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A World Apart (1988 film)

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A World Apart
A World Apart (Video Cover)
Directed byChris Menges
Written byShawn Slovo
Produced bySarah Radclyffe
Starring
CinematographyPeter Biziou
Edited byNicholas Gaster
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
company
Distributed byAtlantic Releasing Corporation
Release dates
  • May 1988 (1988-05) (Cannes)
  • 17 June 1988 (1988-06-17) (New York)
  • August 1988 (1988-08) (London)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom / Zimbabwe
LanguageEnglish
Budget£2.68 million[2]
Box office$8 million[3]

A World Apart is a 1988 anti-apartheid drama film directed by Chris Menges, and starring Barbara Hershey, David Suchet, Jeroen Krabbé, Paul Freeman, Tim Roth and Jodhi May. Written by Shawn Slovo, it is based on the lives of Slovo's parents, Ruth First and Joe Slovo. The film was a co-production between companies from the UK and Zimbabwe, where it was filmed. It features Hans Zimmer's first non-collaborative film score. The movie was filmed on location in northeastern Zimbabwe.[4]

The film received acclaim, winning BAFTA Awards for Best Screenplay for Shawn Slovo and Best Supporting Actor for David Suchet,[5] as well as the Special Grand Prize of the Jury at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.[6]

Plot

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Set in Johannesburg in 1963, the film examines the abrupt ending of 13-year-old Molly's blithe childhood when her father, a member of the South African Communist Party, flees into exile. Ostracised by her peers, Molly draws closer to her mother who is part of the campaign against apartheid. Their relationship is challenged by hardship, political intimidation, and the mother's eventual arrest.

The film title references both the gap between the mother and her teenage girl, who fails to grasp why their family is so fixated with events beyond their comfortable white suburb, and another separating this world from that of South Africa's poverty-stricken black townships.

Essentially, the film is a tribute to Ruth First by her daughter and concludes in a moment of epiphany as Molly comes to terms with her mother's activism and understands that she too must play a part in the struggle against racial injustice.

Cast

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Reception

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The film opened at Cinema 1 in New York City on 17 June 1988.

A World Apart has an overall approval rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes from 11 critics.[7]

The film was placed on 40 critics' top ten lists, making it one of the most acclaimed films of 1988.[8]

Box office

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The film grossed $20,815 in its opening weekend in New York[9] and $35,835 (£21,200) for the week. Two months later it opened at the Curzon West End in London and sold out for the week, with a gross of £43,167.[1] It went on to gross $8 million worldwide, including $2,326,800 in the United States and Canada[9] and £800,000 at the UK box office.[3][2]

Awards and nominations

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Award Category Nominee Outcome Ref.
BAFTA Awards Best Original Screenplay Shawn Slovo Won
[5]
Best Supporting Actor David Suchet Nominated
1988 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Jodhi May, Barbara Hershey, Linda Mvusi Won[a]
[10][6]
Golden Palm Nominated
[6]
Special Grand Prize of the Jury Chris Menges Won
[10]
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Won
[11]
Evening Standard British Film Awards Most Promising Newcomer Jodhi May Won[b]
[12]
Guldbagge Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won
[13]
Independent Spirit Awards Best Foreign Film Nominated
[14]
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Director Chris Menges Won
[15]
  1. ^ Three-way tie
  2. ^ Tied with Kristin Scott Thomas for A Handful of Dust

References

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  1. ^ a b Dawtrey, Adam (7 September 1988). "Never mind the quality, feel the cinema draught". Screen Finance. p. 5.
  2. ^ a b "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing" (PDF). British Film Institute. 2005. p. 31.
  3. ^ a b "15 years of production". Variety. 14 December 1998. p. 102.
  4. ^ "A World Apart (1988) - Filming & production - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  5. ^ a b "Film in 1989". BAFTA. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Festival de Cannes: A World Apart". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  7. ^ "A World Apart". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  8. ^ "100 Film Critics Can't be Wrong, Can They? : The critics' consensus choice for the 'best' movie of '88 is . . . A documentary!". Los Angeles Times. 8 January 1989.
  9. ^ a b "A World Apart". Box Office Mojo.
  10. ^ a b "Awards 1988: All Awards". festival-cannes.fr. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Jury Œcuménique 1988". cannes.juryoecumenique.org. (in French). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Evening Standard British Film Awards - 1989 Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  13. ^ "A World Apart (1988)". Swedish Film Institute. 16 March 2014.
  14. ^ 36 Years of Nominees & Winners: 1986-2021 (PDF). Film Independent Spirit Awards. 2021. p. 52. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. ^ "N.Y. Film Critics Pick 'Tourist'". The Washington Post. 15 December 1988. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
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