''Friends'' is a 1993 South African

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Elaine Proctor Elaine Proctor (born 1960) is a South African film director, screenwriter, novelist, and actress. Her film '' Friends'' was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Caméra d'Or Special Distinction. Proctor attended the N ...

. It was entered into the

1993 Cannes Film Festival The 46th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1993. The Palme d'Or went to '' Farewell My Concubine'' by Chen Kaige and ''The Piano'' by Jane Campion. The festival opened with ''My Favorite Season'', directed by André Téchiné and cl ...

, where it won an award for

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or International Critics' Week The International ...

Special Distinction. The film is set during

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and follows three friends who each represent a different faction of South African society.

Plot

Three young women live together in apartheid-era Johannesburg, with each of them dealing with apartheid in different ways. Thoko, a Black woman, works as a schoolteacher and practices non-violent passive resistance. Aninka, an

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

, is an archeologist who rejects her family’s pro-apartheid politics. Sophie, who is from a white British family, is a librarian but secretly belongs to an anti-apartheid terrorist organization. Sophie plants bombs in public places on behalf of the organization. One day, a bomb she leaves at an airport explodes and kills innocent bystanders, including an elderly Black woman. The tragic incident fractures the women’s friendships and loyalties.

Cast

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie ''An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

as Sophie * Dambisa Kente as Thoko * Michele Burgers as Aninka *

Marius Weyers Marius Weyers (born 3 February 1945, in Johannesburg) is a South African actor. He lives with his wife Yvette, an artist in her own right, in Rooi-Els in the Western Cape. He received international attention playing Andrew Steyn, a bumbling s ...

as Johan * Tertius Meintjes as Jeremy * Dolly Rathebe as Innocentia * Wilma Stockenström as Iris *

Carel Trichardt Carel Trichardt (born 4 March 1939), is a South African actor. He is the previous head of the drama department at the University of Pretoria. He gained fame as the voice behind the children's character, Knersis. He also appeared in several films, ...

as Rheinhart * Anne Curteis as Sophie's mother * Ralph Draper as Sophie's father *

Mary Twala Mary Kuksie Twala (14 September 1939 – 4 July 2020) was a South African actress. In 2011, she was nominated for Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Career Twala featured in several South African local productio ...

as Grace * Maphiki Mabohi as Daphne * Job Kubatsi as Maurondile * Vanessa Cooke as Prison's warden *

Jerry Mofokeng Jerry Mofokeng (born 17 April 1956) is a South African stage and screen actor who has appeared in several critically acclaimed films, including '' Cry The Beloved Country''; '' Lord of War''; '' Mandela and de Klerk''; and the 2005 Academy Award- ...

as Thomi * Trevi Jean Le Pere as Jeremy's lover

Reception

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote "The tense, divided realities of life in contemporary South Africa are vividly brought to the screen in Friends'',' a provocative pic from first-time writer-director Elaine Proctor. Despite intriguing characters and good performances, however, the film is saddled with a schematic screenplay that leaves many questions unanswered and problems unaddressed." Stratton contended though the screenplay has "many rough edges and contrivances", ''Friends'' "is so well-acted that the occasional flaws can be easily overlooked." He concluded "Proctor’s depiction of the uneasy atmosphere of Johannesburg between 1985 and 1990 is so vivid that audiences should be completely caught up in the drama." Writing for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', Leah Garchik said, "Friends''' is a movie about politics, but without political diatribe; about relationships, but without a single touchy-feely frame; about women, but without a feminist agenda; and about South Africa without bias from right or left." Barbara Shulgasser, writing for the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'', was more critical, stating, "Fox and Kente give stirring performances and Procter's depiction of South Africa's institutionalized prejudice is chilling. But the film never arrives at the emotional punch it seems to be moving toward and that is a disappointment." ''Friends'' was shown in competition at the

, where it won a Prix de Camera D’Or - Special Mention honor.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0106968, title=Friends *
Friends
' at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

*
Friends
' at Protagonist Pictures *
Friends
' at

TCM Movie Database Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

1993 films 1990s English-language films 1993 drama films 1993 independent films Films set in South Africa Films shot in South Africa English-language South African films 1990s political drama films Films about race and ethnicity Films directed by Elaine Proctor Films scored by Rachel Portman South African drama films Apartheid films Films set in 1985 1990s female buddy films