A good movie

Since I have a weak spot for Denzel Washington, I was really eager to check this movie. Furthermore, I have always been intrigued by South African history which is really controversial, sad and quite shocking. This movie deals with one of the most famous figures involved in the fight for equal rights. This man was called Steve Biko, very well portrayed by Denzel Washington who was not yet a huge star at this time. He gave one of typical performances, you know, the righteous guy, but he does it really well and Biko was a really intriguing guy. Unfortunately, he wasn’t even the main character, the main character was Donald Woods, played by Kevin Kline. Of course, I know it is a true story based on Woods’ books but I always find it disappointing when a movie focus on African people but still manages to put a white guy as the main character (‘Blood Diamond’, ‘Shooting Dogs, ‘Machine Gun Preacher’,…). Especially in this case, even though Biko is actually the historical figure, we still spend here a good chunk of the movie with Donald Woods, trying to escape from South Africa. As if his faith was more tragic or interesting than the black people living in South Africa. So, it is not really a perfect tale but like I said before, Steve Biko was a fascinating man and this subject remains really compelling. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it is a pretty good historical drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

7/10