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List Price: $29.95 | | Label: Kino International
Salesrank: 66439
Released: May 8, 2001 |
| Our Price: $16.44 |
| Used Price: $5.95 |
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MPAA Rating:
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A stellar performance of a south african couple whose relationship has changed dramatically from years of living under the oppression of apartheid. Based on the play by athol fugard. Studio: Kino International Release Date: 05/08/2001 Starring: Danny Glover Angela Bassett Run time: 84 minutes Rating: Nr Director: John Berry
Description of Boesman & Lena:
Written at a time when protest against apartheid in South Africa was routinely crushed, this play by the great Athol Fugard brings the sensibility of Beckett's Waiting for Godot to the horrors of life as a nonperson in a racially exclusive state. Two ragged wanderers--the bearish Boesman (Danny Glover) and the wilier Lena (Angela Bassett)--meet on a riverbank, where they try to scavenge food and firewood in order to survive the night. As they talk, their bitterness about the ways their lives have gone begins to come out, as well as the tragedies they've suffered at the hands of a racist government. Gradually, you realize that they've been husband and wife in a relationship that has been plundered by the poisonous influence of apartheid, reducing them to a level in which they have to remind themselves of their own humanity and their ability to make human connections. Director John Berry has opened it up somewhat, including flashbacks of the violence that has sundered their lives. It's grim, tough stuff, marked by extraordinary performances by Glover and Bassett. --Marshall Fine
Boesman & Lena Reviews:
Breathless! 
2009-01-19 - Angela Basset. Danny Glover. Every emotion naked, hostile, without limits. You watch this film and you're uncomfortable from the very beginning -the signature of wonderful material (Athol Fugard). Some have called this "slow", but that's because we've become hardwired to soundbites and wanting instant answers and gratification. Some have called in "repetitive". This is human nature, especially when finger-pointing blame is fast and loose like a rogue boxer.
Boring Movies the New Standard? 
2003-11-25 - "Boesman & Lena" was a disappointment to me after reading the reviews. I find it very difficult to sit for 1 1/2 hours watching people on a beach yelling, screaming and arguing with each other the whole time, no matter what the subject matter. There was only one other person in the movie and he did not speak English, yet Lena yelled at him when they couldn't even understand each other. There were no houses, no explanation of why they wound up where they were or what happened to their baby (Maybe I missed all of this). Another movie almost exactly like this is "Daughters of the Dust" except it had more people in it. Again, it showed no homes or interaction with society in general and consisted of people arguing on a beach for the entire movie. Unknown to me at first, I realized that both of these borefests were products of Kino Video. I will have to be more careful when buying DVDs in the future as I consider the purchase of these 2 movies a waste of my money. There are some very good black-themed movies which I hope will appear on DVD but these are 2 that I would not recommend to anyone.
Excellent Performances
2002-04-01 - Director John Berry (CLAUDINE), in his last film, has crafted a visual adaptation of the Athol Fugard play. Angela Bassett (who received an NAACP Image Award nomination) and Danny Glover do some of their best work to date in this film. They have great chemistry together and despite being both American-born actors, are totally believable in their respective roles.
The film was released theatrically with barely a whisper, but fortunately, audiences have the opportunity to see this well-acted film at home. You definitely want to get the wide screen version to get the full impact of the visuals. This is the second film adaption of the play. The first one was made in the 1970s and featured Fugard in the role of Boesman. Of the two, the latest version is the strongest. If you love dramas with dynamic performances, definitely give this one a look.
Long night's journey into twilight. 
2001-07-04 - The only reason I didn't give Boseman & Lena five stars is that it isn't always easy to watch. It is, however, a superlative view into the effects of racism and Apartheid on Boseman & Lena, and Lena's internal struggle to understand the aftermath of its senseless brutality on their lives. Angela Bassett and Danny Glover do their best acting to date, in a performance that is not likely to become a best seller due to the subject matter. All in all, a powerful movie rendition of South African playwright Athol Fugard's transformational play.
