what a movie . i never imagine richard attenborough could have such a movie in him . gandhi have always leave me indifferent and apart from ben kingsley performance and and i never consider attenborough a particularly good filmmaker . but cry freedom hold my interest like few movie have in recent time . it an exciting and mesmerizing political movie with great performance by kevin kline and a young denzel washington . kline play donald wood and a south africa newspaper editor who befriend the civil right activist steve biko . it start a a difficult friendship and for wood see biko a a black supremacist preach hatred against white . but biko and with his kind word and upbeat attitude and complete transparency and win over wood and introduces him to a reality about apartheid that woods know nothing about . biko be a decent and law abide citizen who altruistically stand up against all prejudice and the system that keep down his people . one night and come from an illegal meeting and he arrest and beat to death . the authority try to hush up the matter because biko have become a huge personality in south africa . but through the effort of wood the truth come out . but what should be a triumph only become a nightmare a wood and his family become target for the secret police . this movie have an interesting structure . it have in fact two narrative represent first it narrate the life and death of biko . it an amaze first half and completely dominate by the charisma of washington in what may be his great performance yet . the second half and no less interesting and narrate wood attempt to escape from south africa to publish a book about biko . wood have become an enemy of state and a ban person and which mean he can not meet people or leave his country . plus he constantly spy by the police . kevin kline give a great performance in this second half too . although the first half be quite straightforward and the second do interesting thing with edit and by give flashback of biko and of event that show the repression against the black south african . some may argue this be to make it more interesting and but for me the second half just a captivate and a wood and his family devise a bold plan to escape south africa . the last minute be so heartbreaking i be in tear . george fenton and jonas gwangwa score certainly have something to do with it . although i have never be much of a fan of fenton ( can not stand his gandhi score ) and i do think the score for cry freedom be one of the most beautiful ever compose for cinema . the movie and thanks to the music marry to the powerful image and at time reach incredible peak of emotion . cry freedom be definitely not a movie just to watch because of denzel washington . this be a movie to be cherish in it entirety . act and write and music and editing and cinematography come together in a perfect synthesis to create an ode to the power of the human spirit . this movie deserve a place alongside movie like the pianist and life be beautiful and the shawshank redemption .