Cry, the Beloved Country (1995 film) Cry, the Beloved Country (1995 film) Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1995 South African-American drama film directed by Darrell Roodt, based on the novel "Cry, the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton. It stars James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. The film was made in 1995, shortly after the fall of apartheid and the free election of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. Set in South Africa in October 1946, before the implementation of apartheid, this is the story of church minister Steven Kumalo who is requested from his village to Johannesburg. There he discovers that his son Absolom
Cry, the Beloved Country as Kumalo travels from place to place, he begins to see the gaping racial and economic divisions that are threatening to split his country. Eventually, Kumalo discovers that his son has spent time in a reformatory and that he has gotten a girl pregnant. Meanwhile, the newspapers announce that Arthur Jarvis, a prominent white crusader for racial justice, has been murdered in his home by a gang of burglars. Kumalo and Msimangu learn that the police are looking for Absalom, and Kumalo's worst suspicions are confirmed when Absalom is arrested for the murder. Absalom confesses to the crime but states