BOESMAN AND LENA

Year: 2000
UK: Pathe
Cast: Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Willie Jonah
Director: John Berry
Countries: France / South Africa
USA: 90 mins
UK: 88 mins
UK Certificate: 12 contains single use of strong and coarse language and mild violence
USA Release Date: 17 November 2000 (Limited Release - Los Angeles)
USA Release Date: 3 November 2000 (Limited Release - New York)
UK Release Date: 20 April 2001


Synopsis

Driven from their shanty once again by the white man and laden down with their meagre belongings, Boesman (Danny Glover) and Lena (Angela Bassett) walk the South African Cape Flats a place they've been many times before, in a life they've been forced to live before. They find a rusty car door, some old logs, a tarp and in a familiar routine, start making their home on a muddy slope outside of Cape Town, wanting some warmth from the wet and windy night.

Lena, haunted by memories of happier days, wants to talk about their plight to find answers and meaning to her life. Boesman, filled with rage, spite and fear, wants to numb himself with wine and quiet Lena with his fists.

As the night falls, a stranger appears. He is a kaffir, a Xhosa tribesman. Although different from them, he is also looking for nourishment and Lena befriends the old. For Lena, he is another pair of eyes, a witness to her existence in this world. Boesman shuns him and mocks Lena for her sympathy. The man dies, leaving Lena alone with her memories and Boesman with his anger. But the mere presence of this stranger transforms the lives of the desperate couple who find their state basically the same, yet significantly altered.