A World Apart (1988)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

As Good As It Gets

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Apartheid was just beginning to face its end in 1988 as this movie was being made, but it was still a few years away from disappearing completely. This movie is set in the 1960's - a time when apartheid was still enforced ruthlessly, and "A World Apart" gives us the story of a white but anti-apartheid family struggling against the regime. The story is shown largely through the eyes of Molly Roth (played by Jodhi May) - a 13 year old girl. As the movie begins her father is leaving South Africa to avoid arrest as a communist. Meanwhile, her mother is an anti-apartheid journalist. Molly finds herself increasingly ostracized by many of her white friends and their families because of her family's political views, and her mother is arrested by the government under a law that allowed for people to be held for 90 days without being charged so that they could be interrogated. The movie certainly makes the point that apartheid and the white regime were inhumane and brutal. It also - to me - made the point that apartheid sowed the seeds of its own destruction. Because of its ruthlessness, rather than stamping out opposition by frightening its opponents, it enraged them and emboldened them and ensured that there would be an ever increasing number of recruits for the anti- apartheid movement, a point made (I thought) by Molly's raised fist in a gesture of defiance in one of the last scenes of the movie.In this movie, the central family is the Roth family - Gus and Diana and their children, most importantly Molly. In fact, the movie is really based on the story of Ruth First, who was the wife of South African Communist leader Joe Slovo. First did, indeed, find herself arrested under the 90 days law and actually served almost 120 days before being released. She was assassinated in the early 1980's, and this movie serves as a tribute to her, and was actually written by Shawn Slovo, Joe and Ruth's daughter. I found myself wondering if the title might be referring to Molly's (or Shawn's) experience of being in a world of her own - not completely fitting in with the black world even though she was a supporter of their cause, and obviously not fitting in with the white world, most of whom regarded her and her family with a mix of contempt and suspicion.As apartheid movies go, this was somewhat unique in trying to tell the story through white eyes. To me, though, it didn't really succeed. While the regime (shown through its police and security forces) was ominous and ever-present, the movie seemed to lack intensity and treated the subject a little bit lightly. It's interesting, but to me it seemed to miss the mark. (6/10)

I enjoyed the movie tremendously.. In America, in Florida, especially apartheid is strong movement in every aspect of living.. It is strong in choices of housing,church,employment,even chosing your mate..I have felt the hate of apartheid even in my own family, because I had a handicap and health problems, and was mistreated as a slave for 30 years until now I am labeled as mentally ill but I feel like a POW, a political prisoner for standing up for my own unique, individual and individual beliefs that all human beings should be treated with dignity, respect and have a right to employment with a descent wage and a right to be free of torture or torment or abuse for differing from the community or world society or whoever makes the big decisions in the world about who is considered a human being which is usually someone who is bad and one who believes in hate and control rather than freedom and love and light.. I myself feel and live like Diana Roth over here even though the label on me is mentally ill.. I know hate and lived with it even in my own mother's womb and have tasted it in the air here in america ever since I landed in this country.. God's love only helped me survived this cruel, inhumane and hateful society against people who stand for truth, honest, and goodness.and most of all love for all people..not some...

Jodhi May deserved an Oscar for her work. All told, this is one of the finest coming-of-age stories I've ever seen filmed. And its ending is one of the saddest and most powerful ever - alongside "At Play in the Fields of the Lord."

I saw this film years ago, and some of it's scenes still haunts me. The story is set in South Africa and it's about a family which will be eventually destroyed by the problems there. The then very young Jothi May it quiet impressive in her debut and Barbara Hershey is equally good.