CountZero313 The BBC recently referred to Nelson Mandela as 'the most revered man on planet Earth.' That is not an exaggeration, and it is that reputation that permeates Goodbye, Bafana and provokes an emotional response. I went on the journey with the film, and was moved, but I suspect more by the evocation of Mandela himself than by the craft of the filmmakers.Fiennes is James Gregory, an unreformed bigot whose life is turned around by close proximity to Mandela. Fiennes handles the role comfortably, if unspectacularly. The less recognisable Diane Kruger is more convincing as a venal apologist for apartheid. The major question mark is Dennis Haysbert. He is never more than a competent actor playing Mandela. He never inhabits the role, the way Will Smith does Ali or Jamie Foxx Ray. Indeed, Mandela deserves to be portrayed the way Ben Kingsley portrayed Ghandi. No doubt such a film will come, and with it the eclipsing of Goodbye Bafana.The film is not a failure, but neither is it a success. It is a decent attempt at telling a remarkable story. However, given that story, I expected so much more.

birck This film would have been easier to watch if the makers had cast a total unknown in the role of Mandela. I like Dennis Haysbert; he's a good actor, but he was miscast in the part of Nelson Mandela. There's a point in the film when Joseph Feinnes, in character, does a brief imitation of Mandela making a public statement; he does a very convincing job of it, and I thought:"This white guy would have made a better Nelson Mandela than we have here". Do the producers think that any black actor equals any other black actor? Why not place some South African character actor with a long, distinguished portfolio in the Mandela role? It seems obvious to me. Why go all the way to Hollywood for someone who's clearly wrong for the part? It's not a bad film-the motivation is clear, the pacing is OK, it held my interest...it just didn't present a convincing Nelson Mandela.

dantbyrne I'd just like to make the point that Raj Doctor of Amsterdam's comment above is more than a little misleading, as well as giving a rather simplified version of the long and complex history of what became the Republic of South Africa.He refers to 'the ruling British', a group apparently wholly responsible for the racism and violence which have beset the country. South Africa achieved sovereignty in 1934, and became a republic in 1961. The government of the country was dominated until 1994 by the Afrikaner community (a majority amongst white South Africans) who, as most people would presumably know, were certainly not of 'British' origin. One might expect someone from the Netherlands to know that they are comprised chiefly of Dutch settlers...Britain may be the former colonial power in SA, but was not the initiator of the post-war apartheid policy, still less the force which actually brought it about. Britain gave up its African colonies in the 1960s, so has not "ruled" anywhere on the continent in a direct sense since then, and has not ruled SA since considerably earlier than that. The particular nature of the problems which South Africa has faced are based primarily on the relatively significant size of its white population and their attendant rule (dominated as it has been by Afrikaners) not on 'British rule'.I enjoyed the film, by the way. A thoughtful and satisfying treatment of the subject on the whole, I thought.

antoniotierno This film, based on two very important men, is emotional and sincere but overall it is believable, every single moment is significant and told gracefully. A real life movie based is supposed to be precise without getting too much into detail - otherwise it turns boring - and so is "Goodbye Bafana", documenting 27 years in the life of this prison guard. Things and events described in the motion picture heat up gradually, the leading actors are simply outstanding so that the two hours runtime seems much shorter than it is. Haysbert is terrific, even more than Fiennes and they're both superb for their parts, with them each moment becomes increasingly more touching