Mise-en-scene
Framing not only allows us to read the significance of and attitudes
of characters but also directs us towards the codes being set down in
the mise-en-scene. For example, when Biko is Iying unconscious in
prison, the whole focus of our attention is on the naked figure Iying
on a stone floor, caged like an animal. Nothing else intrudes into
the frame; it is what is left out of the mise-en-scene that is
important here - no extraneous and distracting detail, nothing to
alleviate the literally naked power of the image. The very low level
lighting works with the mise-en-scene to enclose this scene in a
highly dramatic manner. The markedly contrasting use of mise-en-scene
within the Woods house on New Year's eve where the lounge is a very
comfortable room, expensively furnished, complete with piano,
television set and decorative ornaments, captures the easy lifestyle
which they have, in part, chosen to abandon. The interior of Kruger's
house takes this idea of comfort one step further with its lavish
furnishings that suggest a history of gracious living that has been
passed from one generation to the next. The furniture is old, solid
and entrenched in its setting, much like the Afrikaaner residents
that inhabit the house. The mise-en-scene within the black dwellings,
on the other hand, is spartan in comparison; simple wooden table and
chairs dominate the set and around these a cluttered scene suggesting
cramped living conditions.
Montage
This narrative could have been told in an infinite number of ways,
depending on the director's choice of montage and editing techniques.
The opening sequence of the film is a good illustration of how
carefully constructed montage works. The dreamy, peaceful dawn
sequences are followed by a number of fast cut, noisy, chaotic
sequences which, in turn, give way to the sleepy awakening of Dr.
Rampeli, then match cutting back to the aftermath of Crossroads.
These frames have been carefully sequenced to build atmosphere, pose
narrative possibilities and balance pace. In order to illustrate the
two parallel events that are taking place - Donald Wood's night
journey to his rendezvous point and his family's morning journey to
the "beach" (in fact, to Wendy Woods's parents) - match cutting is
used regularly; for example, when Donald Woods arrives on New Year's
eve in a small town, Auld Lang Syne is being sung, then we cut to the
Woods's house and the family is awaiting the count down to the New
Year before they too sing Auld Lang Syne. Here, then, an aural link
helps to convey the idea of parallel events. Another example of a
match cut linked aurally would be when we go from Crossroads to Dr.
Rampeli's radio and hear a report on the night's events. The verbal
link helps to establish time having past so that we can return to
Crossroads at a later stage with a sense of continuity of time.
Lighting
Lighting is likewise a vital tool in creating atmosphere and cuing an
audience's reactions. For example, the opening lighting of the
shadowy half light of dawn creates a black and white image, colours
which are themselves symbolic. This black and white effect persists
through the images of the approaching police vehicles, suggesting the
colour of newspaper print. Much of the film is shot externally so
that the bright, sunlit areas of white gardens and open landscape are
sharp and clear in contrast to the nighttime visit that Biko takes
Woods on when street lighting from above is used to convey black
shadows and a flat, bleached look to Woods's lit face as he passes
under a light. Biko's black face remains in shadow as though
emphasising that this is his natural camouflage. In this scene, a
young child's eyes are lit from the side in close up to capture his
fear. Inside the shabeen the light is harsh, unnatural and garish. In
contrast, the internal lighting in Woods's house is bright, warm and
cheerful, particularly on New Year's eve or when Donald Woods is
telling his children about his trial. In the courtroom, Biko is lit
from behind and from the left hand side, creating a halo effect.
Perhaps one of the most powerful uses of light is in the shots which
capture the first meeting between Biko and Woods when the camera
breaks a general technical rule and shoots directly into the sun but
through the swaying branches of a weeping willow tree. The fractured
light breaks through the tree from behind which Biko steps,
saviour-like, caught in a shaft of golden light which blinds Woods.
Light is being used here to create a powerful icon. Darkness is used
very effectively as a symbol throughout the film - a darkness which
is suddenly penetrated by the sharp glare of car headlights or
torches; for example when Crossroads is raided or when Woods meets up
with the black minister who is helping him to escape. This contrast
between dark, confined places and brightly lit space of the natural
landscape is used to reinforce the powerful message of inequality
Lighting is complemented by sound, particularly music and dialogue,
which also assists in reinforcing the ideology of the film.
Sound
The film opens with a black screen and the sounds of cicadas and
other noises associated with a tropical country. There is an eerie
expectancy in this soundtrack. Then we hear voices speaking in what
most people would recognise as an African tongue, in this case a
Bantu dialect with its distinctive clicking sounds. This is followed
by peaceful early morning images which, in turn, are followed by a
threatening, loud, rumbling sound whose source the audience does not
see until a few seconds after the harsh, metallic sound of the
telex-type credits and the clicking sound accompanying the
photo-journalistic shots of the looming trucks induces a feeling of
fear and alarm. The latter changes to horrified confusion when a
plethora of sounds accompanies images of assault; running feet,
smashing glass, shrieks, screams, angry orders being shouted, a baby
wailing, the roaring din from the destructive trucks - all these
create a feeling of chaos and panic. This scene cuts immediately to
initial, stunning silence before we see Dr. Rampeli slowly awakening.
She switches on the radio which gives a report on the events we have
just witnessed. The bias of this particular medium is clearly
highlighted when the announcer indicates that "no resistance" was
met. We then cut back to Crossroads where images of a razed landscape
are accompanied by the deep-throated rhythmic sounds of singing
African voices which convey a plaintive note of suffering. Music
plays a very important role in the film; there seem to be three
different principal musical motifs, one suggesting pain and
suffering, one suggesting tension and danger, the last conveying
national pride and victory. For example, when Biko takes Woods into
the township at night, the tense strings and the insistent drumbeat
reflect the danger that Biko talks of. But when Woods becomes
"converted" to Biko's philosophy the swelling voices of the African
chorus accompany him as if to underline his empathy with the "cause".
Again when firstly Woods, then his family make it across the bridge
to freedom, the swelling sounds of the triumphant motif are heard.
Finally it is heard as the aircraft crosses safely into "friendly"
airspace, and the closing list of dead prisoners rolls to the
accompaniment of the African Anthem Perhaps the most moving use of
music, however, is at Biko's funeral when the African Anthem,
Nkosi Sikelel' i Afrika , is sung unaccompanied by the
mass of mourners. Attenborough has used the wonderful natural ear for
harmony that Africans have to powerful effect.
Dialogue
It is through the sound of dialogue, however, that the film's potent
themes are revealed. In our first meeting with Donald Woods, his
liberal, anti-government stance is made clear when he says he wants
"the police blamed for that raid", referring to Crossroads. But also
stressed are the ideological differences between himself and Biko. He
sees the latter as adopting a dangerous, extremist stance - " some
black nutcase" talking of "black supremacy" and advocating "black
consciousness". Once Dr. Rampeli enters the scene, this stance is
further underlined when he refers to Biko as a "sensationalist
pushing black prejudice" and accusing him of "building a wall of
black hatred". Dr. Rampeli defends Biko whom we have not met as yet,
accusing Woods of "putting words in his (Biko's) mouth". A sense of
bitterness at the injustices meted out by a white government comes
across in her reference to her education as a "token of your white
paternalistic concern". In these two scenes, therefore, the dialogue
has carefully established two rather imbalanced viewpoints - Woods
who thinks Biko is racist and Rampeli who seems to be damning all
whites. It is through the powerful use of dialogue that these
imbalances are seen to correct themselves. Much of the background to
Biko's own philosophy is given while "on the move" - for example,
when he is conducting Woods round the "centre" and its gardens that
Biko has helped to establish. Attenborough has been wise enough to
realise that this kind of informative dialogue would tend to be lost
in a static setting. But as it is, there are visual images to absorb
while the dialogue runs. The gap between the two men is captured very
effectively by placing one on either side of a path, across which
they attempt to communicate. The reasons for the black man's sense of
injustice are explained very powerfully when the two men walk through
the squalid, narrow streets of a black township. Biko explains the
disadvantages of being a black child when he says: "Smart or dumb,
you're born into this and smart or dumb, you'll die in it." But the
full power of Biko's persuasive oratory comes across most keenly at
the football match and, in particular, in the dramatic setting of the
courtroom where the actual words spoken are taken from a transcript
of the real trial. His explanation of "black consciousness" has power
and reason when he explains that "black has always had negative
connotations - black sheep - " etcetera. It is Biko's words that
dominate the film, despite the fact that the man disappears from the
film at a relatively early point. We return to them in the latter
part of the narrative in the form of flashbacks when Donald Woods
remembers key statements like: "Just say that justice will be done.
Let's hope it will not be visited on the innocent."
Hard-line, right wing ideology is also represented in dialogue,
particularly in the way in which Kruger, the Minister for Justice, is
heard speaking, on the one hand, in a sympathetic manner to Woods,
promising an investigation into the police role in the raid on the
community centre because he says, "I want no thugs in my police
force" and, on the other, callously stating to his audience, "So
Biko's death leaves me cold" and ,"They (meaning people like Biko)
have a democratic right to starve themselves." (The official
explanation for Biko's death at this time was given as death
resulting from a hunger strike.) With a chilling attempt at black
humour, Kruger adds, "I suppose I would feel sorry for my own death."
The policeman, Captain De Wet, reinforces this standpoint in the way
in which he addresses Biko after his arrest at the football stadium,
calling him "kaffir" - a derogatory term used by whites when
insulting blacks, particularly black workers. There is also an
attempt to lighten the tone occasionally through the use of humorous
dialogue; for example, when Biko's wife says to him, I'm glad I
wasn't your mother" or, having managed to fool the police in a house
search, she pats her baby's nappy where incriminating papers have
been hidden and says with a wry smile, "I think we should get these
out of here!" Donald Woods also helps to release tension at times
through humorous exchanges; for example, when, disguised as a priest,
he swears volubly at some children chasing the truck in which he is
escaping and then says,"l suppose I'll have to do penance for that."
The old man who helps Donald to reach the Telle bridge also
contributes some lighter notes when he explodes in a fit of mirth at
the very idea of this white editor escaping with incriminating
evidence against the South African government. He bursts out, "Kruger
will shit himself - Boethe will shit himself," laughing helplessly at
his part in the drama. Dialogue, therefore, is central to the film,
informing, persuading, creating and defusing tension.
Symbolism
In a film as dramatically powerful as Cry Freedom , it
is not surprising to find a number of key symbols appearing. For
example, the beautiful wide angled shot of the flock of birds rising
from the rich brown and green of the African veld has a number of
symbolic connotations: flight, itself, hope, escape, freedom
etcetera. The white Mercedes belonging to Donald Woods, his garden
pool, Kruger's imposing house - all are powerful symbols of white
affluence. Even the deserted beach seems to symbolise the irony of a
white population representing 15% of the total South African
population monopolising 87% of the land and its natural resources,
such as beaches and its coastal waters. Other symbols include the
close up of the shackled hands, fists clenched in defiance, that are
carved into the lid of Biko's coffin; the close up of the dead Steve
Biko's feet and the attached identity ticket, symbolising his
apparent worthlessness - a mere object to be labelled; the close up
of the padlocked gates that guard the Telle bridge; the bridge
itself, spanning a river that separates and divides peoples; the
heavy rains that symbolise both destruction and regeneration and that
closing image of the list of prisoners and their fates that rolls up
like a powerful accusatory symbol of all that is inhumane and evil in
mankind.
Representation
The characters themselves are perhaps the most important symbols;
Biko, the saviour-like figure, sitting amidst his "disciples" after
the rugby match, preaching his gospel; Woods, the intelligent,
compassionate and courageous individual fighting a corrupt system,
symbolising the strength of man's spirit and his capacity for
sacrifice. This appears to be how the key participants are
represented. But what of other representations? Other blacks are
represented in a very sympathetic light - perhaps even idealised;
they are seen as intelligent, wise, good humoured and proud of their
racial history. The black minister/priest who risks his own life to
help Woods escape, the wise, good humoured old man who drives his
battered car to the Telle bridge, Woods's maid, Evelyn who expresses
genuine affection for the children and goes about her work with
dignity and willingness of spirit, the black journalist, Mapetu who
loses his life trying to establish the truth to print in Woods's
newspaper - all these images suggest a very sympathetic
representation. The only negative image of black people we have is of
black policemen whom we are intended to see as having been corrupted
by the white system, allowing themselves to be exploited by the white
man to impose white-made laws on their fellow black men. Apart from
the Woods family, the only other white people who appear are a fellow
journalist/photographer who is also seen as a sympathetic liberal, a
token white woman at the funeral and the police who are linked to
Kruger, the Minister for Justice.
Representations of the police are typified in the images of Captain
De Wet who arrests Biko after the football match. He is physically
large, coarse faced and bull-like in appearance, features that are
emphasised in extreme close ups. He is insulting, physically violent
and unable to communicate in an intelligent and reasoned manner. He
is to be seen as dull-witted, relying on the fist and the boot,
rather than on the mind. This same kind of brutal image is repeated
in the closing scenes of the Soweto uprising when the camera focuses
in close up on the same broad, coarse features, the physical bulk and
the readiness to use force - this time the indiscriminate force of
the gun. Dramatic images such as that of the young boy running to
escape over a wire fence and being shot in the back - reminiscent of
similar images from post war films involving escapes from prisoner of
war camps - or that of the policeman hanging out the window of a
moving car, gun aimed at a fleeing child - an image straight out of
American gangster films of the '30's - all reinforce this brutal
representation. Kruger is a more sophisticated version of this image
(like the Mafia boss); his brutality is either one step removed
-instructing or colluding with De Wet and his men on their masked
raid on the community centre - or verbal as in his comments already
quoted about Biko's death leaving him cold. His thuggish
representatives come knocking on Woods's door, armed with threats and
hiding behind sinister-looking dark glasses.
The final impression of Cry Freedom is of a film of
tremendous power which has something of the epic quality about it -
sweeping shots of vast landscapes, huge crowd scenes and a theme of
matching epic proportions. I don't have a budget figure for this but
my guess is that it was a large one. Many things lead me to this
conclusion. Firstly, although there are no big stars as such (John
Thaw as Kruger and Timothy West as Captain De Wet are the only
recognisable names to a British audience), the director, Sir Richard
Attenborough, maker of another major film, "Ghandi" obviously has
star quality and would be able to attract financial backing on the
strength of his track record. He would also be liable to attract an
audience who would be 'buying" the film on the strength of their
recognition of the director's talent, rather than more
conventionally, on the strength of the actor/actress's "star" rating.
The high proportion of "on location" shots also suggest a high
budget. The film was shot in Zimbabwe where the government was very
eager to co-operate and to be seen as a sympathetic front-line
state.
The huge crowd scenes, particularly at Steve Biko's funeral, also
suggest high spending with hundreds, even thousands of extras being
required. Similarly both the Crossroads sequence and the Soweto
sequence would have incurred high costs. The weather plays an
important part in the film. South Africa's warm climate would have
meant perhaps an unimpeded shooting schedule but what of those scenes
where torrential rain is needed? This may have required waiting
around with film crews, sound crews, actors etcetera for days until
the appropriate weather came or may even have necessitated a return
visit to South Africa once the rainy season had come.
Because the script, written by screen writer, John Briley, was based
on Donald Woods's own book, the latter was invited to accompany
Richard Attenborough on location. Presumably, this incurred further
costs. Internal sets such as Kruger's residence and the Woods home
would have been negotiated and a fixed rental paid for the filming
period while the interiors of the sets in the black townships would
have incurred little expense as they were probably built on site or
in the studio. The construction of the Crossroads set would have been
a different matter! Costuming is not lavish but the sheer numbers of
extras would have incurred a major cost, unless they supplied their
own . The industrial determinants influencing Cry
Freedom , therefore, would seem to me to centre on the star
quality of Sir Richard Attenborough who could attract major financial
backing, the bulk of which was then spent on establishing an
authentic and powerful setting using lavish "location" shots, rather
than on "star" acting names. The film could not rely on many
spin-offs because of the nature of the subject matter ---the musical
score perhaps and video production. It had to sell itself on the
basis of its powerful universal message and on the name of its
talented director who obviously had a strongly felt mission to
evangelise the apartheid cause in the name of universal freedom.