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Fantastic!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

-SPOILERS- ------------PLOTMicah Mangena (Danny Glover) is a police commander of town Moraro in South African Republic in 1980, where Apartheid is still the only way of life. He loves his job and does it the best he knows how (which in his mind means following orders to the letter). De Villiers (Malcolm McDowell) is a chief of Special Units Team, witch arrive in town, because of the rising danger of protest, which might spread from areas around Moraro. At the same time, new generation of cadets is about to become part of SAP (South African Police) core. Micah's son is one of them, but has great doubts about his future employment. Soon everything will start to change dramatically, when secret student meeting, inspired by an idea of change, occurs.-----------To quote the beginning of the movie: In Zulu language Bopha means detention. In movie, every protester, who is captured by the police is being on indefinite detention (until special forces say he can go).Danny Glover is just great. He plays perfectly, a man who did his job for so long with so much heart, that he is unable to react properly, when that same job becomes a machinery of oppression. There are three things you can do in Moraro, in his opinion. Work in mine in slave like condition, to be without a job, and to be a member of SAP (as the most honorable of three)... He does the job to support his family, but ironically that same job will endanger it in the end. Vicious Malcolm McDowell is also great and a perfect cast for a mercy-less representative of Pretoria and hunter for leaders of student protests. The rest of the cast is also very impressive. They all try to pull out the SA accent and this gives a lot credit for a realistic representation. The screenplay, has a few small illogical turns, but it is a very strong writing... The movie is based on a play by Percy Mtwa, that made a lot of unrest in those days (20 years ago)...Morgan Freeman as a director (this is new) does also a fine job. He made a fine peace of human drama and it goes side by side with Hollywood products, with obvious smaller budget, but without pathetic moments. To bad Mr. Freeman didn't continue to direct. If you like human right movies and family dramas this is for you... I give 8 to this movie.

Incredible tension from a fevered conflict of races, generations, and police-and-citizens. Morgan Freeman proves himself a great director: the acting from the cast is flawless and strong, and some of the camera set-ups are indelible. There's a short shot where an armored car is roaring toward a phone pole, behind which Alfre Woodward is crouching in terror, that is truly magnificent! Hollywood often ignores superb directorial talent: Charles Laughton only directed one film, Orson Welles had a hell of a time. Yet there are so many mediocre films which lose money! Somebody please jam a good script into Mr. Freeman's hand and stick him behind a camera!

Bopha! is surprisingly quite a memorable and inspiring film about the troubled years in South Africa. One of my favorite actors, Malcolm McDowell was as ever brilliant playing the evil policeman. The problem is that I and many others are used to seeing McDowell as an anti-hero and by casting him as such a nasty role as he plays in this film, you do not feel as shocked and disgusted by his actions as you should do.

Bopha! is just a fine film with stellar acting. Once again Danny Glover delivers a great performance the worthy of Oscar or Golden Globe and he just doesn't get it. The struggle of one man's fight to be true to his native land or to the ruling establishment is poignantly portrayed. Alfre Woodard and Malcolm McDowell turn in good performances also.