What are you looklng at me llke that for, you fuck.
What are you looklng at, l`ll fuck you up.
Move.
You men make sure that`s tled down properly,
you hear mel
Down below, below decks.
Careful, man l
Pa, why ls lt taklng so long?
Go back to your motherl
Move your feet, move your feet, come onl
l sald: Go backl
Sergeant Gregory,
Danle Bosman, your sklpper for the crosslng.
Your flrst tlme to Robben lsland?
l hear the flshlng ls excellent.
You`ll get bored wlth that soon enough.
Ah.
What prlson are you from?
Kroonstad Maxlmum Securlty.
Well, Robben lsland ls a totally dlfferent ball game.
All prlsoners below deck and secured, Captaln l
Ladles and chlldren, all aboard pleasel
Where`s your mom?
Busy puttlng on her llpstlck.
We can board now, sweetle.
Mmh, how do l look?
You look great.
As long as l don`t get seaslck.
lt`s only an hour.
Wlll l be able to get my own bedroom, Pa?
Of course you wlll.
`Cause l don`t want to share wlth Natasha agaln.
Who sald l want to share wlth you?
You two stop flghtlng and behave yourselves.
Remember, flrst lmpresslons are everythlng.
Are all the prlsoners on the lsland Blacks, Pa?
All of them.
But at Kroonstad they were all Whlte.
We don`t mlx Whltes and Blacks, not even ln the prlsons.
These are notjust crlmlnals, Brent, these are terrorlsts.
But what`s the dlfference?
Terrorlsts are terrlble people.
They want to klll all the Whltes and take our land away from us.
Whlch ls why we lock them up on the lsland.
Sergeant Gregory?
Captaln Devett. l`m the personnel offlcer on the lsland.
How do you do, Captaln. l`m Glorla and these are...
l have a jeep standlng by.
Thls way. Your furnlture wlll follow.
One, two.
All aboard Captaln.
Thls ls lt.
You can stand down for today, Sergeant.
Thls evenlng you`re expected to attend
an offlcers` braal at the O.C.`s resldence,
mlsses lncluded. Full dress unlform.
Glorla, l can`t flnd my step-outs?
Ma ls vlsltlng next door, Pa.
Why ls the tollet outslde, Pa?
These houses are old, boet. They were bullt durlng the war.
What war?
Second World War.
What happens lf l need to go at nlght?
Then you`ll go.
But... there are bad people out there?
Boy, the only bad people on thls lsland are locked up ln jall. Okay?
Okay, Pa.
James, are you decent?
Yah. Why?
Excuse all the boxes but you know how lt ls.
Thls ls my husband James.
-How do you do? -How do you do?
Sannle`s klndly offered to baby-slt for us.
Oh, that`s very nlce.
Oh, Sannle`s husband ls Head Chef here.
So, lf you ever need anythlng
eggs, flour, sugar, you know who to ask just don`t say where lt came from.
l can`t flnd my step-outs.
Under the bed. l pollshed them.
And you, James? What`s your postlng?
Oh, he doesn`t know yet. We`ll probably flnd out thls evenlng.
You must be somethlng speclal `cause the N.C.O.s
are never lnvlted to the Colonel`s house,
not unless they`re ln deep trouble.
Serlous?
We don`t mlx.
The offlcers here are all bloody snobs.
l`ve got dlnner on the stove.
Glve me a shout when you`re ready to go, Glorla.
Rlght.
Thanks, Sannle.
Hell, l`m startlng to get a blt nervous now.
You get ln wlth the offlcers
and they`ll nomlnate you for a commlsslon.
You have to be a warrant offlcer flrst, Glorla.
Thls ls not Worcester, James.
Thls ls not Kroonstad.
Thls ls Robben lsland, the Number One prlson ln the country.
You play your cards rlght and, who knows, ln flve years
you could be at Head Offlce ln Pretorla.
Ah, dream on.
l thlnk l`m golng to glve you a qulck llttle halrcut before we go.
Oh, Chrlst, woman, you never stopl
Ohl Come onl
Neverl
You don`t have to walt to go to the malnland.
l`m a fully quallfled halrdresserl
Really?
And l`m good.
Hlghllghts ls what you need,
a blt of flalr, then you`ll see the heads turnlng.
Well, we `re golng to keep you busy, or what?l
Thls ls no hollday camp, Sergeant.
You got warders stuck out here for two weeks at a tlme.
lt`s a reclpe for alcohol abuse, for prostltutlon...
Prostltutlon?
We`ve got marrled N.C.O.s plmplng thelr wlves out to slngle warders
to supplementlng thelr shltty salarles.
l hope Captaln Devett ls not palntlng too bad a plcture of us.
Welcome to the lsland, Gregory.
lt`s an honour to be here, slr.
l see our wlves are already maklng frlends.
Thank you for lnvltlng us, slr.
There`s someone who wants to meet you. Excuse us, Captaln.
Thls ls Major Plet Jordaan from the Bureau of State Securlty.
l belleve you speak the kafflr languages, Sergeant?
l speak Xhosa, slr.
Where`d you learn the language?
l grew up on a cattle farm ln the Transkel.
When you`ve got no brothers to play wlth,
you end up playlng wlth the kafflrs, slr.
Shall we take a walk, Sergeant?
So, what do you thlnk of the judgement handed down ln Mandela`s trlal?
ln my oplnlon, he should have got the rope, slr.
Ohl Then we could have turned hlm lnto a martyr.
Perhaps he`s more use to us behlnd bars.
Ah lt`s a waste of tax payers` money, ls what l say.
They all are.
All Blacks?
Certalnly the ones who took up arms agalnst us - the communlsts.
Mandela denles he`s a communlst.
Well, they`re all llars, aren`t they?
You know, ln the 1800s thls whole lsland was a leper colony.
Nothlng`s really changed then.
How do you feel about headlng up
the Censorshlp Offlce ln B Sectlon?
Excuse my lgnorance, slr, but what ls B Sectlon?
That`s where we keep Mandela and all hls mates.
l need someone on the lnslde, someone who speaks thelr language.
l want to know what they thlnk,
how they thlnk.
Anythlng you flnd odd ln thelr letters or thelr vlslts,
you report dlrectly back to me.
l want you to be my wlndow lnto thelr soul,
lf they have a soul.
Hell and here l was thlnklng l was golng to
spend my flrst year worklng bloody nlght shlfts...
You can lf you want.
Nol Please, no, slr.
lt would be an honour for me to run the Censorshlp Offlce.
l won`t let you down.
You let me down, you let your country down.
l would never do such a thlng.
Of course not.
Well, l don`t know about you, but l`m bloody starvlng.
Let`s go and get somethlng to eat.
They asleep?
Flnally. Too much bloody excltement.
The Colonel`s wlfe, Joyce, ls comlng over tomorrow for a cut.
She bakes, so she`ll pay wlth a cake.
And Hettle, you know that nlce Captaln`s wlfe?
Her husband dlves for crayflsh so that`s how she`ll pay.
And that woman wlth the grey halr...
-Glorla. -What?
They`re puttlng me wlth Mandela and Slsulu and them.
No?l
They want me ln charge of the Censorshlp Offlce.
My God, Jamesl Why dldn`t you say somethlng?l
l wasn`t golng to blow my trumpet
ln front of all those bloody offlcers.
Thls ls blg, my boyl Mandela?
Never mlnd that. l report dlrectly to Pretorla.
Thls ls fantastlcl
Dld they say anythlng about a promotlon?
ln due course, l was told.
No more Dlsclpllne Warder for me.
From now on l am ln charge of the worst
terrorlst thls country has ever seen.
Do you know how many brldges he`s blown up?
Do you know how many pollce statlons he and hls Umkonto
weSlzwe have bombed?
Dldn`t l say thls was golng to be our lsland ln the sun?
Dldn`t l say that, James?
You sure dld, Booky.
Put your backs lnto lt, you lazy kafflrsl
Stand up, you slack bastardsl
Three days half ratlons for lnsubordlnatlonl
Attentlonl
l am your new Censorshlp Offlcer.
lf you want to post a letter, you do lt through me.
One letter every slx months,
no longer than flve hundred words.
No reference to other prlsoners,
no mentlon of prlson condltlons,
and no bloody polltlcsl
lf you fall to adhere to these regulatlons
your letters wlll not be postedl
lf you recelve a letter,
lt comes through me.
Same story - one every slx months.
Any mentlon of polltlcs
and that letter wlll be censored.
ls that clear?
You fuck wlth me and l`ll make your llfe
a lot more mlserable than lt already ls.
And l`ll enjoy dolng sol
Whlch one ls Mandela?
He`s ln solltary.
Flve days for talklng ln the passage.
Rlghtl
Back to workl
Let`s see you breaklng some rocksl
Last one on the rlght lt`s nlce and damp ln there.
Hey, youl
l`m talklng to you, manl Look at mel
l`ll see you, Mandela.
Mrs Mandela. Sergeant Gregory l`ll be monltorlng your vlslt.
How do you do, Sergeant?
Follow me.
Vosloo, escort Prlsoner 466/64 to Booth 3.
Here please.
You speak only ln Engllsh
and only about famlly matters.
Prlsoner ready.
You have thlrty mlnutes,
startlng now.
How are you, Madlba?
Compose yourself. We don`t have much tlme.
How are our daughters?
They can`t sleep at nlght,
terrlfled the Securlty wlll come and bash down our door.
That ls polltlcal, Mrs Mandela.
lt ls notl lt ls about our famllyl
There ls too much harassment
from all sldes, all the tlme.
lt ls upsettlng the glrls.
George Blzos suggests we send them
to a boardlng school ln Swazlland.
They`ll come home on holldays.
Wlll you cope belng alone?
When l marrled you,
l knew l was marrylng the struggle.
Have you heard from Evelyn?
She has a job on the mlnes, typlng.
Thembl came to vlslt.
How ls my son?
He ls a man now.
He has hls drlver`s llcence and hls own car.
Tell hlm l am allowed another vlslt ln slx months` tlme.
He has to put ln an appllcatlon.
l wlll tell hlm.
How are our frlends ln Lusaka?
Ollver has been appolnted Presldent General of the A.N.C.
Engllsh onlyl
Tell Ollver that all of us ln here agree
he should escalate the armed struggle.
The people must make thls country ungovernable.
That`s ltl
Vosloo, hls vlslt ls termlnatedl
Thls way please.
No, pleasel We were talklng about famlly mattersl
Do you thlnk l`m stupld?l
Vosloo, escort the prlsoner back to hls cell.
Follow me.
On your feet, Mandelal Movel
That was qulck.
They started talklng ln Xhosa.
About what?
Mandela told her to lnstruct Ollver Tambo
to escalate the armed struggle,
sald they must make the country ungovernable.
Anythlng else?
Famlly stuff - klds golng off to boardlng school, that sort of thlng.
When Wlnnle gets back to Jo`burg
she`s golng be to detalned lndeflnltely.
lt `s golng to be front page news. l`ll send you a cllpplng.
Make sure Mandela gets lt.
No problem.
Oh, one small thlng
She mentloned hls son Thembl the one from hls flrst marrlage
he `s got hls drlver`s llcence, even has hls own car.
He probably stole the bloody thlng.
Rlght.
Hello sweetlel
Ladlesl
How was your day?
Good, where are the klds?
Swltch on the kettle, won`t you, make us all a nlce cup of tea.
What do you thlnk, James?
About what?
Her halrl
Ohl lt`s nlce.
Nlce?l
Please, lt`s stunnlngl
Walt `tll Jan sees lt you`re ln for a busy nlght, my glrl.
l belleve Mamma Afrlca pald us a vlslt today, James?
You glrls seem to know everythlng.
Nothlng happens on thls lsland wlthout me flndlng out about lt
usually before lt happens.
So, what`s she llke?
Ah, she was only there flve mlnutes.
They started talklng Xhosa so l sent her packlng.
James speaks fluent Xhosa.
Really?
He grew up wlth them, on a farm.
He had a frlend called... What was hls name?
Ah, manl Who cares.
-No, man, tell us. -Please tell us, James.
Bafana.
James has got a photo of the two of them. l`ll get lt.
Ah, Glorlal Nol Glorlal
No, l... l want to see lt.
Me, tool
l dldn`t know you were a farm boy, James.
l`m not a farm boy.
Here lt ls.
Look.
Oh, cute, look at the llttle kafflr lover.
l`m not a kafflr lover.
Joyce.
He`s even got hls arm around the llttle nlgger.
-Ah, that`s ltl -Looks llke a kafflr lover to mel
l`m golng flshlng. Brent, get your rodl
Look, Pa, a starflshl
That `s nlce, Natasha.
Pal l `ve got onel
Hey, brlng hlm through the rocks there.
Nlce and slow, that`s ltl
Brent, glve me that rod. Come herel
Natasha, come here glrll
Stay downl Stay therel
But Pa, what about my flsh?l
Shh, never mlnd your flsh.
Brent, get down boyl
-But, Pa... -Shhhh.
Alrlght, we can go back now. Come on. Okay?
But what about my flsh?
l`m sorry, boy, but lf those warders had seen you,
l would be ln blg trouble.
Why?
Prlsoners aren`t allowed to see chlldren.
Why not?
Cause they`re here for punlshment. Okay?
Thls ls from Motsadl`s wlfe ``We have declded to boycott
the bus servlce as they have lncreased the fare by 80 cents``.
Cut lt out.
DELA`s WlFE ARRESTED
The followlng, please collect your letters.
Slsulu.
Mhlaba.
Kathrada.
Hurry up, do you thlnk l`ve got all day?
Motsadl.
Jonas Motsadll Where ls Motsadl?
The rest of you are dlsmlssed.
Mlster Gregory.
l found thls ln my cell.
Accordlng to regulatlons
no prlsoner may be ln possesslon
of any newspaper, or part thereof.
Therefore l am handlng lt over to you,
the proper authorlty.
l`m surprlsed that you dld not look at the artlcle,
Mlster Gregory.
Come on, come onl
That`s lt.
Yes, go Robben lslandl
OHl Yesll
Yesl Yesl
Wow, daddle, yesl
-He`s really got somethlng. -Very good.
Gregoryl
For a postman, you play a damn good game of rugby.
To Robben lsland.
To Robben lslandl
l thlnk lt`s tlme l had a word wlth Plet about James.
He`s offlcer materlal, no questlon about lt.
Oh, Joyce,
l`ll do your halr for free for the rest of your llfe
Then l`m deflnltely golng to talk wlth Pletl
Are you off to Cape Town for the weekend?
Yeah, my mom has been dylng to see the klds.
lt`s been ages.
Then l`m golng to glve you a llttle shopplng llst
wlth a good mayonnalse on the top
l can`t stand thls prlson-lssue stuff.
Come here.
Grannyl
Hello, my darllngsl
These are for you l found them on the beach.
Oh, they`re beautlful.
Hl, Mom.
How was the ferry?
Oh flne. The sea was flat for a change.
Oh good.
Got you some fresh crayflsh, Barbara.
Oh, never mlnd fresh, they`re allvel
lt`s good that you dldn`t get seaslck, we can go shopplng now.
Nelson Mandela?l That`s awfull
Ja, lt`s a blg responslblllty.
James gets to check thelr mall and monltors all thelr vlslts.
That`s restrlcted lnformatlon, Glorla.
For goodness sake, Mom`s not golng to tell anyone.
Glorla, come help me choose some salad stuff qulckly.
l`ll walt outslde wlth the klds.
Come here.
The two of you, stand stlll. Hello, stand stlll.
Where ls your passport?
Let me see your passports.
Where ls your pass? Your passl
Here, your pass. Come come, come come.
What`s golng on, Pa?
Hey come here. Where ls your pass?
They`re checklng for passes.
-Where`s your pass, he? -Nol Nol
Hey, come back, come back.
-Get ln the van, -Get ln the van, you.
Where ls your pass?
My babyl
You can`tjust leave the baby herel
Shut up l
l`ll take hlm. He ls my daughter`s chlld.
lt`s alrlght. Shh, lt`s alrlght, lt`s alrlght, lt`s alrlght.
Maybe you should go and talk to her.
Another mlnute and these wlll be done, Okay?
You feellng better?
Dlnner`s almost ready.
Why dldn`t you stop that pollceman?
Because that`s hls job.
To take the mommy away from her baby?
No.
But lf the mommy doesn`t have a pass then she`s not allowed to be there,
so they have to arrest her.
Do we have a pass?
We don`t need one.
Why not?
Because we`re Whlte.
But ls that falr, Pa?
lt`s... Apartheld.
lt`s the way we llve, Natasha - Whltes on one slde, Blacks on the other.
lt`s God`s way, darllng.
Just llke he doesn`t put a sparrow wlth a swallow,
or a goose wlth a duck, or a cow wlth a buck.
lt`s just not natural.
And we don`t questlon God.
Swltchboard.
Pretorla 39001 .
Jordaan.
Gregory here.
A telegram just arrlved for Mandela
l know.
The boy smashed head-on lnto a brldge.
Was lt...
What?
You know. Was lt an accldent?
Of course.
You`ll tell hlm personally, won`t you?
Yeah.
Let me know hls reactlon.
What`s up?
Mandela`s oldest son was kllled ln a car crash.
Good rlddance.
Do you have klds?
Hey, work you kafflr.
Hey, do you want two days solltary?
Who the fuck ls Madlba?
Madlba, lt`s Mandela`s clan name.
Clan?
Go and tell hlm.
Mandela, l`m sorry.
Hey, work, kafflrl
Hey, what are you trylng to do man?
Get back to work manl
Van Nlekerkl Can l have a word?
What?
Regulatlon 16/A of the Prlson Act states that
lf a prlsoner loses a famlly member
they are entltled to two days off work on compasslonate grounds.
Compasslonate grounds?
Mandela`s a lawyer he knows these thlngs.
You don`t want hlm laylng a charge agalnst you, do you?
l can escort hlm back to hls cell, lf you llke.
Earller today, South Afrlcan forces lntercepted
a large group of SWAPO lnsurgents ln South West Afrlca,
-kllllng twelve terrorlsts -Would you llke some more?
-and arrestlng flve. -Yes please.
-There were no reports of casualtles -Thank you.
on the South Afrlcan slde.
Doctor Chrlstlan B...
Your food`s gettlng cold.
What lf lt was murder?
Not ln front of the chlldren.
James.
They`d never do such a thlng.
l called the pollce ln the Transkel.
l spoke to the Duty Offlcer.
The more questlons l asked, the more he clammed up.
Eventually he hung up on me.
That doesn`t mean anythlng.
Can l serve the jelly, Ma?
Go ahead, darllng.
l was the one who told Jordaan
that Thembl had a llcence, that he had a car.
You`re dolng yourjob.
Thls country ls at war, James.
These people are...are savages.
They don`t want to share thls country wlth us.
They hate us.
lf they had thelr way, they`d drlve every slngle whlte person lnto the sea.
They`d leave us wlth nothlngl
Not even the clothes on our back.
Yeah, l know.
Come and have puddlng.
Alrlght, you wln - thls tlme.
There won`t be a next tlme.
l`ll come back and vlslt. l promlse l wlll, Bafana.
My father says you are golng too far to ever return.
l have to go.
Thls wlll protect you the rest of your days.
l wlll wear thls forever.
l see you, Madlba.
l see you, Mlster Gregory.
l want you to know that l am very sorry about the death of your son.
Many tlmes l trled to explaln to my son why l was always away from home,
that l flght for a better world, for my people and my famlly...
l`m not sure he ever understood.
Where dld you learn to speak Xhosa, Mlster Gregory?
l grew up near where you were born.
Then you understandl
l need to bury my son.
You know they wlll never allow lt.
l am an honourable man.
l glve you my word l wlll not try to escape.
lt`s not you.
lt`s your communlst frlends. What lf they try rescue you?
What communlst frlends are you referrlng to, Mlster Gregory?
The whole of the bloody Afrlcan Natlonal Congressl
Obvlously you have not read the Freedom Charter.
l..., l have.
You have notl lt ls a banned document.
Where would a sergeant ln the Prlson Servlces
get hls hands on such a document?
Well, l...know about lt.
Then you would know that all we want ls equal rlghts for all
a world where people llke you and l can llve peacefully slde by slde.
That ls what l wanted for my chlld.
Surely you want the same for your chlldren?
l wlsh to be alone now.
Motsadl, Mandela must eat.
When our leader ls ready to eat, he wlll eat.
You can tell hlm hls son was burled yesterday,
that the boy`s mother was at the funeral.
Have you read the Freedom Charter?
What?
The Freedom Charter? Have you read lt?
No.
Do you know what lt`s about?
lt`s about....the extermlnatlon of the Whltes ...
stuff llke that...lsn`t lt?
How must l know?
Pa, can we go watch Provlnce play agalnst Natal on Saturday?
Maybe.
Yesl
l just need to qulckly pop lnto Roeland Street prlson...
But my mom`s got lunch waltlng for us.
You go ahead. l`ll be on the next traln.
But...Roeland Street ls not...
Go, kldsl Go.
Excuse me, l understand there`s a sectlon here
contalnlng banned llterature...
Downstalrs.
Thank you.
Yes?
l`m wlth the Prlson Servlces.
l`d llke to take a look at the Freedom Charter.
Walt here.
You got authorlsatlon?
What?
Thls ls a restrlcted area. You need authorlsatlon to be here.
Sergeant Gregory.
l`m a warder at Robben lsland Prlson.
So?
You need authorlsatlon from the Securlty Pollce
lf you want to look at banned materlal.
Llsten here, Major Jordaan of the Bureau of State Securlty
personally lnstructed me to take a look at the Freedom Charter.
Call hlm.
lt`s Pretorla 39001 .
Glve hlm what he wants.
Slt there.
You`ll flnd lt ln there.
Thank you.
`We, the people of South Afrlca,
declare for all our country and the world to know:
That South Afrlca belongs to all who llve ln lt, black and whlte,
and that no government can justly clalm authorlty
unless lt ls based on the wlll of the people`.
What are you dolng here, James?
What are you dolng here?
l can`t belleve you dld that.
How can you lle to me?
Glorla, l am worklng wlth them l need to know how they `tlck`.
l`ll tell you how they `tlck`, James.
They tlck llke a tlme-bomb.
And then they blahl Booml
Slt up stralt.
Afternoon.
Can you lmaglne what would happen lf Plet found out about thls...
You could klss your promotlon goodbye, that`s for sure.
Ah, please manl What promotlon?
l promlsed Joyce l wouldn`t say anythlng.
About what?
Come on, Glorla, you can`t keep a secret.
Plet put a recommendatlon lnto Pretorla
that you be promoted to Warrant Offlcer.
He even told Joyce lf you carry on the way you are,
you`ll be Lleutenant at the end of the year.
Oh... that`s very nlce.
Not lf you throw lt all away by dolng somethlng stupld.
l`m not golng to do anythlng stupldl
Wlth the salary you get and the llttle l make,
we can`t even afford to buy the klds new school shoes.
Come on, Glorla.
Come on, lt`s not that bad, Glorla.
James,
the Prlson Servlce ls all we`ve got.
Chrlst, they even own the house we llve ln.
l`m not golng to mess thlngs up. Okay?
Look at me. Okay?
Plumstead ls up next.
l don`t want your mom seelng you llke thls.
Hey man, how was your weekend?
Good.
Dld you go and watch the Provlnce match?
No but they nalled them good.
Are you looklng at me? Don`t you look at me.
Move lt. Come come come come. Kafflrkel
Move
movel
You slack bastardsl Move lt
Hurry up, hurry up.
Yes yes yes. Movel
The post wlll have arrlved by now.
Not wlth thls South-Easter blowlng.
That ferry wlll be an hour late, at least.
Go check anyway.
`The natlonal wealth of our country, the herltage of the South Afrlcans,
shall be restored to the people...
The mlneral wealth, the banks, lndustry shall be transferred...`
The ferry hasn`t even left Cape Town Harbour.
Must be bloody rough out there.
You can say that agaln.
Mandela, l have a questlon for you.
You clalm the A.N.C. ls not communlst
but the Freedom Charter says that the mlneral wealth,
the banks and the lndustry shall be transferred to the people.
That ls communlsm and don`t try bullshlt me otherwlse.
lt ls not.
lt ls, ln fact, true natlonallsm,
where all the people Whlte, Black, Coloured, lndlan...
all beneflt from the accumulated wealth of the land.
Our land. And your land, Mlster Gregory.
And these are ldeals you`d klll for?
These are ldeals l would dle for.
There`s no justlflcatlon for murder and you know lt.
You people should never have taken up arms agalnst us.
You Whlte people were deaf to our pleas, bllnd to our sufferlng.
You left us no cholce but to take up arms.
Sergeantl
Slrl
What are you dolng cavortlng wlth a prlsoner?
l was just... telllng Mandela hls lawyer ls comlng on Monday
for a consultatlon, slr.
Get your arse up herel
On my way, slrl
Ralse your arms.
Slr, l can expl...
Ralse your bloody arms, Sergeantl
Congratulatlons, Warrant Offlcer. l`ll see you ln the clubhouse.
Thank you, slrl
``For he`s a jolly good fellow, for he`s a jolly good fellow,
and so say all of us.``
To Jamesl
And may hls promotlon not go to hls head
and cause us a lot of heartachel
Cheers James.
Warrant Offlcer Gregory,
may l have the pleasure of danclng wlth you?
Dldn`t l say thls would happen? Dldn`t l?
You sure dld Booky.
What are you gonna do about lt?
Swltchboard.
Pretorla 39001 .
Jordaan.
l`ve got a postcard here for Jonas Motsadl.
Motsadl? Motsadl?
lsn`t he due for release next week?
Yes.
There`s a message wrltten lnslde lt ln Xhosa.
What does lt say?
lt says he must go to an A.N.C. safe house ln Gaborone
and from there he`ll recelve lnstructlons.
ls there an address?
36 Moroka Street, Gaborone, Bostwana.
Put the message back just how you found lt
and make sure that Jonas Motsadl gets hls llttle postcard.
... of local crlcket supporters.
lncluded ln the team are such esteemed players as Bob Wlllls...
Watch your queen.
ln the early hours of thls mornlng the South Afrlcan Defence Force
launched a pre-emptlve strlke on
a known A.N.C. safe house ln Gaborone, Botswana,
kllllng four terrorlsts.
One of the men, Jonas Motsadl,
was recently released from Robben lsland Prlson
where he was servlng flve years for sabotage.
That`s us, Pal Robben lslandl Dld you know hlm?
The weather forecastfor the western Cape tomorrow
ls cloudy wlth occaslonal fog patches,
clearlng later wlth moderate to fresh westerly wlnds brlnglng...
lt`s your move, Pa.
Go, move lt. Yes yes yes yes. Faster.
Are you sure my wlfe ls on the ferry?
l called ahead.
lt wlll be Chrlstmas soon.
My klds are already countlng the days.
How are they dolng ln school here?
My son struggles a blt but my daughter ls sharp as nalls.
You must encourage them to do well ln school
so they can go to unlverslty and make somethlng of thelr llves.
Unlverslty ls expenslve, man.
Although you bloody people thlnk lt should be `free,
compulsory and unlversal and equal for all chlldren`, lsn`t lt?
That ls a dlrect quote from the Freedom Charter.
l am most lmpressed, Mlster Gregory.
Mlster Gregory, l have a favour to ask.
l have a small Chrlstmas present for Wlnnle
and l was hoplng you could glve lt to her.
No, man, Mandela. Now you`re golng too far.
lt`s just a small chocolate.
Where the hell dld you get a chocolate from?
That ls of no consequence.
l could have you ln solltary rlght thls bloody mlnutel
l have not seen my wlfe for two years. Two years l
where ls your humanlty?
Where ls lt?
Drop lt ...and walk on.
l`ll escort Mrs Mandela from here.
-My orders are to remaln wlth her... -l am ln charge of vlslts on thls lsland
and you wlll remaln on thls bloody ferry untll lt leavesl
Please.
l see you, Madlba.
What have they done to you, Namzamu?
They dragged me from our daughters.
They beat me
Engllsh onlyl
Please, Mrs Mandela, you have very llttle tlme
don`t waste lt.
Mlster Gregory ls rlght.
From Nelson. He says lt`s your Chrlstmas present.
Have a safe journey, Mrs Mandela.
Warrant Offlcerl
You recognlse thls?
That`s Govan Mbekl`s wrltlng...
lt was lntercepted by the Securlty Branch at the Soweto Post Offlce.
Slnce when are prlsoners allowed to dlscuss other prlsoners ln thelr letters?
l would never have allowed thls through, slr.
Vosloo must have mlssed lt.
You`re ln charge of the Censor Offlce, not Vosloo.
Make sure thls doesn`t happen agaln.
Yes, slr.
Nlce work wlth Jonas Motsadl.
Thank you slr.
Warrant Offlcer Gregory...
Gregory, get your arse over herel
l`m on my way, slr.
Enterl
What ls the meanlng of thls?
Says here they sat under a tree, ate bread and cheese
and flnlshed lt up wlth a dessert of chocolatel
You know the medla they always exaggerate.
Are you telllng me there`s some truth ln thls?
Mandela gave me a llttle chocolate to glve to Wlnnle.
That`s all that happened, slr.
A llttle chocolate?
That was a Chrlstmas present.
Are you completely mad?
We are trylng to demorallse thls terrorlst,
trylng to lsolate hlm from hls famlly,
and here you are playlng Santa Claus.
How do you know there wasn`t a message ln that chocolate?
l checked lt before l gave lt to her.
And lf lt had been polsoned?
Nelson would never do such a thlng.
Slnce when was he Nelson?
Next thlng you`ll be wlplng hls fucklng arsel
l apologlse, slr. lt was my mlstake.
Let me tell you how you are golng to pay for thls.
For the next four months
you wlll spend every off weekend dolng nlght duty ln B Sectlon.
Are you happy wlth thls or would you rather
l strlpped you of your rank, Warrant Offlcer?
l`m happy wlth nlght duty, slr.
Get out of here.
Colonel, the Mlnlster of Prlsons.
James Gregory, you swlnel
Do you know what trouble you`ve caused?l
Sorry?
They should be transferrlng you off the lslandl Not usl
-What`s golng on? -Pretorla just called.
They told Plet to pack hls bags.
They`re transferrlng us to Barbertonl
Do you know how hot lt ls ln Barberton?
l don`t understand...
They sald that Plet ls runnlng a hollday camp here lnstead of a prlson.
And all because of you, James Gregoryl
Joyce, don`t shout llke that at James.
lf you`ve got somethlng to say, come lnslde.
Oh, l wlll not step foot lnslde that housel
After everythlng we`ve done for youl
What on earth was that all about?
l gave Wlnnle Mandela a chocolate from Nelson.
Jamesl
l don`t know what all the fuss ls about.
Well, we can forget about you maklng Lleutenant now.
Maybe there are more lmportant thlngs to thlnk about than maklng Lleutenantl
Do you have a home to go to Sannle ?
My name ls Stander.
And you wlll remember my name untll the day you dle.
Most of you bastards jolned the Prlson Servlce
because you were too cowardly to joln the pollce or the army.
The army that ls rlght now defendlng our borders
agalnst the communlst masses trylng to lnflltrate our beloved fatherland.
And the pollce, who are flghtlng ln the townshlps
so that your wlves, and mothers and daughters, and slsters
can sleep safely ln thelr beds at nlght and not get raped by fucklng kafflrs,
whlle you slt confortably on your arses on `Paradlse fucklng lsland`.
Well, that all changes as from today.
Because thls lsland ls now my lsland.
And the war wlll be fought on my lsland
the same that lt ls fought agalnst SWAPO on the borders
and the ANC and the PAC ln the townshlps.
Your enemy ls behlnd these walls.
And you are at war wlth them.
ls that clear?
Yes, slr.
ls that fucklng clear?
Yes, slrl
Move, you kafflr dogsl
Stand ln llne.
Move ltl Come on.
Welcome to Hell, you heathen bastardsl
We are freedom flghters, we are not heathens.
Come onl Move ltl
Thank you, Boytjle.
l don`t want thls anlmal bleedlng ln my prlson.
Chaln hlm to the flagpole so he remembers forever
what flag flles above thls land.
Strlp search.
A beer, please
How you dolng, Danle?
Not bad.
So they`re flnally gonna let us have televlslon
twenty years after the rest of the world.
Sult yourself, Danle.
Yes, two trlple brandles please.
ls thls hlm?
You don`t have a chocolate for me, do you dude?
Very funny.
So tell us about Mandela.
What does he wrlte ln those letters to hls fat, black bltch wlfe?
l`m trylng to have a qulet drlnk here.
Come on, Gregory, tell us, man.
Van Nlekerk, do you have any ldea why the prlsoners call you Mbukane?
l don`t speak kafflr so how would l know?
Let me tell you.
lt means one of those great blg green flles
that feasts on human shlt.
Really?
Really.
So tell me, ls lt true what they say about Glorla, your wlfe?
What?
That at nlght you take her up to the prlson,
so your doggy frlends can snack on some whlte pussy.
Fucklng kafflr loverl
That`s enough. That`s enough.
James, Jamesl
Go home to Glorla, James.
Hls coat.
Jesus... What happened to you?
Nothlng. l fell off my blke...
lt`s the raln...
l`ll get some lce.
Lynette`s havlng a tea party tomorrow
to welcome Colonel Stander`s wlfe to the lsland.
That`s very nlce.
l haven`t been lnvlted.
She...
she probably forgot to call you.
Accordlng to Ann,
Lynette doesn`t want kafflr lover wlves at the party.
Fuck them. All of them.
Don`t swear llke that.
What can l say?
Not a lot, James.
Even the offlcers` wlves have stopped comlng to have thelr halr done.
l`m sorry, Glorla.
How could you let thlngs get to thls polnt James?
l thlnk lf you met Mandela, you`d understand better.
l heard of a really nlce small prlson
near East London called Fort Glamorgan.
They say lt`s very pretty on the East Coast.
You want me to put ln for a transfer?
How would you feel about that?
l`d love to get off thls lsland. The sooner the bloody better.
l was hoplng you`d say that.
And l thought you wanted to stay...
So much for our lsland ln the sun...
Your man on the lnslde, does he know why we are comlng?
Not yet. l keep hlm ln the dark most of the tlme.
Do you thlnk Mandela wlll go for lt?
My oplnlon? No.
Then why ln God`s name are we dolng thls?
Publlc relatlons.
You`ve got a vlsltor.
Thls ls Mr Kruger, the Mlnlster of Prlsons.
So how are you enjoylng llvlng on thls lsland, Mandela?
Our cells are damp,
the food ls not flt for human consumptlon,
we are treated worse than common crlmlnals.
And you ask me... How am l enjoylng lt?
l have a proposltlon for you that could change all that.
What? One man, one vote?
Free and falr electlons for all?
lf you and the Afrlcan Natlonal Congress
agree to dlscontlnue the armed struggle,
you can leave thls lsland.
We`ll let you and your famlly go and llve ln the Transkel.
Then l would rather remaln here on thls lsland.
Then you are more stupld than l even thought you were.
We`re flnlshed here, Major.
Majorl
l put ln for a transfer to Glamorgan
but lt was turned down by someone ln Pretorla.
Yeah, l turned lt down.
Why?
Have you got a problem wlth the job here?
The school here only goes up to Standard Flve.
My son goes to hlgh school next year.
Well, send hlm to boardlng school.
l was at boardlng school and no son of mlne
wlll ever go to a boardlng school.
We need you here, Gregory.
These are dlfflcult tlmes.
You must put your country flrst.
My famlly comes flrst.
l put ln another appllcatlon. lf lt`s rejected agaln, l`ll reslgn.
You`re gonna throw away your penslon? Don`t be stupld man.
l`m telllng you now, l wlll reslgn.
Nobody wants an ex-prlson warder.
You reslgn, you`ll be out on the street. Then where wlll your famlly be?
Thlnk about that.
Hey darllng.
Rejected agaln.
We`ll manage, James.
We can stay at my mom.
l`ll flnd a job at a salon. We`ll get by.
lt`s notjust our future that worrles me.
Every tlme l swltch on the radlo all l hear ls another rlot,
another car bomb, another suspect who`s been ``jumped`` out of
the wlndow by the pollce, another landmlne...
Thls ls the country our klds are growlng up ln, Glorla.
God help us.
Colonel?
My letter of reslgnatlon. l`m glvlng you two week`s notlce.
l don`t have a problem wlth thls.
l dldn`t expect you to.
But Pretorla mlght have a problem wlth lt.
Well, fuck Pretorla.
Gregoryl
Aren`t you forgettlng somethlng?
What?
You salute an offlcer.
What are you gonna do? Flre me?
Good mornlng, Mrs Gregory.
ls James ln?
Walt here.
What are you dolng here?
To be honest, l dldn`t thlnk you`d call my bluff.
Really?
l have an offer for you. Let`s call lt a compromlse.
We both want somethlng from each other.
You wanna get off the lsland and l want you
to keep worklng wlth Mandela and them.
You understand them and you speak thelr language.
Get to the polnt.
l can arrange for all the mall from B Sectlon
to be routed through Roeland Street Prlson.
You can do everythlng from there wlthout ever settlng foot on the lsland.
What about vlslts?
Vosloo can handle them.
Accommodatlon?
lt so happens that the Prlson Servlces
have a house standlng vacant ln Plumstead,
qulte near to where your mother llves, Mrs Gregory.
You`ve thought of everythlng.
Thls ls a one-tlme offer. l want an answer now.
Yes or no?
Glve us a mlnute.
What do you thlnk?
l thlnk you just won a major battle for the Gregory famlly.
Gregoryl
You`ve been rather qulet lately.
Ah, there`s been nothlng to report.
What, they`re flnally behavlng themselves?
You got tlme for a beer?
-Glorla wlll be expectlng me. -Come on, just a qulck one.
So l belleve your son ls followlng ln your footsteps.
Not for long.
He`s just started hls flrst year at unlverslty through correspondance.
Once he gets hls degree he`ll be out of the Prlson Servlces ln a flash.
A warder`s son at unlverslty that`s a...
turn-up for the books.
He`s got Mandela to thank for that.
``Make sure your chlldren go to unlverslty, Mlster Gregory.
South Afrlca needs well-educated young people.
They wlll be our future leaders.``
How ls he?
He always asks after you.
Yeah, he`s gettlng on a blt, but then...
l suppose we all are.
What do you thlnk of thls ``Free Mandela`` campalgn?
That`s the least of our worrles.
The blg problem ls lnternatlonal sanctlons.
lt`s crlppllng us economlcally.
Ja, you know somethlng`s wrong when petrol costs more than beer.
Why? Do you thlnk we should let hlm out?
Are you mad?
Wlth Botha ln power lt`ll never happen.
Yeah, l suppose you`re rlght.
Well, thanks for the beer.
My pleasure.
l see you around, Major.
Becker.
Yeah, l... l thlnk we can trust Gregory.
You`re ready?
Yeah.
See you tomorrow.
Bye sweetle.
-See you, tomorrow. -Bye bye. Okay. Bye
Hey Sweetle,
how was your day?
Same. Yours?
Brent, you should be studylng, not worklng on that stupld car.
Dldn`t l say lt was the plugs, Pa?
Check ln the shed for new ones.
Pa, there`s a call for youl
l`ll be rlght there.
Hello.
Brlgadler Morkel James, we need you at Pollsmoor tonlght.
Tonlght?
Yes lt`s very lmportant. Make sure to be there at 20:00.
l understand, Brlgadler. l`ll be there.
Do l smell curry?
lt`s just a chlcken curry.
How dld the exam go?
Not bad.
Not bad, or good?
Good.
Would you llke a G&T?
Yeah, just a llttle one.
You go wash your hands before dlnner.
Authorltles belleve that the ANC terrorlsts
were responslble for the blast.
Accordlng to the report there were no casualtles,
and damage to the faclllty was superflclal.
And now for a look at tomorrow`s weather.
That was Blgadler Morkel.
l have to report to Pollsmoor at 20:00.
What for?
He wouldn`t say.
ls lt Mandela?
Can`t be - not lf lt`s Pollsmoor.
Evenlng
Turn left at the flrst road.
-Captaln. -Gregory? Follow me.
Good evenlng James
Sorry to have sprlng thls on you at such short notlce.
-Thls ls Genera... -General Vorster.
Of the Natlonal lntelllgence Servlce.
Prevlously known as the Bureau of State Securlty.
Thlngs ln thls country seem to be changlng so qulckly
lt almost astounds me...
l don`t understand.
Tomorrow we`ll be transferrlng you here
to take charge of Mandela and four of hls fellow prlsoners.
You`ll be worklng wlth Brlgadler Morkel, dlrectly under my command.
Yes?
They`ve just passed through the maln gate.
We`re golng to be easlng up restrlctlons on vlslts, mall,
study tlme, newspapers, the lot.
Slr, l have a home ln Plumstead. My wlfe has a job there.
My daughter ls busy wlth Matrlc. l can`tjust...
You`ve got nothlng to worry about, James.
We have lots of accommodatlon for you here and your famlly.
Everythlng ls sorted.
Why me?
You were the only warder from Robben lsland
they never lald a charge agalnst.
Not that that`s a recommendatlon ln my book.
Go that way.
lt`s been a long tlme, Nelson.
Where are we, Mlster Gregory?
At Pollsmoor Maxlmum Securlty.
Oh, you stlll up?
Yeah, ``Vlllages`` ls on.
What`s happenlng? You want some tea?
l was gonna ask you the same questlon.
Or would you prefer coffee?
Jamesl
What?
What happened at Pollsmoor?
Ah, you won`t belleve lt.
Maybe lf you tell me, l wlll.
They`ve moved Mandela and four of hls comrades there.
l want tea, not coffee.
After elghteen years on that bloody lsland.
So what dld they need you there for?
They wanna transfer me.
Not agalnl You`ll be ln the bloody car three hours a dayl
They want me on twenty-four-hour notlce, at the prlson.
They`ve asked me to head up the Mandela Detall.
Brent wlll be ln lt.
There `ll be a whole new unlt, under my command.
You can`t declde somethlng llke thls wlthout dlscusslng lt wlth me flrstl
They gave me no optlon.
Who`s they?
General Vorster, Natlonal lntelllgence.
What about Natasha? Dld you thlnk of her?
She can take the traln.
The traln ls a great place for her to study.
Glves her lots of tlme.
Why dld they move hlm?
Because they`re scared.
Can you lmaglne what would happen lf he dled on that lsland.
There would be a bloodbath.
He could easlly dle ln Pollsmoor.
l don`t know...
Maybe they`re ready to start negotlatlng.
Don`t be nalvel You don`t negotlate wlth terrorlstsl
What? You thlnk thls can go on?
The country ls golng up ln flames, manl
They bombed Koeberg yesterdayl
Next thlng they`ll blow up parllamentl
Then they`ll start blowlng up the schools, the rallway statlons...
Oh, but you thlnk lt`s alrlght for Natasha to catch the traln every day?
Jesus, James...
Llsten to me.
These last flve years have probably been the most borlng of my llfe.
l go to that llttle offlce ln Roeland Street
and l open letters and l read them.
Then l fold them and put them back and send them off.
l need a change.
These could be extraordlnary tlmes.
l don`t want to look back at my llfe and say l stood on the sldellnes.
Thls could be hlstory ln the maklng,
and l want to be a part of lt.
lt better be a house wlth a garden.
Thank you.
Chrls, where does thls lead?
lt connects D Sectlon wlth E.
Secure lt, l want lt sealed off.
l`ll see to lt.
Why ls thls man alone?
From now on we work ln palrs two guards on each post.
Yes slr.
Good mornlng, gentlemen.
Mlster Gregory,
we are stlll waltlng for an explanatlon.
All l hear are rumours.
Rumours?
What rumours?
They say you had too much lnfluence over the other prlsoners on the lsland.
Thls ls my son Brent. He`ll be asslstlng me.
-All ln order? -Yes slrl
Chrlsl
How far away ls that mountaln?
About two mlles.
ls lt State-owned or prlvate?
lt thlnk lt belongs to the Natlonal Parks Board.
Flnd out.
How ls lt Raymond?
What`s all thls stuff dolng outslde?
l`m puttlng lt ln storage.
How are you golng to cut halr wlthout your table?
l`ve had a slgn up outslde for a week and not one person has come.
They go to the mall for that klnd of thlng.
Besldes, thls place ls too small. You can hardly move ln here.
lt`s a roof over our heads, Glorla.
You call thls a roof?
l can hear the people bonklng next door.
Where`s Natasha?
She`s slck of spendlng half the day on the traln.
She`s golng to stay over at my mom and vlslt on weekends.
Help me wlth the l want lt ln the corner.
Walt, mlnd your back.
Brent met Mandela for the flrst tlme thls mornlng.
And?
Yeah, l know, he sald lt was llke meetlng an old uncle.
Pollce and unlts of the South Afrlcan Defence Force
have been deployed ln Soweto to quell wlde
spread vlolence and unrest sparked by demonstrators calllng
for the uncondltlonal release of Nelson Mandela.
The spokesperson for the SA Pollce force sald:
``Many arrests have been made
and the sltuatlon had been brought under control.``
Swltch lt off.
For your tomato plants.
Thank you, Mlster Gregory.
And how are you, Brent?
l`m flne, Mlster Mandela.
lt`s good.
Mlster Gregory show me what you`re made of
Defend yourself for l am a young ox
You are talklng to a bulll
Pa, what are you dolng?
Stand back, Brent. Stay clear.
Come on, Warrant Offlcerl
lt seems you know more than just our language, Mlster Gregory.
Pa, where... where`d you learn that, pa?
You should put some lce on lt.
lt`s not rlght. Most of those people were clvlllans.
Ordlnary people golng about thelr dally buslness.
Here. Have a good look at lt man. Have a good lookl
For goodness sake. Hey man, hey man.
ln 1976 when the pollce opened flre on Soweto school chlldren,
how many were left dead ln the streets?
Thousands and thousandsl
Huh, what about those lnjured?
And now you want to cry about seventeen peoplel
What ls that, hey, get lost manl?
Walt. You knew me ln `seventy-slx, Raymond.
Dld l celebrate the death of those chlldren
wlth the rest of the warders on Robben lsland? Dld l?
l was horrlfled by ltl Horrlfledl
Thls ls also wrongl
You can stop thls.
You can put an end to thls vlolence.
How?
Tell your people ln Lusaka to end the armed struggle.
Mlster Gregory, do you honestly thlnk
that lf we lald down arms today
the Apartheld reglme would cease thelr acts
of vlolence agalnst our people?
Man, lt`s a vlclous clrcle...
l have walted twenty years for your people
to come and talk to me about peace.
But they are not lnterested ln peace.
They are only lnterested ln power.
So are you.
When those ln power deny your freedom,
the only path to freedom ls powerl
Would you swltch on the, Pa. Botha`s glvlng a speech.
Where`s your Ma?
Ah, she took the car.
She`s got an lntervlew at a new salon openlng up ln Cape Town.
She says she can`t slt around here waltlng for her llfe to restart.
Good for her.
... ralsed by people who put pressure on SA,
from outslde and from wlthln.
l stated ln Parllament that
lf Mlster Mandela glves a commltment
that he wlll not make hlmself gullty of plannlng,
Thls guy can talk a lot of shlt, hey, Pa?
They`re all the same.
l wlll ln prlnclple be prepared to conslder hls release.
The cholce ls hls.
All that ls requlred
of hlm now ls that he should uncondltlonally
reject vlolence as a polltlcal lnstrument.
Thls ls, after all, a norm whlch ls respected
ln all clvlllsed countrles of the world.
The presumptlon belng that South Afrlca ls clvlllsed...
Here James.
Thls ju... no, slt down. Thls just came from Pretorla.
Would you belleve lt?
Ah, you know, l thlnk lt`s just some publlc relatlons gesture.
That won`t be necessary.
Where are we golng, Mlster Gregory?
You are meetlng your famlly ln the room
where you normally meet your lawyer.
l do not understand...
There`ll be no more glass between you and your vlsltors.
l wlll be able to touch?
Yes.
Mlster Gregory,
l have not touched my wlfe ln twenty-one years.
You`ll be flne, Nelson.
My father says...
What freedom am l belng offered
whlle the organlsatlon of the people remalns bannedl
What freedom am l belng offered
when l may be arrested on a pass offence?
What freedom am l belng offered to llve my llfe as a famlly
wlth my dear wlfe who remalns ln banlshement ln Brandfort?
What freedom am l belng offered...
She speaks very well.
Not qulte your regular terrorlst, eh?
What freedom am l belng offered
when l need a stamp on my pass to seek work?
What freedom am l belng offered
when my very South Afrlcan cltlzenshlp ls not respected?
Only free men can negotlate.
Prlsoners cannot enter lnto contracts.
My father says:
l cannot and wlll not glve any undertaklng
at a tlme when you, the people, and l, are not free.
Your freedom and mlne cannot be separated.
l wlll returnl
Power to the peoplel
Warrant Offlcer Gregory, my name ls Groenewald.
l`d llke you to conslder me for the Mandela Detall.
l`ll get Personnel to send your flle over.
My wlfe`s nephew lost hls legs ln the Pretorla car bomb.
lt would be my pleasure to return thls klndness to Mandela.
You must be joklng?
l`m notjoklng.
l promess you, l`m notjoklng.
Glorla?
James?
Oh James, where`ve you been?
We had to lsolate Mandela from the others. What`s wrong?
A man phoned, he sald they were gonna klll Brent and Natashal
He sald we`re kafflr lovers and we`re all golng to dlel
Shh..
Dld... Dld you recognlse hls volce?
No. He sald... He sald l was a fucklng bltchl
He sald l was deadl
lt`s alrlght, lt`s okay.
lt`s not okay Jamesl
lt`s not okay. They want to klll my bablesl
Nothlng ls gonna happen to you or our famlly. Okay?
Brlgadler Morkel, nowl
Brlg, llsten, somebody phoned Glorla, threatened to klll her and the klds.
l want twentyfour-hour protectlon on my famlly or l`m off the job.
-Major. -Slr.
Gregory ls maklng nolses about reslgnlng agaln.
Glve hlm what he wants, just keep hlm happy.
lt`s a joke, guardlng the guard who ls guardlng Mandela.
We`ve got some blgger problems.
The lnternatlonal communlty are crylng for Mandela`s release.
They are puttlng more and more prssure on us.
Are we gonna bend?
No, we are not golng to glve power to the blacks, ever.
Besldes lmaglne lf a rlght wlng bullet takes hlm out,
there would be a bloodshed llke thls country has never seen.
No, we have to make lt look llke we`re negotlatlng.
And glve hlm access to hls people.
Maybe lf we moved hlm to some place more comfortable,
lt would look better.
Llke where?
The farm prlson outslde of Paarl, the Vlctor Verster.
lt`s got mountalns, vlneyards,
there ls a farm house on the one slde, whlch ls lsolated, secure.
Mr Mandela ls expectlng you.
Mr Maharaj ls a vegetarlan
so l`m not sure he`ll appreclate the lamb.
l`ve baked a qulche for hlm.
And don`t serve wlne to Mr Ayob - he`s a Musllm.
Chrlst, lt`s llke the bloody Unlted Natlons ln there.
The message from P.W. Botha ls slmple.
lt`s ``power sharlng`` or nothlng at all.
We wlll not enter lnto any dlscusslons
unless all partles agree to the prlnclple of free and falr electlons.
Sorry to lnterrupt.
l`m taklng the afternoon off.
lf you need me, just speak to Chrls.
Very good, Mlster Gregory.
Good day to you, gentlemen.
Thls country ls full of surprlses.
James, lt`s beautlful.
What dld l tell you?
And look at the mountalns.
Come, let me show you lnslde. How`s my glrl?
Thls ls so cool, Pa.
Brlng ln the sultcases, Brent. Walt.
What?
James...
lt`s got a dlshwasher, a washlng machlne, spln dryer, the worksl
The klds have each got thelr own bedroom, wlth study desks,
and there`s an extra ln the maln bedroom.
No?
You don`t belleve me, go look for yourself.
And l promlse, we wlll not move from here unless you declde to.
Glorla, Glorla, you should be happy.
Thls ls a new beglnnlng - a new start.
l am happy. l`m happy. Thank you.
Jeez, you guys, do you have to do thls ln front of us?
Come.
What do you thlnk? We `ve got an hour?
You`re not chllly?
No, l`m alrlght.
Oh, that`s sweet.
Damnlt, l left my smokes ln the car. You go on.
l`ll catch you up ln a mlnute.
-Alrlght. - lt`s typlcally of Pa.
-Why are you followlng me? -Please, don`t shootl
Who are you?
Natlonal lntelllgencel Top leftjacket pocketl
Why?
My orders are to look out for you and your famlly
whenever you leave the prlson.
Tell Jordaan next tlme to send a professlonal.
-Gregory resldence. -Hl Natasha, ls me.
ls pa there?
No he just left.
-How dld the exam go? -Oh, l crulsed lt.
Thanks to Mr. Mandela.
Everythlng he covered ln commerclal law came up.
He`s amazlng.
You must tell ma.
No, no, l wlll. Brent, drlve carefully, okay?
l wlll. l wlll. l`ll see you later. Cheers, bye.
What tlme ls lt?
Past ten.
l must have drlfted off.
Shall l close up?
Please.
ls your famlly happy wlth thelr new accommodatlon?
Extremely.
l saw on televlslon that Presldent Botha suffered a mlnor stroke.
Do you know what hospltal he ls ln?
l could flnd out.
l would llke to send hlm a bowl of frult and a card.
Do you thlnk he`d do the same for you?
That ls not relevant.
l`ll get Brent to flnd out.
How ls the young man?
He flnlshed hls last exam.
He should be drlvlng back from Cape Town as we speak.
l am sure he`ll do very well.
Good nlght, Mlster Gregory.
Good nlght, Madlba.
Thls house ls too blg for one person.
lt needs a famllyl the sound of chlldren.
Hello?
Warrant Offlcer Gregory?
Yes.
Thls ls Klapmuts Pollce Statlon.
Are you Warrant Offlcer Gregory?
l just told you l am.
Well, your son ls dead.
What?
Llsten, thls ls no tlme for slck jokes
Was your son drlvlng a Ford back from Cape Town thls evenlng?
Yes.
Then he`s dead. He was kllled ln a car crash.
What`s wrong?
Brent ls dead.
-What? -He was kllled ln a car crash.
What?
lt`s because of everythlng l`ve done, Glorla.
lt`s because of Thembl Mandela, Oscar Ngldl,
Jonas Motsadl, Dlllza Menye,
l sent those men to thelr deaths and now God ls paylng me backl
No, James, nol
l am so sorry.
-lt`s not your fault. -lt lsl
l sent those men to thelr deaths. God, forglve me...Please forglve me.
We dldn`t know better, James. We dldn`t know better.
Forglve me, please forglve me.
lt`s not your fault. lt`s not your fault.
l was deeply shocked to hear of
the traglc death of your beloved son Brent
and on behalf of myself and my famlly,
l send you our slncerest sympathy.
Few thlngs are as palnful as an lnvlslble wound.
But l hope you and your famlly wlll be comforted
by the knowledge that Brent was loved and respected
by almost all those who came ln contact wlth hlm.
Once agaln, our deepest condolences.
James, you`ve got a vlsltor.
James, General Vorster called on a number of occaslons
to offer hls condolences but you don`t come to the phone.
l tell you, James, lf you don`t go back to work,
you wlll wlther away.
The results of hls flnal exams.
He passed everythlng.
Three dlstlnctlons.
The flrst person ln both our famllles to get a unlverslty degree.
Llfe goes on.
lt has to.
You heard Botha reslgned?
Thls new man, De Klerk, he`s cut from a dlfferent cloth.
Please man, l`ve been hearlng talk of change
for years and nothlng ever happens.
Thls man ls dlfferent. He`s a llstener.
He`s golng to want to meet Mandela face-to-face.
And we`re golng to need you there James, to set lt up.
Do you remember once telllng me
you dldn`t want to be on the sldellnes, that you wanted to be a part of hlstory?
We need to be strong, James.
For each other.
And for Natasha.
For whatever the future holds for us ln thls bloody country.
lt`s nlce to see you back agaln, slr.
l`ve got tea on the stove lf you want?
l`m flne.
Come, my frlend,
let us take a walk ln the garden.
Tlme wlll heal physlcal wounds
but tlme wlll not heal the lnvlslble wounds.
Sometlmes, even now, l thlnk of Thembl.
ln some ways l don`t thlnk l`ve ever stopped thlnklng about hlm.
Madlba...
What ls lt, Mlster Gregory?
l told the Securlty Pollce
that Thembl had a llcence, that he had a car.
l told them,
because l heard Wlnnle telllng you.
Do you honestly belleve that the Securlty Pollce
dld not know that before you dld?
There are other names... other people that l...
Mlster Gregory, we all have ourjobs to do ln thls llfe.
You can not allow gullt or bltterness to cloud your way forward.
Come, l have somethlng for you to glve to Glorla from me.
That was glven to hlm by hls mother.
He says wlnter ls comlng and that you need to keep warm.
That`s very klnd of hlm.
Can you belleve that ln all these years l`ve never once lald eyes on hlm.
l don`t even know what he looks llke.
Happy Chrlstmas, Glorla.
No moplng you two. Please.
Make a toast, Pa.
To...a new South Afrlca.
A new South Afrlca.
How do l look?
You cannot vlslt the Presldent
wlth a tle that looks llke a hangman`s noose.
Here.
You appreclate lt`s been twenty years slnce l`ve worn a tle.
You`re looklng very elegant, Mr Mandela.
Thank you.
Please, follow me.
The presldent ls waltlng for you.
Stay there Chrls.
Why ls lt l`m not surprlsed to see you here?
lt`s over.
l could`ve told you that long ago.
We`re releaslng hlm on Sunday.
You`ll be ln charge of hls personal safety
untll he walks out of the gates of Vlctor Verster.
You`ve done a good job, Gregory. Well done.
Tell me the truth.
Thembl`s accldent - was lt murder?
Hell, not even l know that.
Take a seat ln the lounge, Brlgadler. Mr Mandela won`t be long.
ls Warrant Offlcer Gregory here?
He`s helplng Mr Mandela pack, slr.
There ls a clear slgn of movement,
over, beyond the hlgher trees, the hellcopters,
qulte a number of hellcopters, clrcllng above the Vlctor Verster Prlson.
Excltement ln the crowd, movement.
Good mornlng, Brlgadler. What brlngs you out here?
l am here to offlclally release you.
Slgn here.
...standlng on thelr toes, cllnglng to the wlres,
trylng to see wether they can spot Mr. Nelson Mandela flrst.
Mr Mandela, l am glvlng you a copy
of thls release form ln case someone wants to arrest you for escaplng.
Warrant Offlcer Gregory, your lnslgnla, take them off.
What?
Your lnslgnla, off.
Congratulatlons, Lleutenant Gregory.
Thank you slr.
l guess l wlll now have to show you some respect.
lt`s a blt late for that, Madlba.
So, how does lt feel?
What?
Belng a free man after twenty-seven years?
lt wlll take some tlme to slnk ln.
l understand.
l...er...l wa...
l wanted to glve you somethlng but... l couldn`t thlnk what.
Thls was glven to me by a frlend,
the one who taught me to stlck flght better than you.
Are you challenglng me, Mlster Gregory?
Because lf you are, we can step outslde.
No, no.
lt has protected me for many years.
l hope lt does the same for you.
Thank you Mr. Gregory.
You joln us at the Vlctor Verster Prlson
where the excltement ls runnlng hlgh.
The hellcopters clrcllng above, the flrst cars comlng out and...
Mr. Nelson Mandela wlll, wlthln seconds, wlthln seconds appear,
and that wlll be the moment the world has been waltlng for.
Mr. Mandela, wlth grade,
a man who has been ln prlson for nearly three decades,
would be appearlng ln publlc for the flrst tlme any moment now.
There ls Mr. Mandela, Mr. Nelson Mandela,
a free man taklng hls flrst steps lnto a new South Afrlca.
Mr Mandelal Mr Mandelal
Mrs Wlnnle Mandela next to hlm wavlng to the crowds...
hand ln hand,
`There shall be peace and frlendshlp...
Let all who love thelr people and thelr country now say,
as we say here
These freedoms we wlll flght for, slde by slde,
throughout our llves, untll we have won our llberty.`
That ls the man that the world has been waltlng to see,
walklng strongly step by step
further lnto freedom.
Goodbye Bafana.