‘Country’ disappoints

Some very talented filmmakers and the best possible intentions come together on “In My Country,” a film about South Africa. The result is a muddle.

This film is based on a widely heralded book called “Country of My Skull,” by Antjie Krog. It documents the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings that followed the election of Nelson Mandela as president. The hearings did something remarkable, by demanding acknowledgment and culpability of atrocities during the apartheid era, but without seeking revenge, or even well-deserved punishment. In other words, someone guilty of murder and torture could avoid jail by publicly confessing their crimes and establishing that they were following government orders.

The storyline suggests an Afrikaaner poet, Anna (Juliette Binoche), has somehow been hired to provide radio coverage of the hearings for South Africa radio and NPR. Because the hearings travel across the country to villages and towns, the press corps travels along as a group.

Anna immediately locks horns with a Washington Post reporter, Langston (Samuel L. Jackson). She thinks the TRC process is a beautiful expression of the African idea of “unbuntu,” which favors reconciliation rather than retribution.

He’s rather suspicious of this, especially since Anna comes from a privileged white family whose fortunes were protected by apartheid. Being an African-American, he’d rather see justice meted out against the former oppressors.

Both characters spout their positions, in between trial sequences which recount atrocities in bloody detail. Intercut with this main story is Langston’s volatile interview with a notorious torturer, played by Brendan Gleeson.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, is a worthy subject for discussion, and the testimonies of the victims of apartheid crimes should be heard.

Having said that, this movie is dramatically inert and completely stilted. When the characters played by the usually reliable Binoche and Jackson try to imitate casual banter or romantic interest, they’re so stiff you can almost hear them creak.

When he’s on his game, director John Boorman is one of the best in the world. He’s made politically tinged movies, such as “The General” and “The Tailor of Panama,” but this time out he stumbles badly over the well-meaning material.

The subject matter demands something more than this painfully considerate approach. At the very least, it demands some air and life, which are noticeably absent.

Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche star in “In My Country.”

“In My Country” HH

Stilted: Painfully stilted treatment of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation hearings, seen through the eyes of an Afrikaaner (Juliette Binoche) and American (Samuel L. Jackson), both covering the trials. Good intentions can’t help the stiff characters and inert drama.

Rated: R rating is for language, subject matter.

Now showing: Metro.

“In My Country” HH

Stilted: Painfully stilted treatment of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation hearings, seen through the eyes of an Afrikaaner (Juliette Binoche) and American (Samuel L. Jackson), both covering the trials. Good intentions can’t help the stiff characters and inert drama.

Rated: R rating is for language, subject matter.

Now showing: Metro.