Dilemma

: Zakes Mokae i "Dilemma"

DILEMMA blev optaget illegalt i Johannesburg, Syd Afrika, 1962. Det vil sige midt under apartheid perioden, der hærgede landet fra 1948 til 1989. Filmen er delvis baseret på en roman med originaltitlen A WORLD OF STRANGERS, skrevet af den senere Nobel Pris vinder (1991) Nadine Gordimer.

Hovedrollerne spilles af Zakes Mokae, Evelyn Frank, Ivan Jackson og Marijke Haakman. Gideon Nxumalo spiller en komponist i historien, men han har også komponeret den musik, der bliver opført i filmen af musikere som Makay Davashe og Kiepie Moeketsi og af sangere som Abigail Khubeka og Sophia Mcinga.

Underlægningsmusikken leveres af Max Roach (trommer) og af Abbey Lincoln (vocal), hentet fra deres plade "Freedom Now Suite", indspillet i København i 1960.

Premieren fandt sted samtidig i København, Oslo og Stockholm i Oktober 1962. Da meget få mennesker dengang var fortrolige med begrebet apartheid, der altså havde eksisteret siden 1948 (men der var jo ikke noget, der hed CNN dengang), vakte filmen ret stor opmærksomhed. Få uger efter premieren var anti-apartheid kommitterer etableret i de tre skandinaviske hovedstæder, og det var de tre skandinaviske lande, der var de første til at tage problematikken omkring apartheid op i FN.

Filmen er tilgængelig på DVD (både PAL og NTSC)

Filmen har danske undertekster. Bonusmaterialet omfatter dels en tv-film af Anders Østergaard, "Gensyn med Johannesburg", som viser Henning Carlsen’s møde med Evelyn Frank og Zakes Mokae i Johannesburg 34 år efter optagelserne fandt sted, dels en beretning af instruktøren om filmens tilblivelse. Begge bonus'er har engelske undertekster (om man vil).

”Dilemma” blev vist på Museum og Modern Art i New York fra den 9. til den 15. Maj 2008, hvor den indgik I en serie der hed Jazz Score. Læs hvad New York times skrev om "Dilemma" i den anledning:

Pullizer Price vinner i kategorien Film Kritik (2005), Wall Street Journal’s filmkritiker Joe Morgenstern, skrev den 8. Juni 2008 i et privat brev om ”Dilemma:

Dear Henning,

More than a month ago I told you it would be another week before I looked at the DVD. I'll spare you the excuses. The main thing is I finally watched it all, and I can't tell you -- though I'll try -- what a moving experience it was. The film is a treasure. Sure, it's flawed dramatically, as you say in your interview, but invaluable as a historical document (and, of course, wonderful musically), as well as a testament to your clear-sightedness and courage. Not knowing what was to come in Johannesburg Revisited, I was enthralled by the luminous black-and-white footage of the city and society as they were, and, flaws notwithstanding, by the substance and dynamics of the plot, and by Zakes Mokae's performance. But then came the stunning reversals and ironies -- and heart-rending beauties -- of the return trip, with moments I'll never forget. You saying to the chirpy-cute and perfectly uncomprehending Avis girl that it was your first trip back to South Africa in 34 years. Mokae on the street where he lived, uncomprehending too as he stares at the ghastly, tidy little cottages with security warnings on the gates and tries to take in the full sweep of the changes. And, as if to personalize the paradox of a society turned upside down, the moment when Mokae chastises Evelyn Frank for an observation that, how did he put it, only whites would make.

The point-counterpoint of the film and the return speak eloquently of the passage of time, the limited abilities of people to learn and the human struggle. You achieved so much more than you originally set out to do, and that was a great undertaking in its own right. (Though a failure as a film about the place of refrigeration in South African life.) Thank you so much for sending -- and inscribing -- the DVD. We're very old friends by this time, but now I know you so much better.

Love to you both,

Joe

Stedet, hvor man kan henvende sig for at opnå filmen er retteligt: magic-lantern(at)magic-lantern.dk
Den koster kr. 100,- + forsendelse. Husk at vælge mellem NTSC og PAL

Se trailer her:

Internet Movie Database: Dilemma