Key events therein have been strongly disputed by Mandela's fellow prisoners and Gregory's fellow prison guards, as has the overall theme of a close friendship between the two men.

Perhaps it's telling that, rather than the familiar "based on a true story" or the recently-fashionable "inspired by true events", the film-makers of Goodbye Bafana have used the more neutral claim "based on the memoirs of Nelson Mandela's prison guard". The Making of Goodbye Bafana, on the Goodbye Bafana DVD, contains an interview with Nelson Mandela where he speaks of James Gregory: "He was one of the most refined warders. According to Mandela's friend and authorised biographer, Anthony Sampson, Mandela himself said privately that Gregory must have "hallucinated" in some of his memories. The government finds out that James can speak the native language and therefore he gets a Job, where he …

Soon he, himself, will be alienated by his very own peers. Later on when James became an adult, he was employed by the government.

Key events therein have been strongly disputed by Mandela's fellow prisoners and Gregory's fellow prison guards, as has the overall theme of a close friendship between the two men. Very good observations. Gregory's memoirs, also titled Goodbye Bafana, have proven controversial. The film also explores the relationship of James Gregory and his wife as their life changes while Mandela is under Gregory's watch. In the restrictive high security prison his job is to censor all written and verbal communications between prisoners, their visitors, and correspondence. He has long since moved to South Africa with the family for his work in the prison of Robben Island, and slowly he clashes with the politics and racist culture of his countrymen. Mandela's own version of the story, from his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, gives a different view.

Sampson interviewed Gregory, and quoted him as admitting he used "author's licence". She went on to say that there was no excuse for the "historical negligence in this movie" – stating that its implicit dismissal of the contradictory accounts of Nelson Mandela and others could be seen as insulting.[2]. James is uncomfortable when he witnesses Caucasian police and security officers' brutality against civilians, including infants, and tries to understand why Nelson became a rebel. Bafana means 'boys'. James Gregory once lived in a farm and had befriended a native youth, Bafana, and … 6 June 2017. James Gregory, a male Caucasian, lives in a South African farm, and is friendly with a black native, Bafana. Gregory claims in his book to have regularly gone to the public library during the late 1960s to read the ANC's Freedom Charter. Later on when James became an adult, he was employed by the government.

Taglines Perhaps the most dubious invention in the film is a scene in Pollsmoor prison. Summary: The film is about a man named James Gregory, who grew up on a farm in South Africa with dark coloured people. The film adds a few inaccuracies of its own, too. Goodbye Bafana, or The Color of Freedom (US), is a 2007 drama film, directed by Bille August, about the relationship between Nelson Mandela (Dennis Haysbert) and James Gregory (Joseph Fiennes), his censor officer and prison guard, based on Gregory's book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend. Sampson also claimed that other warders suspected Gregory of spying for the government, and that Mandela considered suing Gregory. Both children bid each other goodbye when James re-locates to live in the city. For instance, Gregory is repeatedly shown calling Mandela "Madiba", the Xhosa clan name by which many of his supporters know him – implying respect. The story started when James Gregory was moved to a prison island called Robben Island. "You can stop this! The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela. I had not known him terribly well there, but he knew us, because he had been responsible for reviewing our incoming and outgoing mail. The first when James parted with his childhood friend Bafana, and the second when he and Nelson Mandela bade goodbye. The film also explores the relationship of James Gregory and his wife as their life changes while Mandela is under Gregory's watch. Tell your people in Lusaka to end the armed struggle!" The highest-profile prisoner there is Nelson Mandela (Dennis Haysbert, miscast). Years later, now married to Gloria and father of three children (Chris, Brett, and Natasha), James has nothing but shame and regret, as many South African Caucasians in the oppressive Apartheid-era ridiculed him, leading him to hate Africans.

I developed a lot of respect for him". Available for everyone, funded by readers. He was polished and soft-spoken, and treated Winnie with courtesy and deference". In fact, Gregory calls Mandela "Nelson" throughout his book. Perhaps it's telling that, rather than the familiar "based on a true story" or the recently-fashionable "inspired by true events", the film-makers of Goodbye Bafana have used the more neutral claim "based on the memoirs of Nelson Mandela's prison guard". You can put an end to the violence! The second occasion that Mandela mentions Gregory in his autobiography is on the day of his release in 1990 from prison: "Warrant Officer James Gregory was also there at the house, and I embraced him warmly. Goodbye Bafana. Plot Keywords In Sampson's book Mandela: the Authorised Biography he accused James Gregory, who died of cancer in 2003, of lying and violating Mandela's privacy in his work Goodbye Bafana. Gregory implores Mandela to negotiate with the white minority regime. Goodbye Bafana is the true story of a white South African racist whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner he guarded for twenty years. In this way, James learned their language Xhosa, culture and conditions. The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela. In his own autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela mentions James Gregory in two occasions. Nicol points out that this was unlikely.

Featuring a friendship that seem impossible to happen, 'Goodbye Bafana' is a good and touching book, making me cry twice. The charter was banned at the time, so you couldn't just stroll into a library and have a gander. In the years that he had looked after me from Pollsmoor through Victor Verster, we had never discussed politics, but our bond was an unspoken one and I would miss his soothing presence".[3]. | With Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Diane Kruger, Patrick Lyster. [1], Writing in The Guardian, critic and historian Alex von Tunzelmann, stated that the film was a "dubious tale" of Nelson Mandela's imprisonment, based on his prison guard's memoirs and that it was a story that contradicted all other known accounts of his time in imprisonment.
The autobiography the film was based on, Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend, was derided by Mandela's longtime friend, the late Anthony Sampson. So the film adds a scene in which Gregory bluffs his way past security and steals the banned charter to read privately. In addition, he and his family are kept under close watch by the security forces amidst tight economic sanctions by the international community, and growing unrest by the natives who continue their fight for equality, and freedom for Nelson Mandela. At Pollsmoor I got to know Gregory better and found him a welcome contrast to the typical warder. And when he does read this document, he changes his mind about Nelson's freedom struggle. When he arrived, he received a notification that he would be in charge of the prisoner Nelson Mandela.

This doesn't appear in Gregory's book: most of the time at Pollsmoor is taken up with rather intrusive personal accounts of Mandela's medical treatment. Isolated, he receives death threats over the phone and has to face the trauma of the 'accidental' death of Brett. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. | There is no excuse for the historical negligence in this movie – and its implicit dismissal of the contradictory accounts of Nelson Mandela and others could be seen as insulting. He receives a special posting at the censorship office on account of his fluency in Xhosa, the language of the prisoners. Directed by Bille August. In this way, James learned their language Xhosa, culture and conditions. Soft spoken. The government finds out that James can speak the native language and therefore he gets a job, where he …

[4], Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Little, Brown & Company, 1994, pages 449 and 490, President of the African National Congress, Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa, Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules), Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, "Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)" (song), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goodbye_Bafana&oldid=956681054, Use South African English from August 2014, All Wikipedia articles written in South African English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, South Africa, Italy, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Germany, France, This page was last edited on 14 May 2020, at 18:05. Goodbye Bafana Summary: The film is about a man named James Gregory, who grew up on a farm in South Africa with dark coloured people. The first was during his imprisonment in Pollsmoor: "Often, Winnie's visits were overseen by Warrant Officer James Gregory, who had been a censor on Robben Island. James Gregory once lived in a farm and had befriended a native youth, Bafana, and had even had a photograph taken with him. Ambitious young prison officer James Gregory (Joseph Fiennes) is given a new beat at Robben Island. Soon, though, the intimacy this gives him with Mandela begins to break down his racist opinions. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned by the apartheid regime in South Africa for 27 years.

According to Sampson, "Mandela was urged to sue him [Gregory], but was satisfied when the prisons department distanced itself from the book." The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela. Summary: Goodbye Bafana is a true story about a man named Nelson Mandela and James Gregory. Goodbye Bafana, or The Color of Freedom (US), is a 2007 drama film, directed by Bille August, about the relationship between Nelson Mandela (Dennis Haysbert) and James Gregory (Joseph Fiennes), his censor officer and prison guard, based on Gregory's book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend. This leads him to examine the 'Freedom Charter', a banned document, reportedly known to incite violence against 'whites'. Gregory's memoirs, also titled Goodbye Bafana, have proven controversial. Well-informed and courteous with everybody. On Robben Island, Mandela wrote, "I had not known him [Gregory] terribly well, but he knew us, because he had been responsible for reviewing our incoming and outgoing mail.". Goodbye Bafana is the true story of a white South African racist whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner he guarded for twenty years. And yet Goodbye Bafana has Mandela repeatedly engaging with Gregory on political issues.
Acc… Gregory lived on a farm and had a black friend when he was a child, which explains his ability to speak Xhosa. Both children communicate in the local language, and James even poses in a photograph with his arm around Bafana.

Faced with this evidence, all of which was available before the movie was released in 2007, it's surprising that the producers of Goodbye Bafana decided to go ahead with this project at all. He seeks to redeem himself by spying on imprisoned African National Congress Leader, Nelson Mandela. "I'm in charge of the worst terrorist this country has ever seen," Gregory gloats. The young revolutionary Nelson Mandela is arrested, and it is the task of censor James Gregory to watch him.

Maybe this seems more convincing, but adding a complete fabrication to an already questionable story doesn't add up to truth. All rights reserved.

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