Red Dust
Red Dust, Tom Hooper’s film chronicling police abuse and corruption in contemporary South Africa, reminds the viewer that apartheid and racism are hardly, if at all, things of the past. Chiweitel Ejiofor plays Alex Mpondo, a black man who is brutally tortured in prison by office Dirk Hendricks (Jamie Bartlett), for his involvement with local civil rights movements. Imprisoned for his brutal treatment of Mpondo, Hendricks requests amnesty and a court trial is organized, for which lawyer Sarah Barcant (Hilary Swank) is recruited to defend Mpondo. Mpondo is a highly-regarded politician, necessitating a subtle defense approach to preserve his career. Sarah defends Mpondo by publicly exposing another aspect of Hendricks’s dirty business: the killing of Mpondo’s friend and ex-political ally, Steve Sizela. As this extremely thick plot unfolds, the viewer begins to understand corruption’s complex nature. Cinematically,Red Dustfeatures stunning panoramas of the South African landscape as well as some traditional African ceremonies that both fascinate and educate the average American as to how shocking it must be for a true African to assimilate into white culture. This film interprets not only Mpondo’s perspective, but, like the novels of Graham Greene or Sheila Kohler, it assesses white guilt in colonial countries. For this reason,Red Dusthas an almost documentary feel, though its dramatic narrative makes its fiction clear, as a way to distance the viewer from real pain.--Trinie Dalton