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Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I have to look up my original review for Sarafina! that I wrote back in 1992. I wrote it for the college newspaper and, of course, I kept all my articles I wrote that were published. I have some fond and funny memories of this movie review from over 20 years ago.#1: I called it the very best movie of 1992. Hands down, no question. And the year was just barely half over.#2: My editor/teacher edited my article and the line: "…and it's the best movie of 1992" to "…and it's the best movie of 1992, in my opinion." I thought that was the funniest and saddest thing I ever seen her write. OBVIOUSLY it's my opinion, or I wouldn't have accomplished the goal of writing a movie review, or: opinion piece. (We published it WITHOUT her input/edit.)Wow. Well, in my defense, I saw it at a screener and I must've been in an excellent mood that day. Because there are things wrong above and it ain't my mentor's editing. (She is still wrong.)One should never conclude the year in September and state this or that's the best or worst of the year. *Especially* with award season coming up. Also, I was definitely wrong: This is the same year that released Aladdin, Unforgiven, Scent of a Woman, Basic Instinct, A Few Good Men…just to name a handful and all of my favorite movies. And some of those came out earlier than this one. So, I truly don't know what I was on.At any rate, fast forward to 2013. I found this movie on DVD for a very small amount on Amazon.com. Thinking that I absolutely loved it in 1992, and that it'll probably never appear on BluRay, I purchased it. Somehow it sat shelved until recently and I rewatched it, only for the 2nd….and last time.Yeah, it didn't hold up. I even felt I was over-generous for giving it 3/5 (or in IMDb-land 5/10.) Sure the story was there and the heart was in the actors, but the songs were really mediocre at best and the feeling was only mild this time.The oddest and most coincidental thing about this viewing was that I decided, after almost a year of owning it without revisiting it, I would watch it finally and it was just past the passing of Nelson Mandela. This movie's core is about him and why they fight and move forward. I hadn't remembered that from my original viewing over two decades past.I guess I would recommend this movie, but, regrettably, not as much as I did long ago. It's a movie about war, peace, hope and prevailing. It's uplifting, fun and funny at spots while also being deep and depressing. It's not a great musical, but it's one we can stand behind.* * * Final thoughts: Wait until you get to 12/31 before you choose what's the best of the year. Take my amateur word for it.

If you are looking for a funny, moving movie that could best depict the life of teenagers during the despicable apartheid era in south Africa, this is one. The main character hooks her hopes on the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela. One easily understands the role Mandela played for his people, and understands the controversies that the apartheid era played on the common public in their every day lives. I would also recommend this movie to those who don't know what apartheid was and are hoping to learn about it in a interesting way. They music and dancing is also wonderfully African. It is sometimes hard for westerners to appreciate the African call-chorus music arrangement. This is why some critics have been very harsh on the music. However I call to them to not look at this movie as a typical traditional musical such as the 'sound of music', it is an African musical and respects African music arrangements. Enjoy the movie :)

Any fans of "The Lion King" (film -or- musical) and "The Power of One" will enjoy this film beyond belief. Based on the broadway musical "Sarafina!", this film (distributed by Buena Vista [Walt Disney Studios]) definetely meets my expectations.It isn't about the acting. I personally think that the cast was amazing, but for those select few who think Whoopi Goldberg did a so-called "mediocre" acting job, this film is about a story, a very strong story. Who cares about the acting? I mean, look at "Gone With The Wind". The acting sucks and look how popular it is!So anyway, the story is very dramatic and sort of violent, but is very emotional and touching. The music is fantastic, "Freedom is Coming Tomorrow" being one of the highlights of the film. If you haven't seen this movie, go see it now, regardless of what people say. It is an amazing film.

I only saw a few minutes of Sarafina!, but I must comment. I think a musical can never be a great teaching tool for anything but a drama class. I have been to South Africa, and granted, it has changed since the days of apartheid, what I saw in this movie is nothing like reality. Even today, the classrooms are not that nice, and the black people I met were nothing like the ones in the movie. I was privileged to see a few concerts of African music, and to spend a large amount of time in classrooms, both in white schools and black schools (yes, they are still segregated, although by location, class and money, rather than law). The general attitude of the people I saw in the movie was inaccurate, as were many details. I couldn't even figure out exactly what story they were trying to tell until I looked it up on TV Guide because it was so generically "African". I am sure that as entertainment and emotional manipulation, the movie is quite effective, but if you are interested in history, please find a more accurate source.