gets, proving there is romance in the bush amongst ALL the animals.

ekscrunchy

Catch a Fire is an excellent film (from 2006) about South Africa under apartheid. True story, too.


http://imdb.com/title/tt0437232/

Yesterday, also about SA, in the Zulu language:



http://imdb.com/title/tt0419279/

sniktawk

Faith Like Potatos
Wooden Camera

flgirl0817

CharlotteAnn,

I am also going with Vantage, but I'm leaving in early May. I hope you post a trip report. I'm having some issues with their customer service department, but I won't get into that - I'm just looking forward to the trip.

Anita

waynehazle

Gorillas in the Mist

read the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

and if you know your way around the Internet you might be able to "obtain" a copy of the first video in the series... not that I would advise this

sandi

"Catch a Fire" has been on HBO these past few weeks (with Tim Robbins).
"Blood Diamond" also running on HBO of late.

The correct name above is:

"Nowhere in Africa" (not Nowhere Out of Africa... probably a typo) German w/ English subtitles - long and excellent.

cary999

And, there is a movie titled "Out of Africa", 1985, about the life of Karen Blixen. Good movie but best part of the movie, IMO, is the music.

regards - tom

ekscrunchy

I know this thread is about movies, but I just read an interesting book about Botswana entitled, "A Place of Reeds." Wonder if anyone here has read this one..

Diamantina

I'm a movie fan, too.
Here are a few films that have been airing on cable lately (if you get the Encore Channel):
"Bustin' Bonaparte," (2005), starring British actor Richard Grant (who was born in Swaziland) and Armin Mueller-Stahl, is oriented for children, but I found it amusing. Grant plays a conman. It was shot in South Africa's Karoo.
http://www.bustinbonaparte.com/thestory.htm
"Wah Wah," (2004) directed by Richard Grant and filmed entirely in Swaziland. Starring Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne and Emily Watson. Set at the end of the 1960s as Swaziland is about to gain independence from the UK. Based on Grant's adolescent experiences of his parents' separation.
"Boy Called Twist," (2004) filmed in South Africa (Swartland and the Bo-Kaap district of Cape Town). A contemporary spin on Dicken's Oliver Twist.
http://www.twistmovie.co.za/
"Stander," (2003), starring American actor Thomas Jane, is based on the true story of Andre Stander, a South African police officer turned bank robber. Stander was a master of disguise. Interesting story shot on location in South Africa (though it could have been anywhere).
"Windprints," (1990), starring the UK's Sean Bean and filmed in Namibia. Slow-moving. Bean plays a journalist investigating a mysterious Nama assasin who has been shooting at other Nama. I dream of visiting Namibia, but it looks so bleak in this film. Not a bad film, though.
http://www.compleatseanbean.com/windprints.html
"Cry the Beloved Country," (1995), starring James Earl Jones in one of his most moving performances, and based on Alan Paton's classic 1948 novel. Shot in South Africa.
"Cry Freedom," (1987), directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Denzel Washington and Kevin Kline, is based on the true story of South African journalist Donald Woods, who is forced to flee his country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko. Although the film is set in South Africa, it was filmed in Zimbabwe.
"World Apart," (1988), written by Shawn Slovo and based on the lives of Slovo's parents, anti-Apartheid activists Ruth First and Joe Slovo. Although the film is set in Johannesburg, it was actually filmed in Zimbabwe. It stars American actress Barbara Hershey. It was directed by the UK's Chris Menges, who is also an acclaimed cinematographer.
"In My Country," (2005), starring Juliette Binoche and Samuel L. Jackson, who play two journalists covering the post-Apartheid hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Of course, there is also a little romance between the two. Based on Antjie Krog's book "Country of My Skull."
"Dry White Season," (1989), starring Donald Sutherland as a schoolteacher who awakens to the brutality and injustice of apartheid. Marlon Brando plays a supporting role. Susan Sarandon and Janet Suzman are also part of the cast. Shot in Zimbabwe.
They've also been showing "Tsotsi", which won the 2005 Oscar for Best Foreign Film. "Tsotsi" is based on Athol Fugard's powerful novel of the same name. I acquired the DVD of "Tsotsi" before I went to South Africa, but I am glad I waited to view it until after I returned from my trip, as seeing it beforehand would have made me more anxious about crime in South Africa. "Tsotsi," which means gangster, thug or hoodlum, is also the name of the film's protagonist, a Soweto teenage gang leader. Over several days, he kidnaps a baby, begins to question his brutal nature, recalls his long buried past, and eventually experiences a transformation.
http://www.tsotsi.com/english/index.php?m1=film
And they have been showing the musical "Sarafina," which is also set in Soweto. Whoopi Goldberg joins a cast of South Africans, among them singer Miriam Makeba. I've yet to see this one.
Not yet showing on Encore, but available on DVD, "Blood Diamond," (2006), about the illegal "conflict" diamond trade, was mainly set in Sierra Leone, but mostly shot in South Africa and Mozambique. Though the scenary is stunning, a few of the backgrounds were created through CGI (some mountains were inserted, some buildings were erased). It includes lovely views of Cape Town's waterfront and the wine country. The performances by Leonardo diCaprio and Djimon Hounsou are outstanding. South African-American actor Arnold Vosloo is also very good in a supporting role.
http://blooddiamondmovie.warnerbros.com/main.html
BBC America recently aired the series "Wild At Heart," about a UK veterinarian who relocates his family to South Africa to open a wild game lodge. The show was filmed at a lodge called Glen Afric, Pilanesburg game reserve, Hartebeespoort area (Magaliseburg) about 40 minutes outside Johannesburg, South Africa.
http://www.itv.com/Drama/family/wild...t/default.html
The film of "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," based on Alexander McCall Smith's novel about Precious Ramotswe, owner of Botswana's only female detective agency, and which was made in Botswana by the recently deceased director Anthony Mingella, aired last week in the UK on the BBC. It is set to air in the U.S. this fall on HBO, but you might be able to buy a copy from the UK.

afterall

"Out of Africa" is correct for the Meryl Streep/Robert Redford movie.

Not mentioned so far:

Hotel Rwanda.
The Power of One
Cry, My beloved country.
Zulu (haha)

Still, Karen Blixen't book is much better than the film, but of course you aren't going to Kenya.

Cry, the Beloved .. is also a better book than film.

imho, required reading for SA must include "Long Walk to Freedom". And for Zim - Peter Godwin's "Mukiwa" and anything that you can lay your hands on from Doris Lessing's early days - "The Grass is singing" and all the other Martha Quest books. And also her travelogue/memoir
"Under my Skin".

Films are inevitably cut and tailored for the lowest common denominator. In other words, dumbed down. So, if you are serious about this, read the book.

And if you are really serious, read "The Washing of the Spears" by Donald Morris. Brilliant.

jackssid2

For South Africa: JOCK OF THE BUSHVELD

Maybe I read too fast but it seems no one has mentioned this classic? You did not mention that it must be purely about wildlife. If you are interested in a bit of history about the whole of Southern Africa a fantastic book to read would be THE COVENANT by James Michener (American Author).

If on the other hand you are one of the gung ho types who would question why they have to be escorted at night back to their unit then watch Ghost In The Darkness or read the book The Man Eaters Of Tsavo.

ekscrunchy

Since the tallk has now segued into books, I will second the recommendation above by Afterall of Peter Godwin's books about Zimbabwe:

Mukiwa

A Crocodile Eats the Sun.

If you want some humor thrown in with the pathos, read:

Are We there Yet: Chasing a Childhood through South Africa

Another good one is: Around Africa on my Bicycle

ragsi

Sandi...sorry about that incorrect spelling. While I was posting movies that I found interesting, while typing "Nowhere in Africa" I was also thinking about Out Of Africa and how slow I thought that movie moved. Thus...brain fart...hate it when I experience that!!!...ragsi