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It took the cause and message of A Dry White Season for Marlon Brando to leave his self-imposed exile in Tahiti to come back to the screen, albeit in a small supporting role. Still the cause was one of the most remarkable in the 20th Century, the eventually successful opposition to the white apartheid government of the Union of South Africa.

A Dry White Season was originally a novel concerned with the aftermath of the famous Soweto Massacre when South African troops fired on a protest of black Bantu children being forced to learn in Afrikaans the language of the oppressor as Desmond Tutu so eloquently put it.

The son of the gardener at Donald Sutherland's estate is killed in Soweto and his body is not returned. After which the gardener Winston Ntshona is picked up by the special branch of the South African Police for asking too many questions and later he dies in prison the result of a suicide which no one with a functioning brain believes. At that point Sutherland decides to intervene himself.

Sutherland plays a history teacher in a white only school and as he learns about what's going on and starts asking the questions he dare not ask before even to himself. His radicalization is total, but it costs him dear, his wife Janet Suzman and his daughter Sussanah Harker leave him, but his young son Rowen Elnes sticks with dad.

It's not that he doesn't gain a few new friends, African National Congress organizer Zakes Mokae, crusading journalist Susan Sarandon, and human rights attorney Marlon Brando. But he also gains a bitter and malevolent enemy in Special Branch Captain Jurgen Prochnow who apparently does damage control for the government. That includes outright murder of suspected opposition to the apartheid government.

Every actor worth his salt loves a courtroom scene and Marlon Brando might have even come back for that in this film as well as the anti- apartheid cause. He got the film's only Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Denzel Washington for Glory. I suspect given Marlon's history with Oscar folks were reluctant to vote for him.

The film really belongs to star Donald Sutherland though and I think it a pity he wasn't given any Oscar nomination for this fine film with an eternal message about freedom.

Apartheid gripped South Africa for many years. One heard the news with total disbelief, as things got worse in that country. Euzhan Palcy has brought Andre Brink's novel to the screen making a statement along the way about what was wrong in South Africa under the brutal repression of those that dared to make a stand.

The carnage one sees in the film is hard to take. Especially, since one occurrence is directed to innocent children who are trying to make a stand about education. At the time, the white establishment labeled communist all those that dared oppose the ruling class. It's ironic that after things got to be democratic, those same rebels didn't turn the country into a communist state.

The story centers on a white teacher that suddenly awakens to what is happening around him. His involvement comes through his gardener, Gordon, who is a decent man. When the gardener's son is arrested, Gordon turns to Ben for help. That will mark the beginning of Ben's passive attitude toward apartheid. By trying to help, Ben will be a marked man, a traitor to his people, according to even his own family.

Donald Sutherland makes an excellent Ben, the former football star and teacher. We watch him as he gets deeply involved in his quest for justice in a land where it was unknown. Zakes Mokae, an immensely talented actor of stage and screen, plays Stanley the man that serves as a link between the struggling faction and Ben. Jurgen Prochnow plays the sadistic Capt. Stolz conveying all the cruelty and arrogance of the man. Janet Suzman is Ben's wife, a woman who doesn't want to see any changes in her cushy life.

The surprise of the film is the appearance of Marlon Brando in a small, but pivotal role of Ian McKenzie, a barrister that brings the case to a court of justice, but it's defeated by the system. Mr. Brando made a tremendous contribution to the film.

Ms. Palcy's film is a reminder of the injustice perpetuated in South Africa under the apartheid rule.

It's 1976. Ben du Toit (Donald Sutherland) is a liberal South African schoolmaster and a former rugby star. He is shocked by the police beating of his gardener Gordon's son but does nothing. When the kids gather to protest the teaching of Afrikaans, the police reply with violence. Gordon's son goes missing. Ben, in his sheltered life, tries to help and the police tells him that he's dead. Ben again advises Gordon to leave it alone. Gordon continues to investigate and gets arrested. Captain Stolz (Jürgen Prochnow) is the man in charge of torturing Gordon. Gordon's wife brings lawyer Stanley Makhaya (Zakes Mokae). The police claims that Gordon committed suicide. Stanley brings Ben to the Soweto township and shown the truth of his torture. Melanie Bruwer (Susan Sarandon) is a newspaper reporter. Civil rights lawyer Ian McKenzie (Marlon Brando) relents to Ben and takes on the case.

Ben is a clueless idiot at the start of the movie and that is the part that I dislike most about the movie. It would be so much better for Ben to be in denial. Sutherland plays it so wide eye and ill-informed. It would be more dramatic and better as character development that he doesn't come off as ignorant at the beginning. The court case in the middle drags on a little too much. It's often hard to switch into court like that. There isn't the shock of revelation since the movie already showed the torture earlier. This is also very heavy handed. This feels like a sermon more than a drama. Having Marlon Brando there pontificating doesn't help. The other problem is that after the court case, the movie goes back to the white folks. Even though it's not the movie intention, the black folks get sidelined. Nevertheless, it's an interesting attempt at bringing South Africa to the big screen.

I believe this to be one of Marlon Brando's most underrated performances. The film itself is a splendid period piece of Apartheid South Africa. I rarely see this movie mentioned in biographical comment with regard to Brando's career, and yet, it is a stunning performance. I assume the lack of comment is the fact that he only played a supporting role, and that the subject of apartheid probably denied it a higher profile. As somebody who has lived in South Africa, both before and after apartheid, i cannot tell you how accurate the performance of Brando is in this role. There is no doubt in my mind that he must have studied meticulously before playing this part. I do not know why, but there are a large percentage of professional people in South Africa who have an almost perfect "Queen's English" accent...but it is tinged with a slight South African edge which only the most perceptive can detect. Not only does Marlon Brando capture this perception, but he somehow manages to replicate it, which i have always found truly incredible. You would have to live South Africa to know how fantastic his voicing is in this part, but believe me, apart from the power of his acting, this role is a truly stunning illustration of his amazing ability. I hope this movie will obtain the higher profile it deserves in the future.

Manny Wah Hong Kong

I found the story very interesting because it's a real story about the South Africa.The film opens on the demonstrations and riots in Soweto,I like this extract even if it was violent.The main character of Benjamin Dutoit is interesting because he is the hand of the Black.He is brave.

Released in the year before the process of ending apartheid began, A DRY WHITE SEASON offers a straightforward portrayal of life, with the Afrikaaners depicted as almost uniformly racist and the black Africans as their largely innocent victims. The only people straddling this racial and ideological divide are history teacher Ben du Toit (Donald Sutherland) and his young son Johan (Rowen Elmes).

At the beginning of the film we see du Toit, a former Springbok rugby union player, happily presiding over his learners at his all-white private school. It is only when he learns of the brutal way in which his African gardener Gordon Ngubene (Winston Ntshona) has been murdered by the authorities that his hitherto fixed beliefs in Afrikaaner supremacy are challenged. After an abortive court case charging the police with brutality, du Toit determines to pursue justice at any cost, even at the cost of his family life.

The plot is a familiar one with resonances far beyond the immediate South African context. It could prove equally plausible in an historical drama about the anticommunist era in the United States. We roughly know what will happen in the end, but there are some noteworthy moments along the way, especially Marlon Brando's star turn as a campaigning lawyer where he rehearses his British English accent (previously shown off in the remake of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1962).

Most of the supporting roles are played by British actors speaking a peculiarly nasal form of Afrikaaner English, including Richard Wilson, Ronald Pickup, Paul Brooke and a youthful Susannah Harker (in a pre- HOUSE OF CARDS role). Perhaps the ruling Afrikaaner oligarchy intervened, but the film would have appeared more historically authentic if more locally employed actors had been cast. Nonetheless the black Africans are all played by locals, who are given the chance to speak Bantu as well as English in the film. Susan Sarandon appears briefly as a British journalist, but she doesn't have to do much.

A DRY WHITE SEASON looks a bit anachronistic now, but its sincerity of purpose cannot be doubted.

If you want to understand what the old South Africa could be like at its worst, this movie accurately portrays it. Well acted and only slightly over-dramatized, it gives you the sense of how the ruling culture was blind to its own injustices. Those who oppose the main character from within his own family make some valid points, and that makes it all the more chilling.

As someone who lived in South Africa until shortly before the year this movie is set in (and was forced to leave because I opposed apartheid), I can't fault the authenticity of this movie but I want to caution viewers not to form all your opinions of white South Africans from this type of film. There is a good side to every culture, but it is harder to portray and doesn't always make great box office.

If this movie leaves you hating anyone, you are taking away the wrong message. If it leaves you realizing this could happen anywhere, and ordinary good people can easily find themselves on the wrong side in situations like this, that is the right message to take away.

"Trevor Moses'" review is most unfair and disingenuous. That review is clearly based on his political views and not on the film's merit, as his opening line plainly indicates: "Typically anti-apartheid sewer seepage" -- those are his exact words.

Note that Mr. Moses hails from South Africa. Perhaps he is part of that minority that still resents the end of apartheid? His review would support such a notion.

I saw the film many years ago, and it was at least decent, to best of my recollection. Director Palcy has done other quality work, e.g., "Sugar Cane Alley."

One day in South Africa in the 1960's, a young black man was walking along the street with his aged mother. Coming along the road was a young white man. The young black man knew that apartheid law and custom meant that the white would probably barge the two blacks off the pavement and into the gutter. The law would protect him and the young black man might be imprisoned for defending himself. The young black man tensed his muscles and prepared to defend his mother, but was amazed when the Englishman stepped off the pavement and doffed his broad brimmed hat in greeting. Later on the two would become friends and allies. The white man was to become bishop Trevor Huddleston, the black man, bishop Desmond Tutu.

That story is NOT the story of A Dry White season, but it is of a kindred spirit. Like the gesture of Trevor Huddleston, the story of Ben de Tor is a gesture against apartheid. A glimmer of hope, but merely that, a flicker.

It must be five years since I saw a Dry White Season but I still remember how I felt leaving the cinema. It is a film which will stay with you.

The plot follows a white South African on an adventure through bewilderment, revelation, denial, disgust, and a futile attempt to fight a grossly unfair system.

I can't go into detail after this length of time but the cameos in this film would be worth the video rental. Marlon Brando (yes) steals the show as the lawyer who knows exactly how hopeless the fight against apartheid is but agrees to fight anyway.

The political situation today in South Africa is a world away from that of A Dry White Season. Watch it and never forget.

Compelling fictional account of a teacher (Sutherland) who begins to delve into the clandestine methods of his local South African police force when the heavy handedness being meted out against the coloured population happens close to home. Sutherland's character is essentially colour-blind, and shocked to discover his friends, colleagues and even his wife are all afflicted by the stain of Apartheid, and unwilling to modify their views (for fear, retribution and in some cases, their racism).

Brando has a relatively peripheral role as the human rights counsel, appearing in a puppet court where vicious establishment official Jurgen Prochnow is on trial for covert, racially-based atrocities. Prochnow is the film's sleeper role as the cold, merciless enforcer, while Ntshona playing Sutherland's key accomplice is also quite a defining character (some may recognise him from "The Wild Geese" in which he played the president in exile Julius Limbani). Susan Sarandon, Michael Gambon, Paul Brooke, John Kani and Ronald Pickup have smaller roles.

There's a few unsettling moments and gathering tension in the manner in which Sutherland's character is perversely ostracised for his 'disloyalty', a pariah whose young son makes him vulnerable to retributions. It's a busy kind of movie with frequent scene interchanges, multiple minor characters and sub-plots but the narrative is pervasive and keeps you engaged.

Not as bad as I expected. Apart from some cringy dialogue and acting it has it's moments.

I would say the highlights are Donald Sutherland and especially Marlon Brando's brief appearence.

Directed by Euzhan Palcy. Starring Donald Sutherland, Zakes Mokae, Jürgen Prochnow, Janet Suzman, Marlon Brando, Winston Ntshona, Susan Sarandon, Leonard Maguire, Susannah Harker, Thoko Ntshinga, Rowen Elmes, Paul Brooke, Michael Gambon. (R)

Apartheid drama about a white South African teacher (Sutherland) whose gardener (and gardener's son) turn up dead after being arrested and finds himself swept up seeking the truth and justice for their murders. Starts out well, earnest and angry and condemnatory, but in the second half, the narrative loses focus with its investigative thriller elements clashing with heavy-handed (but well-meaning) political tract; the last fifteen minutes or so are so inauthentic and melodramatic that they're downright dopey. Mokae and Brando (in a nicely oblique but magnetic supporting turn) stand out in the cast; Prochnow wisely underplays the villainous caricature he's saddled with, while Sarandon's role is a dimensionless prop. A reworking of the same material with more focus on the lives and perspectives of the black characters (and a far shrewder ending) would be most welcome.

55/100

We are pupils in the10th grade in Dumont d'Urville in Normandy (France). We are all sixteen and we have been learning English for six years. We watched the film A dry white season in class and we had to write a review on it.

It is a film shot by Euzhan Palcy in 1997 which is based from a novel by André Brink.

The main characters are Ben du Toit played by Donald Sutherland, Captain Stolz played by Jürgen Prochnow, Stanley played by Zakes Mokae and Gordon played by Winston Ntshona.

The plot deals with apartheid in South Africa in 1976. A naïve history teacher Ben du Toit decides to avenge his gardener's death, Gordon, a black man. He is tortured to death by the white police. Ben becomes aware of the issue of segregation in his country and he sides with the blacks.

We all liked this film because it gave another vision of apartheid, more shocking and violent than the one we had imagined. This film is educative because too many people ignore what white men did to the blacks at that time and even recently. Nowadays, colored people endure discrimination in many countries even if apartheid, slavery have been abolished, so it is a very interesting film, it shows a real and current problem : racism which still exists in our society. We don't know if it can make people's mentalities evolve but it will certainly make people question themselves.

We would recommend this film to our friends because we think people are not informed enough about apartheid.

Based upon André Brink's novel of the same name, 'A Dry White Season' is a Decent Attempt. The Disturbing yet Courageous comes alive on celluloid with sincerity & honesty. Brando, who only has 10-minutes of Screen-Time, is Terrific & Over-Powers every other actor abroad.

'A Dry White Season' Synopsis: Ben du Toit, A schoolteacher, who always has considered himself a man of caring and justice, at least on the individual level. When his gardener's son is brutally beaten up by the police at a demonstration by black school children, he gradually begins to realize his own society is built on a pillar of injustice and exploitation.

'A Dry White Season' is disturbing, honest & courageous. The Adapted Screenplay by Colin Welland & Euzhan Palcy, is sincere. Euzhan Palcy's Direction, on the other-hand, is sensitive. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are passable.

Performance-Wise: As Mentioned, Brando is Terrific in a cameo. He over-powers everyone! Donald Sutherland delivers a very genuine performance. Janet Suzman is first-rate. Susan Sarandon leaves a mark. Jürgen Prochnow is excellent. Others lend able support.

On the whole, 'A Dry White Season' is a decent watch.

"A Dry White Season" is about an incendiary topic, but it's a tepid treatment of it.

Donald Sutherland gives a decent performance, but the writing and directing never give him the support he needs for it to really resonate. And I know this was based on a true story, and I know that it was made in 1989, but it's still frustrating to see filmmakers create a white savior story out of something that begs to be told from a black perspective. The black characters in this movie fade into the background.

Marlon Brando received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for a teeny tiny role as a judge, the eighth and last of his career.

Grade: B.

For many years the government of South Africa carried on it's secret, grizzly business of imprisonment, torture and murder. Hundreds and then thousands of black South Africans were detained, arrested, beaten to death causing the numerous unofficial grave sites to overflow. Until then, many whites of South Africa either ignored their murderous brethren's brutalities or feigned ignorance of the atrocities. "A Dry White Season" rips deeply into the social fabric of both white myths, that proclaimed the enemy consisted of Black terrorists and anarchistic communists and the notion every white Africanier knew what was taking place and turned their heads. One family patriarch, Ben Du Toit (pronouched Toy) Donald Sutherland realizes he and his sanitized life style is to blame when a black Gardner and his son are both arrested and murdered without anyone caring. In order to get the government to change, he must challenge the Police Security Forces, or 'Special Branch' and it's formidable figurehead, Captain Stolz (Jürgen Prochnow, who is convincing as the menace behind the murderers). Marlon Brando is curiously interesting as Ian McKenzie as a sympathetic lawyer. Winston Ntshona is Gordon Ngubene a courageous national unafraid of anything except failure. All in all, a great film which needs to be seen by anyone who cares. ****

It's a drama about South African apartheid set in 1976 in Johannesburg and Soweto, South Africa. Ben du Toit (Donald Sutherland) is a middle-aged Afrikaner teacher in a school for Afrikaner boys. He's married to Susan (Janet Suzman); they have two children. Suzette (Susannah Harker) is married, and Johan (Rowen Elmes) is still a student at Ben's school. The family's Black gardener is Gordon Ngubene (Winston Ntshona), whose son, Jonathan (Bekhithemba Mpofu), is Johan's good friend. Gordon is married to Emily (Thoko Ntsinga). A good friend, Stanley Makhaya (Zakes Mokae), is a Black taxi driver connected to the underground resistance.

The story begins when Jonathan is involved in a protest for better education. Ben blows off Gordon's concerns when Special Forces arrest Jonathan. However, after a second demonstration, Jonathan is again arrested and disappears. Gordon's efforts to learn what happened lead to his own arrest and subsequent suspicious death. Ben becomes engaged in trying to discover the truth of what happened; this puts him in touch with icy Special Forces Captain Stolz (Jürgen Prochnow), world-weary human rights lawyer Ian McKenzie (Marlon Brando), and crusading journalist Melanie Bruwer (Susan Sarandon). Ben's search ends logically for the time depicted.

"A Dry White Season" is a message movie that could have used a stronger script to make Ben du Toit seem part of a larger story. The early demonstration scenes begin unrealistically, and the climax has a hollow ring. Captain Stolz is almost a caricature to underscore the film's message. But there are some excellent performances. Sutherland, Suzman, Elmes, Ntshona, and Ntshinga are excellent. Brando and Mokae are brilliant. Sarandon seems an afterthought. The conflict within the du Toit family is presented effectively.

Euzhan Palcy is a great director. She has broken many barriers for Black Female Filmmakers. Most of her work has been political with strong impact, as this film is. Never before have we seen such a story told through the eyes of a black woman and done so well that she received critical acclaim.

I have to disagree with Mr. Trevor Moses that this was an awful film. Also, Mr. Moses get your facts straight. The director of this film Ms. Palcy was not a racist hence the amazing cast. And one last thing these actors did this movie for almost nothing, including Robert Redford who did it for FREE, all because they saw her vision. FYI check out www.euzhanpalcy.com

The story tells of the terror and horror that abounded in segregated South Africa. The torture of the man servant mirrored that of what the Gestapo did to their victims during World War 2. I thought Donald Sutherland performed admirably, as did the entire supporting cast.

What one piece of dialogue remains with me was the sentence spoken by Marlon Brando when he identified the corrolation between the law and justice, brilliant!

Donald Sutherland (one of Hollywood's most undervalued actors) is simply brilliant in this quiet and thought-provoking films. Many black people do not like to see white heroes in films about apartheid or racism. But the truth is, there are many white people who have contributed to the fight for justice, not for black people, but for humanity.

Marlon Brando is also fantastic. Unfortunately, Susan Sarandon's role is quite minimal.

The film is about a white teacher in a posh boys school (whites only) whose gardener asks for his help when his son is arrested and beaten up. The son later dies and the father seeks justice. Sutherland's character is faced with the reality that being a good person and minding one's own business may not be enough, especially when he realises that more is going on in his country than he knows about. As another reviewer has said, Marlon Brando's lawyer character perfectly showcases a brilliant man who has given himself to hopeless causes. he expertly shows in court the injustice that is going on. We see how the legal system worked for the oppressors; knowing this, Brando's character does it anyway. It is the principle that counts. Much like (in a totally different kind of film) King Theoden's words in the Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King, when it is noted that in no way will his army defeat the enemy, replies, 'yes, but we will meet them in battle all the same.' It was people like this who gave of themselves for the sake of others, maybe in future generations to which many of us owe our freedom.

This is a wonderful film, superbly acted by a great cast. Everyone is very understated, despite the understandable possibilities of over-acting. Donald Sutherland, Marlon Brando and the little boy are particularly outstanding - but one would really need to list all of the cast! The story shows the courage needed to stand up against the pressure of society when one (somewhat belatedly in our hero's case) discovers the injustices that are daily committed. While there is a lot of blood and gore, for once it simply reflects the situation. The Marlon Brando character is certainly wonderfully acted; his accent was so British it took us quite a little while to recognised him, despite his fairly unmistakable appearance! - we were watching this on television, knowing only that it took place in South Africa. My compliments to all involved!