Yesterday
by Darrell Roodt
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DVD details
Actor: Camilla Walker, Harriet Lenabe, Kenneth Khambula, Leleti Khumalo, Lihle MvelaseDirector: Darrell Roodt
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-01-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Hbo Home Video
DVD Reviews of Yesterday
DVD Review: Excellent
Summary: 4 Stars
I really can't say enough about this film. It's presented as a rather light topical piece about a family in Africa who learns they have contracted the AIDs virus. It avoids seeping political statements (namely accusations) and still engages in a fairly interesting discussion about the stigma associated with the disease. Yesterday is beautifully shot and well worth the 10 dollars.DVD Review: deeply moving and memorable
Summary: 5 Stars
Yesterday is a heartrending portrait of a very brave South African woman who, after falling ill, learns that she is HIV positive--and that her prognosis is poor to say the least. While this is not a film for the faint at heart, it's a rare look at how AIDS affects people in rural African communities. The acting is very convincing; the casting could not have been done any better. The cinematography is especially memorable as this film was shot in Africa; the scenic landscapes and that long opening shot of the African desert stand out and even drive home the desolation the principle characters feel during the movie. The choreography works best in crowd scenes but the scenes at the village water well are also very well choreographed. The plot held my attention every step of the way and at the end I was very deeply moved.
When the film begins we quickly meet a young South African woman named Yesterday (Leleti Khumalo) and her daughter Beauty (Lihle Mvelase) as they make the long walk to a medical clinic far from their village. Unfortunately, when they arrive they are turned away--they have come too late for the clinic's only doctor to be able to see them; and this happens again the following week. However, Yesterday has a bit of good luck; she befriends a newcomer to the village who is a warmhearted schoolteacher (Harriet Lenabe). The teacher sees that Yesterday has difficulty just getting to the other village in time to make the doctor so she pays the five rand for Yesterday to take a taxi to the clinic. Once at the clinic, Yesterday becomes alarmed when the doctor (Camilla Walker) wants to draw blood for testing. Things only worsen; when Yesterday returns the following week for her blood test results she learns that she is HIV positive and that she will surely die because there just isn't enough medicine for the clinic to save lives.
And it gets even bleaker, although Yesterday bravely puts on a smile for the sake of keeping her daughter Beauty in good spirits. Yesterday must now tell her husband John (Kenneth Khambula), who works in a mine in Johannesburg, that she is HIV positive and that he must get tested for the virus, too. When Yesterday tells John, he becomes enraged at the very thought of all this and he viciously beats up Yesterday while the supervisor simply sits there and does nothing to stop it.
Of course, from here the plot can go anywhere. How long with Yesterday live? She wants to survive at least until her child Beauty starts school. Will her husband John also be HIV positive? Will Beauty need to get tested as well? What happens if the villagers ostracize the family? Who will look after Beauty when Yesterday has passed on? Watch and find out.
Yesterday is one of those rare movies that you watch knowing that you're seeing a very high quality film from start to finish. These actors gave everything they had to make their performances shine; and it shows. This is a remarkably poignant drama that should stir emotions in anyone who has a heart. In addition, I highly recommend this film for people interested in human rights and the fight against AIDS.
DVD Review: Yesterday
Summary: 5 Stars
Beautiful movie; I absolutely loved. Moving story of the resilience of one African woman living in poverty, but determined to make a better life for her daughter.DVD Review: Yesterday is very Today
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want a passionate portrayal of health and social issues tearing sub-Saharan Africa apart, don't miss this movie. Don't be put off by the subtitled Zulu dialogue, Yesterday transcends that with first rate acting and brilliant cinematography. The production values and direction are unsurpassed resulting in a work that is both heart rending and uplifting at the same time. Having spent 14 years in nearby Swaziland, I can testify to the toll Yesterday depicts on the people of that region.
Don't miss this movie!
DVD Review: Pulls on heart strings..
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is simply beautiful from beginning to end. Even though it's sad the way Yesterday finds out she is infected, her tenacity and devotion is unbelievable. Her love for her family truly sustains her through it all in every sense of the word. The strength she projects throughout the film reminds us that we have no idea what we are capable of until we are put in a particular situation. Even her daughter Beauty, in her innocence of childhood, displays a level of strength you would not expect in a child of her age. The scenery and music just added to the splendor of this movie. I'm just sorry there is no soundtrack available. Everyone should see this movie, and do whatever they can in an effort to find a cure for all.
Description of Yesterday
After falling ill, Yesterday (Khumalo) learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school. Set against the awesome, harsh landscapes of South Africa, Yesterday is an eloquent, unsentimental film that quietly builds an overwhelming emotional forceAs beautiful as it is heartbreaking, the Oscar?-nominated drama Yesterday brings an intimate human perspective to the AIDS crisis in Africa. On the surface, it's a harsh and devastating story about bad things happening to good people, but such a limited description robs the film of its warmth and tender compassion. Best known for his 1995 drama Cry the Beloved Country, director Darrell James Roodt returns to his native South Africa for this moving and heartfelt portrait of a young, devoted mother named Yesterday (played by Leleti Khumalo, from Hotel Rwanda) who learns that she is HIV positive, and remains determined to stay alive until her young daughter Beauty (Lihle Mvelase) is old enough to go off to school. Her husband (Kenneth Khambula) is also stricken with AIDS, and Yesterday cares for him even as they are ostracized by fearful neighbors in their tiny Zulu village. One might expect a film about AIDS to be terribly depressing, and Roodt pulls no punches when conveying the emotional anguish of Yesterday's dilemma. But Yesterday is so visually beautiful in terms of its physical and spiritual landscape (it was filmed in the expansive KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa) that it's universally appealing, and the score by Madale Kunene adds just the right emotional seasoning to the film's ethnic roots. Anyone with a beating heart can relate to Yesterday's plight as a caring wife and mother, and Khumalo's performance is so lovely that she lights up the screen, even (and perhaps especially) during Yesterday's darkest hours. Without pounding on its point, Yesterday puts a human face on a global crisis that's too often viewed on impersonal terms. --Jeff Shannon
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