Mandela and de Klerk (1997)
Directed by: Joseph Sargent
Premise: A dramatization of the
relationship between Nelson Mandela (Sidney Poitier) and F.W. de Klerk
(Michael Caine) as they attempted to end apartheid and avert a civil
war in South Africa.
What Works: Mandela and de Klerk is a smart
adaptation of recent history, distilling nearly three decades of
material into a motion picture that clocks in at just less than two
hours. The extent to which the filmmakers are able to cover a vast
amount of material and not get carried away with the length of the
motion picture is an impressive feat, especially given the
self-indulgent length of a lot of historical films. The title
characters of Mandela and de Klerk are played by Sidney Poitier
and Michael Caine, respectively, and both men provide terrific
performances. There is a tendency to portray historical figures,
especially someone as esteemed as Nelson Mandela, in a way that turns
them into a live action museum exhibit. Filmmakers and actors
sometimes buy into the mythology and the public image of the character
and therefore obfuscate the man. Poitier’s performance as Mandela does
the opposite. He frequently embodies Nelson Mandela not as a saint-like
figure but as a human being and he allows his character to be
frustrated and show a range of emotions, including anger and fear. This
is especially true in the evolution and eventual dissolution of
Mandela’s relationship with his wife Winnie, played by Tina Lifford.
These scenes make Mandela vulnerable and that gives him and the film a
point of empathy through which the audience can identify with the
drama. As F.W. de Klerk, Michael Caine is also given a complicated role.
He is first introduced in the film as serving in the cabinet of P. W.
Botha and throughout the first half of the picture he gradually emerges
from the background. The development of de Klerk’s consciousness and
political bravery are carefully done and like Mandela he is portrayed
as a human being with his own set of faults and desires. The film
crosscuts between the efforts of de Klerk and Mandela, both together
and among their political constituents, and scenes of political
violence, mostly presented through archival footage of the actual
events. This creates a vibrant connection between the political
negotiations and the violence in the streets, thereby giving the
negotiations life and death significance. As a matter of storytelling,
the filmmakers do a great job of alternating between fortune and
failure and giving the story a dramatic rise and fall of emotion. The
filmmakers also find a way to distill the broad issue of the end of
South African apartheid by presenting it as a story of two men
attempting to hold the center. This maintains the possibility of
failure that is true to life and critical to drama, and it is a quality
that many historical films lack.
What Doesn’t: Mandela and de Klerk was a made-for-television production from the late 1990s and the limits of its production are sometimes apparent. In the recreation of major events, such as President de Klerk addressing the South African parliament or Mandela’s 1985 ANC speech delivered through his daughter, the filmmakers combine archival footage with dramatic reenactments. The archival footage and the dramatic footage do not always cut together and the production values in some of the crowd scenes tend to reveal the low budget of the film. The picture also lacks in its dramatization of the relationship between Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela. Their scenes are satisfactory and actress Tina Lifford does a fine job, especially later in the picture, but compared to the depth of characterization that Winnie Mandela is afforded in 2013’s Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, this version is lacking. Also, as a made-for-television production from its time, Mandela and de Klerk hasn’t gotten a high quality transfer to the digital format, so the home video presentation is a little rough, and it was created in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, so when viewed on widescreen televisions it will have black bars on the left and right sides of the screen.
DVD extras: None.
Bottom Line: Mandela and de Klerk is a very well made piece of historical filmmaking. The picture shows its age but the performances and the complex rendering of history make it worthwhile to seek out.
Episode: #473 (January 12, 2014)