Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

alexxchiodo This film follows the tragic story about a girl named Sandra Laing attempting to define who she is as a person during the repressive time of apartheid. Born into a white family, yet having a dark skin tone, commonly referred to scientifically as polygenetic inheritance, Sandra is constantly questioning her sense of identity and belonging amongst people that, supposedly, love her. The film powerfully encapsulates this woman's struggle throughout her arduous life, and as a viewer leaves you inspired by her courage and effort to simply live a happy and liberated life. In essence, it's a tragic yet inspiring story that should be heard and acknowledged by all people.

TxMike This movie is based on a real person and her true story. However the end credits points out that some characters and some situations were created for dramatic effect, that's the way movies are made. But I will assume most of it is accurate.Sophie Okonedo is the adult Sandra Laing who, in 1955, was born during the period of apartheid in South Africa. The official teaching of the white South Africans, the Afrikans, was that white and black people were "different" and they should be kept apart. Apartheid.This is important for this story because Sandra's parents were both white Afrikans, but Sandra was brown with black, kinky hair. Her skin was not as dark as the usual black but clearly in looks more black than white.Although her parents and brother treated her and loved her all the same, this created many problems for Sandra growing up, starting with boarding school where the other students and even the faculty looked at her as black, and treated her that way. When she was a teen, desperate for acceptance and love, she met and ran off with a black man, which was strictly illegal since her parents had her officially classified by the government as "white". Plus her unyielding father rejected her, he so strongly upheld the ideals of apartheid.South African actress Alice Krige is the mother, Sannie Laing. The Irish and New Zealander Sam Neill of Jurassic Park fame is the dad, Abraham Laing.Very good movie, both for the quality of the story, and also for its significance for that period in history. All actors are superb. Saw it on Netflix streaming.

gradyharp Too few of us realize the atrocities of Apartheid, a social and political policy of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by white minority governments in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. 'The term apartheid (from the Afrikaans word for "apartness") was coined in the 1930s and used as a political slogan of the National Party in the early 1940s, but the policy itself extends back to the beginning of white settlement in South Africa in 1652. After the primarily Afrikaner Nationalists came to power in 1948, the social custom of apartheid was systematized under law. The implementation of the policy, later referred to as "separate development," was made possible by the Population Registration Act of 1950, which put all South Africans into three racial categories: Bantu (black African), white, or Coloured (of mixed race).' Yes, everyone knows the story of Nelson Mandela and the end of Apartheid, but too few of us recognize the appalling effects of that system on the peoples of South Africa. This true story should alter that and perhaps bring a higher degree of respect for those who survived that ugly system. Based on the book 'When She Was White' by Judith Stone, Anthony Fabian wrote the story (with Helen Crawley, Jessie Keyt and Helena Kriel) and directs this terrifying but ultimately triumphant film - a story we shall not soon forget. Abraham and Lannie Laing (Sam Neill and Alice Krige) are Afrikaans who live and work their general store in the countryside with their two children Sandra (Ella Ramangwane as the young Sandra and Sphie Okenedo as the mature Sandra) and Henry. The Laings have sequestered themselves because their daughter appears black. Abraham constantly defends the 'whiteness' of his daughter at every level of the government and finally the Laings obtain admission to private white school for Sandra and Henry. The school quickly dismisses Sandra because she 'is black', is beaten by teachers, and the school calls in doctors and other government support to back their opinion. But through the tireless efforts of Abraham he finally gets a certification of Sandra's 'whiteness'. Sandra faces intolerance from the community but finds solace in the attention of a 'kaffir', Petrus Zwane (Tony Kgoroge) and in time the frustrated Sandra accepts the warmth of Petrus and they fall in love. Abraham is furious and casts Sandra out of his home: Sandra and Petrus move into a black village and have babies until the whites demand the land on which the blacks are living and destroy Sandra and Petrus's home. Petrus turns to drink and blames his loss of all his goods on marrying a 'white girl': Sandra and her now three children move to Johannesburg to find safety and employment, having been rejected by Sandra's parents. When the Apartheid is banished Sandra becomes a spokesperson for her people and her country because she 'never gave up'. In this history of the Apartheid the impact is made so very much stronger by the fact that the film shows both sides of the struggle - from the white viewpoint and the black viewpoint. Sandra's father may have fought against the prejudice but when his daughter accepts being black, he is as raw and prejudiced as the rest of the whites. Sandra's mother (played with compassion by Alice Krige) maintains her love and support of her beloved daughter but by societal demands she must bow to her husband's wishes. As Sandra Sophie Okenedo shines in a performance that is brilliantly three dimensional - she is an enormously gifted actress. The entire large cast is excellent, recreating a period in history we can only hope will never happen again. This is a wholly satisfying film. Grady Harp

MartinHafer This is the true and very sad story of a young South African, Sandra Laing. Oddly, despite having two white biological parents, she had black features and skin that made her look biracial--a SERIOUS problem in South Africa during Apartheid! And because of that, she had not only legal problems (the parents had to fight in court to have her declared 'white'--otherwise, she would have been barred from most schools) but social ones as racists wanted nothing to do with this girl. Her childhood must have been incredibly lonely...very, very lonely.As Sandra grew, her problems fitting in didn't disappear--and in some ways they got a lot worse. Her own father slowly turned against her--resenting her for her skin color and the embarrassment her let it cause him. Eventually, Sandra met a black man and fell in love--and her racist father couldn't stand her being with 'one of them'! Mom's reaction wasn't much better. Eventually Sandra ran off to Swaziland with him--hoping to escape her insane life. Unfortunately, she was captured and imprisoned for crossing the border illegally. And, in the process, she was disowned by her loving family. Eventually, her new boyfriend also leaves her, as he, too, has trouble coping with her race--she is too 'white' for him! In the end, she is feeling lost and after two decades of estrangement, Sandra goes looking for her family.All in all, this is a heartbreaking movie--particularly so because it's all based on real life people. The acting, direction and entire production is very good and it's a film that no doubt will effect you. You just can't help seeing this sad tale and not feeling terrible for poor Sandra.By the way, you do wonder why the Laing family didn't just leave South Africa. They didn't--so it's only an academic question. But their decision to remain in such a hostile environment s quite curious--as were her parents' continuing to support the Apartheid system! Crazy.Also, I looked for a picture of the real Sandra Laing and noticed that her father did NOT look the least bit like Sam Neill! Bald and dull looking--not at all a hunk-meister like Neill!!