Mandela

The first hour of Jo Menell and Angus Gibson's comprehensive biography of Nelson Mandela offers not only a portrait of the man behind the near-myth, but a fascinating glimpse of black life in pre-apartheid South Africa. The film uses incisive interviews and rare archival footage to illustrate Mandela's origins as a member of the Xhosa tribe and his apprenticeship as one of the first black lawyers in South Africa's history. Following his conspicuous association with the African National Congress and his participation in underground, armed responses to the murderous policies of apartheid, Mandela was sentenced to life in a hard-labor prison. From this point forward,...