Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Name: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Released: November 29, 2013
Duration: 141 min
Rating: 60
Cast: Garth Breytenbach, Grant Swanby, Idris Elba, Mark Elderkin, Naomie Harris

2013

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Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 67 Ratings

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5.7

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5.7	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 67 Ratings

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Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

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Movie Details & Credits

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: November 29, 2013 | PG-13

Starring: Garth Breytenbach, Grant Swanby, Idris Elba, Mark Elderkin, Naomie Harris, Robert Hobbs, Terry Pheto, Theo Landey

Summary: A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life, from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Director: Justin Chadwick

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, History

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 141 min

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Critic Reviews

Stephen Holden

Nov 28, 2013

Mr. Elba’s towering performance lends “Long Walk to Freedom” a Shakespearean breadth. Read full review

McClatchy-Tribune News Service Roger Moore

Dec 18, 2013

Looming large above this “Long Walk” is Elba, in a mostly still performance, one of quietly compelling authority that dominates every moment. Read full review

Marc Mohan

Dec 24, 2013

British-born director Justin Chadwick might not seem the most logical choice to bring Mandela’s life to the screen, but he handles the historical sweep and the intimate moments with equal steadiness. Read full review

Peter Travers

Nov 27, 2013

A long slog of a movie that insists on hitting the high spots like a Wiki page, which leaves little room to investigate the political and personal changes that altered Mandela's thoughts about violence and its uses. Read full review

Dave Calhoun

Nov 26, 2013

Bold performance or not, you can see history weighing heavily on Elba’s shoulders (in later scenes as an older man, you can see the makeup, too). Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Dec 18, 2013

It’s too bad, then, that Justin Chadwick’s film does not offer a more substantial portrait of the man, whose passing is a fresh wound to mourners and curious onlookers worldwide. Read full review

Andrew Schenker

Nov 23, 2013

A cursory history lesson with no interest in probing the deeper or more complex implications of Mandela's positions and their relationship to his country's shifting landscape. Read full review

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User Reviews

WTilson

Dec 19, 2013

My parents and I LOVED this movie. Reminded us of Gandhi both the film (brilliant acting, fascinating history) and the man. We highly recommended it!

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

TVJerry

Dec 28, 2013

The title pretty much sums it up: a walk with Nelson from rural boyhood to his election as South Africa's first democratically-elected president. Much of the journey is taken up with his early fight against apartheid and the subsequent 22 years in jail. To anyone who hasn't read theThe title pretty much sums it up: a walk with Nelson from rural boyhood to his election as South Africa's first democratically-elected president. Much of the journey is taken up with his early fight against apartheid and the subsequent 22 years in jail. To anyone who hasn't read the autobiography on which the film is based, this will provide interesting details about his personal life and political struggles. Although Idris Elba (Mandela) and Naomie Harris (his wife Winnie) both create rich characters and the narrative is compelling, the whole thing lacks emotional power. The prison years are the most absorbing. It should take 2+ hours to chronicle a great man's life, but it feels too long and sometimes too simplistic. Still, an informative history lesson.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

DawdlingPoet

Nov 25, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a historical biopic drama, with strong themes on equality, justice and human rights. It is understandably quite an emotional watch. I felt it was well made, with some beautiful scenic shots, good wide panning camera angles and some very convincing performances, I felt it was easy to get caught up in the world of the various characters. The strength of emotion felt by Nelson, his parents, Winnie et al is clear to see. The script seemed well thought out, as I found some dialogue to be quite touching/poignant, while there are other, more light hearted, parts in which the characters make some amusing comments.

Mandela and Winnies romance, as they get to know each other, was quite touching and I'd say that both Idris Elba, who plays Nelson Mandela and Naomie Harris, who plays Winnie Madikizela, do very well with their portrayals - being somewhat carefree at times, while clearly with a love of their community and people. I was quite surprised by how well Idris Elba managed to replicate Nelsons voice - it was very realistic. Cast wise, other members include Deon Lotz who plays Kobe Coetzee, Terry Pheto who plays Evelyn Mase, Tony Kgoroge as Walter Sisulu and Jamie Bartlett as James Gregory.

I found it quite sad and also shocking, almost harrowing, how natives were treated during the socially unjust time of segragation. Watching the tragic turn of events during the Sharpeville massacre certainly made me feel anger on behalf of said natives and it made me feel more understanding of Nelson's feeling of injustice.

The lack of compassion shown by those in government at the time, is quite chilling. Its an important story, that much I'm sure of and I felt it was well handled by this film - it seemed well thought out and is of quite high quality. I felt that the use of multiple camera angles to show Nelson as he was forced to spend his days in prison, helped to bring home how it may have been like for him, cut off and isolated, with a bleak future seemingly ahead of him.

I found it a very absorbing watch, its quite engrossing and also of course thought provoking. The plot is fairly fast, all things considered and at no point did I feel like it was dragging on or becoming overly/unnecessarily boring or anything like that. Of course its bleak viewing but there is definitely something quite compelling about the film. If I had to define the film, and indeed Nelson himself, in one word then that word would be determined. I was also quite taken aback by how his partner, Winnie, was treated following Nelsons guilty verdict. To say that they were maligned would be very much an understatement.

One thing I did notice, understandably towards the end of the film, was that as Nelson aged, he looked physically less realistic. I can't quite think how else to word that otherwise - it must be the prosthetics used to artificially age the actor. Its a shame but it just didn't quite look right or sit right with me somehow. It led me to wonder why the same didn't happen to Naomie as Winnie - surely she would have aged in a similar way, yet she appears just as young and youthful after Nelsons return from Robben Island as she did when he was given a guilty verdict.

I think whats likely is that, at the end of the day, there was more to the story, in terms of events that happened and also different peoples perspectives on such events - who is to blame for the violence, whether the ANC were justified for their actions and whether Winnie was right in doing what she did etc. but that, I suppose, is up to you, the viewer, to decide. The film runs at about 2 hours and 20 minutes long and I think thats a reasonable running time. I'm not sure if it would be possible to somehow include all the potential details, every event from every possible angle and so on, in to a not overly-long film. I know that some people have quite strong opinions on Mandela and this may be seen to sugar coat things perhaps - I'll leave that for you to decide but it doesn't entirely shy away from the main race issues. If it raises awareness on the injustice of segragation and Apartheid then ultimately, surely that has to be a good thing? I would have thought.

Yes I would recommend this film as I felt it was well made, in numerous ways - the script, the main performances, the use of camerawork and cinematography and the use of music. It is a very emotive film and it tells an important story. I couldn't comment regarding how precise or accurate it is in terms of bringing Nelsons autobiography of the same name to life, as I haven't read it but believe its certainly a very good film and as such I'm happy to recommend it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tazmania32

Jan 9, 2014

Very powerful film, especially visually. The only thing that bugged me was how Idris Alba looked towards the end of the film. I was able to withstand his supreme masculinity throughout the film until that moment.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

pauljohnson

Jan 9, 2014

It feels like the film builds to a climax that never arrives. The film does feature two great performances from Elba and Harris, the depictions of the race war and racism in South Africa is well handled, especially how out of control things got around the time of Mandela's release. There areIt feels like the film builds to a climax that never arrives. The film does feature two great performances from Elba and Harris, the depictions of the race war and racism in South Africa is well handled, especially how out of control things got around the time of Mandela's release. There are some scenes which are great unto themselves such as Mandela's trial, several scenes during Mandela's time on Robben Island, Mandela greeting the people as the first black president as he is respectfully saluted by his white staff members and so forth. The final scene in particular had some great soul to it, and Elba's perfectly delivered monologue of one of Mandela's most famous quotes was very moving.

Having said that, the film suffers from the problem of trying to cram too much detail and information about Mandela's story in South Africa into a two hour film, and, as a result, several scenes which could have built up to something poignant or could have been fleshed out are quickly glossed over. These scenes include but are not limited to the Sharpeville Massacre and the resulting wave of protest and oppression, Mandela's trial itself, his imprisonment on Robben Island, and the final stages from his release to his ascendancy to presidency.

As a result, the film feels like there's a lot of plot to it, but not a lot of story, as if the film is running by a tick box list. "Oh, we did Sharpeville, good, let's move on. Oh, we did Mandela's trial, okay let's move on". No one moment is really given any real chance to shine, it feels like there's no real substance or consequence to them in terms of the characters and situation on screen. As a result, the final climax Mandela ascending to presidency when it comes, doesn't carry the emotional punch that it should.

Despite these problems, I would still recommend that people would watch this film at least once.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

mapizarro

Jan 24, 2014

This film made me cold and I'm so sorry because that. Mandela's death in last year it was a tragic event and I think that film is opportunistic. It seems a made-for-TV film. Idris Elba is great with Mandela role but makeup is unbelievable. Sorry, Mandela merits better films.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

studentcritic

Mar 27, 2023

A movie that is meant to tell a powerful message and show us a part of Africas history but fails miserably. There are so many interesting concepts that could show us what their lives were really like. Sadly, the film is riddled with pacing issues, boring cinematography, and uninspiredA movie that is meant to tell a powerful message and show us a part of Africas history but fails miserably. There are so many interesting concepts that could show us what their lives were really like. Sadly, the film is riddled with pacing issues, boring cinematography, and uninspired writing. It felt like this movie was more interested in simply showing us series of events instead of telling us an inspiring story about the life of Nelson Mandela. It is so bad that I not only find it offensive to well directed movies trying to make a difference, but is also disrespectful to the legacy of Mandela.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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