A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 29 nominations.
Top Critics Reviews
rotten:
You keep wishing, as "Mandela" plays out, that this were more than one movie.
– Moira MacDonald,
Seattle Times,
24 Dec 2013
fresh:
Elba has long been better than the film roles he's been offered, a tradition that continues with his leading role here.
– Barbara VanDenburgh,
Arizona Republic,
25 Dec 2013
rotten:
The life of Nelson Mandela is simply too big, too complex and too important to be contained in one movie.
– Tom Long,
Detroit News,
26 Dec 2013
rotten:
Nelson Mandela gets the Classics Illustrated treatment with this handsome, undemanding biopic.
– Ben Sachs,
Chicago Reader,
26 Dec 2013
fresh:
Even those familiar with the history will be impressed and moved to see these events as Mandela experienced them, before the Nobel Prize and universal adulation recast the past in a glow of inevitability.