The time is the late '80s, a crucial period in the history of South Africa. President P.W. Botha is hanging on to power by a thread as the African National Congress (ANC) takes up arms against apartheid and the country tumbles toward insurrection. A British mining concern is convinced that their interests would be better served in a stable South Africa and they quietly dispatch Michael Young, their head of public affairs, to open an unofficial dialogue between the bitter rivals. Assembling a reluctant yet brilliant team to pave the way to reconciliation by confronting obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, Young places his trust in ANC leader Thabo Mbeki and Afrikaner philosophy professor Willie Esterhuyse. It is their empathy that will ultimately serve as the catalyst for change by proving more powerful than the terrorist bombs that threaten to disrupt the peaceful dialogue.
Acting
Ejiofor and Hurt's whispered standoffs—tension without explosions.
Direction
Travis makes rooms feel like cages and handshakes like battles.
Writing
Dialogue so dense you'll need subtitles and a history degree.
Director
Pete Travis
William Hurt
Professor Will Esterhuyse
Chiwetel Ejiofor
President Thabo Mbeki
Jonny Lee Miller
Michael Young
Mark Strong
Dr. Niel Barnard
Clarke Peters
Nelson Mandela
John Kani
Oliver Tambo
Derek Jacobi
Rudolph Agnew
Timothy West
P.W. Botha
Matthew Marsh
F.W. de Klerk
Michael Huff
Willem de Klerk
Stephen Jennings
Kobie Coetsee
Patrick Lyster
Sampie Terreblanche
Ramon Tikaram
Aziz Pahad
Danny Scheinmann
Albie Sachs
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Michael Young was so low-profile that most South Africans had never heard of him until this film; he attended the premiere in embarrassed anonymity.
The actual Mells Park talks were so secret that the ANC's armed wing kept planning bombings while their leaders negotiated—neither side told their own people the full truth.
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