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starring: Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Willie Jonah, Graham Weir, Anton Stoltzdirected by: John Berry
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 0738329038236
Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
Label: Kino International
Manufacturer: Kino International
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Kino International
Release Date: November 06, 2001
Running Time: 90 minutes
Sales Rank: 2755
Studio: Kino International
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Written at a time when protest against apartheid in South Africa was routinely crushed, this play by the great Athol Fugard brings the sensibility of Beckett's Waiting for Godot to the horrors of life as a nonperson in a racially exclusive state. Two ragged wanderers--the bearish Boesman (Danny Glover) and the wilier Lena (Angela Bassett)--meet on a riverbank, where they try to scavenge food and firewood in order to survive the night. As they talk, their bitterness about the ways their lives have gone begins to come out, as well as the tragedies they've suffered at the hands of a racist government. Gradually, you realize that they've been husband and wife in a relationship that has been plundered by the poisonous influence of apartheid, reducing them to a level in which they have to remind themselves of their own humanity and their ability to make human connections. Director John Berry has opened it up somewhat, including flashbacks of the violence that has sundered their lives. It's grim, tough stuff, marked by extraordinary performances by Glover and Bassett. --Marshall Fine
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Boring Movies the New Standard?
"Boesman & Lena" was a disappointment to me after reading the reviews. I find it very difficult to sit for 1 1/2 hours watching people on a beach yelling, screaming and arguing with each other the whole time, no matter what the subject matter. There was only one other person in the movie and he did not speak English, yet Lena yelled at him when they couldn't even understand each other. There were no houses, no explanation of why they wound up where they were or what happened to their baby (Maybe ... Read More
Rating:  - Excellent Performances
Director John Berry (CLAUDINE), in his last film, has crafted a visual adaptation of the Athol Fugard play. Angela Bassett (who received an NAACP Image Award nomination) and Danny Glover do some of their best work to date in this film. They have great chemistry together and despite being both American-born actors, are totally believable in their respective roles.
The film was released theatrically with barely a whisper, but fortunately, audiences have the opportunity to see this well-acted ... Read More
Rating:  - Long night's journey into twilight.
The only reason I didn't give Boseman & Lena five stars is that it isn't always easy to watch. It is, however, a superlative view into the effects of racism and Apartheid on Boseman & Lena, and Lena's internal struggle to understand the aftermath of its senseless brutality on their lives. Angela Bassett and Danny Glover do their best acting to date, in a performance that is not likely to become a best seller due to the subject matter. All in all, a powerful movie rendition of South African playwright ... Read More
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