Film Preview: Mandela: The Long Walk To Freedom


Endorsed by the Mandela family, including the great man himself, this is as close to an official biopic of Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life as there is ever likely to be. It is epic in its scope, covering the full span of his long and controversial journey from rural childhood, through political activism and imprisonment, to his historic inauguration as President. 

In preparation for this daunting project, Director Justin Chadwick spent a year in South Africa, exploring the country and its people. As with 'The First Grader', set and shot in Kenya, expect an evocative, visually stunning and immersive African experience. 

Squeezing a lifetime of drama into two and a half hours is a challenging task, and not all biopics manage to do it successfully. Chadwick’s approach is to focus on Mandela the human being, a flawed man whose dedication to the cause wreaked havoc with his personal life. With career defining performances from Naomie Harris as the indomitable Winnie and Idris Elba as Mandela, this is all set to be one of the must-see movies of 2014.

(Published in 'Electrolyte' January 2013)

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