Another Movie Favorite

Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)

Earlier this evening I decided to watch this film because it starred two of my favorite actors, James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. I knew nothing about the film, such as its story line, other than the fact that I liked its two lead actors.

The film Cry, the Beloved Country is based on the novel of the same name, written by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The protagonist is Stephen Kumalo, a black Anglican priest from a rural Natal town, who is searching for his son Absalom in the city of Johannesburg.

Two motion-picture adaptations of the book have been made, the first in 1951 and the second in 1995. I viewed the 1995 film adaptation. From reading the plot summary of the book as contained on the Wikipedia website, some minor plot changes were made in the 1995 film adaptation, but nonetheless, the spirit of the novel is conveyed.

I highly recommend this film, and on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate it a 9. I am now anxious to see the 1951 film adaptation, which also stars another of my favorite actors, Sidney Poitier.