Truth and Reconciliation?
The South African lawyer Sarah Barcant (Hilary Swank) travels from New York back to her hometown to represent the member of the Parliament Alex Mpondo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission since torturer police officer Dirk Hendricks (Jamie Bartlett) has made an application for amnesty. The parents of Steve Sizela request Sarah to represent them also since their son that was arrested with Mpondo but has gone missing.Hendricks uses one break in the trial to threaten Mpondo, promising to destroy his political career telling that he was a traitor. But Mpondo, who is a man traumatized with the torture, anticipates and tells what has happened to Steve Sizela and him in the hands of Hendricks and his superior Piet Müller (Ian Roberts). Will the remains of Steve be found and the truth disclosed?
"Red Dust" is a very well-acted drama about amnesty of torturers, with stunning performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor. The story takes place in South Africa post-Apartheid but could have been in South America, for example, where many torturers have granted their amnesty despite their cruel past during dictatorships. Truth and reconciliation seem to be very difficult to achieve in these situations, when usually torturers grant their freedom and victims are forced to forget what they did to them and live with their traumas and losses. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): Not Available
score 7/10
claudio_carvalho 13 January 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2941400/34808
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