Come Back, Africa

This re-issue of a 1959 feature from American neo-realist filmmaker Lionel Rogosin—shot guerilla-style with a low-budget crew in South Africa—presents an unfiltered docu-drama of black life under apartheid. A rural Zulu man named Zacharia (Zacharia Mgabi) arrives in the bustling metropolis of Johannesburg, looking for work before the expiry of vital permit papers issued by white authorities. Zacharia lands and loses various menial jobs, including laborer in an outlying gold mine and “houseboy” for a whisky-swilling Boer wife and her slightly more enlightened husband. Eventually he marries a young woman, Vinah (Vinah Makeba), and fathers a child, but limited opportunities in the racist society end up banishing the tiny family to the lawless slum-townships. Look for a tuneful walk-on role by vocalist Miriam Makeba (who would spend decades in exile fighting apartheid and popularizing native music, often with Harry Belafonte). Even with its amateurish acting, Come Back, Africa remains a fascinating snapshot of a troubled era from which South Africa is still struggling to heal. Bonus features on this deluxe edition include an introduction by Martin Scorsese, “An American in Sophiatown” making-of documentary, a radio interview with Rogosin, Rogosin's 1970 film Black Roots (and a “making-of” featurette), and Jürgen Schadeberg's 1989 film Have You Seen Drum Recently? Recommended. (C. Cassady)