Russell Johnson

Set against the backdrop of the South African Truth and Reconciliation hearings, In My Country charts the depths of pain and suffering and the redeeming power of forgiveness and love. Washington Post journalist Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is skeptical about the process, feeling that it is just a way for the perpetrators to escape unscathed. Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche), an Afrikaaner poet and journalist, is enthusiastic, with great hopes of seeing her country healed. Instantly at odds over their opposing views, Langston and Anna are eventually drawn closer through the shared experience of listening to the moving and painful testimony. As Langston becomes increasingly drawn into Anna's world and her passion for the country of her birth, they both confront difficult questions.

A cynical American journalist's affair with a beautiful Afrikaans reporter opens his eyes to the healing powers of forgiveness in post-apartheid South Africa.

In 1996, the South African government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate abuses of human rights under apartheid. These hearings would serve as a forum for those accused of murder and torture to be confronted by their victims and, by admitting their guilt, be grantedamnesty under Ubuntu, the native custom of forgiveness.

An adaptation of Fulton Oursler's best-selling book the "Greatest Story" follows the life of Jesus Christ, played by Max Von Sydow. The large supporting cast includes Dorothy McGuire as Mary, Claude Rains as Herod the Great, Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas, Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, Donald Pleasence as Satan, David McCallum as Judas Iscariot, Sidney Poitier as Simon of Cyrene, Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate and Martin Landau as Caiaphas. Even Robert Blake as Simon the Zealot, Jamie Farr as Thaddaeus, and motorcyle-flick veteran Richard Bakalyan as Dismas, the repentant thief, are well-suited to their roles.