'Bafana' fails to tell South Africa's story

Director: Bille August

Cast: Diane Kruger, Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Shiloh Henderson

Cert: 15

The history of South Africa, the notorious prison on Robben Island and the fate of Nelson Mandela is a story always worth telling … the pity with 'Goodbye Bafana' is that it doesn't tell it very well.

Fiennes plays a prison guard who, with his family, is sent to Robben Island to keep an eye on the imprisoned Mandela and try to figure out what makes him tick.

As the relationship grows Fiennes’s character comes more and more to understand apartheid.

The main problem lies in the under-writing of the characters so that we never truly get to understand either Mandela or the guard.

Star rating: 2/5