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''Cry Freedom'' is a 1987 British drama film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa. The screenplay was written by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods. The film centres on the real-life events involving black activist Steve Biko and his friend Donald Woods, who initially finds him destructive, and attempts to understand his way of life. Denzel Washington stars as Biko, while actor Kevin Kline portrays Woods. ''Cry Freedom'' delves into the ideas of discrimination, political corruption, and the repercussions of violence. The film was primarily shot on location in Zimbabwe due to political turmoil in South Africa at the time of production. As a film showing mostly in limited cinematic release, it was nominated for multiple awards, including Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song. It also won a number of awards including those from the Berlin International Film Festival and the British Academy Film Awards. A joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by Universal Pictures and Marble Arch Productions. It was commercially distributed by Universal Pictures cinematically, and by MCA Home Video for home media. ''Cry Freedom'' premiered in cinemas nationwide in the United States on 6 November 1987 grossing $5,899,797 in domestic ticket receipts. The film was at its widest release showing in 479 cinemas nationwide. It was generally met with positive critical reviews before its initial screening in cinemas. ==Plot== Following a news story depicting the demolition of a slum in East London, South Africa, journalist Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) seeks more information about the incident and ventures off to meet black activist Steve Biko (Denzel Washington). Biko has been officially ''banned'' by the South African government and is not permitted to leave his defined banning area at King William's Town. Woods is formally against Biko's banning, but remains critical of his political views. Biko invites Woods to visit a black township to see the impoverished conditions and to witness the effect of the government-imposed restrictions, which make up the apartheid system. Woods begins to agree with Biko's desire for a South Africa where blacks have the same opportunities and freedoms as those enjoyed by the white population. As Woods comes to understand Biko's point of view, a friendship slowly develops between them. After being arrested for speaking at a gathering of black South Africans outside of his banishment zone, Biko is arrested and interrogated by South African security forces. Following this, he is brought to court in order to explain his message directed toward the South African government. After he speaks eloquently in court and advocates non-violence, the security officers who interrogated him visit his church and vandalize the property. Woods assures Biko that he will meet with a government official to discuss the matter. Woods then meets with Jimmy Kruger (John Thaw), the South African Minister of Justice in his house in Pretoria in an attempt to prevent further abuse by the security force. Kruger first expresses discontent over the actions of security force, however Woods is later harassed by security forces at his home. The security men that harass Woods insinuate that their orders to visit Woods came directly from Kruger. Later, Biko decides to travel to Cape Town to speak at a student-run meeting. En route, security forces stop his car and arrest him. He is held in harsh conditions and beaten, causing a severe brain injury. A doctor recommends consulting a nearby specialist in order to best treat his injuries, but the police refuse out of fear that he might escape. The security forces instead decide to take him to a police hospital in Pretoria, around 700 miles (1 020 km) away from Cape Town. He is thrown into the back of a prison van and driven on a bumpy road, aggravating his brain injury and resulting in his death. Woods then works to expose the police's complicity in Biko's death. He attempts to expose photographs of Biko's body that contradict police reports that he died of a hunger strike, but he is prevented just before boarding a plane to leave and informed that he is now banned, therefore not able to leave the country. Woods and his family are targeted in a campaign of harassment by the security police. He later decides to seek asylum in England to expose the corrupt and racist nature of the South African authorities. After a long trek, Woods is eventually able to escape to the Kingdom of Lesotho, disguised as a priest. His wife Wendy (Penelope Wilton) and their family later join him. With the aid of Australian journalist Bruce Haigh (John Hargreaves), the British High Commission in Maseru, and the Government of Lesotho, they are flown under United Nations passports and with one Lesotho official over South African territory, via Botswana to London, where they were granted political asylum. The film's epilogue displays a graphic detailing a long list of anti-apartheid activists (including Biko), who died under suspicious circumstances while imprisoned by the government. Contrary to popular belief, the listing's dates in the graphic actually stopped in June 1987, a few months before the film's release, as the Apartheid government stopped releasing the increasingly obviously false "official explanations" for deaths in custody. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cry Freedom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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