Bopha!

Danny Glover delivers the most subtle and controlled performance of his life, and Freeman proves himself a sensitive and talented filmmaker. [24 Sept 1993]

While Bopha's belatedly tragic story is an affecting one - and is made all the more poignant by strong performances by Woodard and Eziashi - it will not seem entirely fresh to movie-goers weaned on such superior cinematic treatments of the subject as Chris Menges' "A World Apart" and Euzhan Palcy's "A Dry White Season." [29 Oct 1993, p.L25]

It is a great performance by Danny Glover, the portrait of a proud man who discovers his pride was entrusted to the wrong things. Read full review

There’s sorrow here to fill a thousand Hollywood movies—and in the end, it swamps the boundaries of movie convention. Read full review

Bopha!, a movie about emotional and political turbulence tearing apart the family of a black South African police officer, is good, but a little disheartening. Not because of the injustice and misery it reveals-but because you want it to be better. Read full review

For Freeman's first feature as director, the end result is enjoyable but given his strong roles over the years, somehow more was expected. The equally powerful Glover gives a memorable performance in an interesting film that will inspire and educate. Read full review

Bopha! is so firmly grounded in physical reality (it was shot in Zimbabwe), in the looks and passions of its characters, even in its music, that its deliberate progress from one obligatory scene to the next still carries surprising emotional weight. Read full review

Good intentions are famous for paving the road to hell, but more often they just lead to well-meaning tedium. Read full review

Bopha!'s intentions are all good, but it preaches (and that is the operative word) to the converted. Read full review

Bopha! is a heartfelt and anguished cry. Though moored in historic/geographic specificity, it is an easily understood and universal tale. Read full review

Freeman lays out the father-son dynamics with great skill and very little fuss. There's no hysteria in his approach; instead, he sticks to the facts, relying on his cast to provide the emotion. The result is a surprisingly powerful, insightful film. The dramatic curve of the narrative may not seem entirely fresh, and some of the characters are simplistic, but the movie still gets to you. Read full review

If we'd never seen another film on the horrors of apartheid, all this might have been more impressive, but we have and it isn't. Read full review

In Bopha! the usual apartheid-struggle elements never thin out into abstractions. They're elemental, encapsulating a country's tragedy resonantly and powerfully in a single family's. [24 Sept 1993, p.51]

It is on the family level that Bopha! realizes its most graceful power. [17 Sept 1993]

The film features some fine performances and explores an intriguing set of themes, but it fails to ever take life, causing its laudable message to fall on deadened ears. [12 Oct 1993, p.C1]

In its sober, nonassertive way, Bopha! takes on the tone and weight of a Greek tragedy. [24 Sept 1993, p.C1]

Freeman (no directing natural) gets acting help, and his film earns points for being told from the black perspective, but isn't even up to the modest standards of A Dry White Season, Cry Freedom or A World Apart. [24 Sept 1993, p10D]