A MILLION COLOURS
Powerful redemption buried beneath extreme material.
Should You Watch It?
A MILLION COLOURS is a well-made, emotional, and highly entertaining drama with a strong Christian message. Its actors portray the desperation and frustration of life during apartheid, while the story argues that friendship can cross racial barriers and that Jesus Christ—not political ideology, wealth, or poverty—is the only answer.
The film’s message comes at a steep content cost. It includes witchcraft, drug use, sexual material, at least 12 obscenities, and many scenes of very strong violence. The ending is full of hope and promise, but the source review doubts that many people of faith and values will sit through the extreme material to reach it.
So, watch it at home only if you are a discerning adult prepared for the content and want to consider its message.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESA MILLION COLOURS follows two former South African child movie stars after their successful film helped show that friendship could exist across racial barriers.
During the height of apartheid, Norman refuses to fight for the system and continues working toward racial friendship. His former best friend, Muntu, struggles to survive on the streets while pursuing his love for Sabela. Both men face painful choices as they search for truth and hope amid national turmoil.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is a strong film with significant limitations. The acting, direction, and cinematography are excellent, and the performers effectively portray the desperation and frustration of apartheid-era life.
The narrative covers a long period and therefore moves quickly, covering too much territory. Still, the story builds toward an ending full of hope and promise. Its emotional and redemptive strengths are real, even though the extreme material may prevent many viewers from reaching them.
The Worldview
A MILLION COLOURS presents a strongly Christian, moral, and biblical perspective. It follows a character repeatedly fighting for truth, mercy, friendship, and compassion. A mother and a pastor encourage repentance and acceptance of Christ’s forgiveness, while the film refutes drugs, extramarital sex, cruelty, political violence, and racism.
The film also places its redemptive message inside a world marked by witchcraft, tribal beliefs, criminal behavior, and racial oppression. Its central idea is “redemption through suffering,” and its underlying message is that the God of the Gospel is the God of fresh starts. The story rejects both right-wing and left-wing politics, wealth, and poverty as ultimate answers, pointing instead to Jesus Christ.
The film’s central longing is for truth, hope, and a new beginning. Scripture says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong Christian evangelistic, moral, biblical story with a strong biblical perspective with one main character repeatedly fighting for truth, mercy, friendship, and compassion, one man’s mother and a pastor adamantly encourage repentance and acceptance of the forgiveness of Christ, with a refutation of drugs, extramarital sex, cruelty, political violence, racism, members of the army who make many anti-communist statements, and many elderly men and women believe in the powers of “magical bones” and witch doctors; at least 12 obscenities (including some “f” words); very strong violence includes many battle scenes where both schoolchildren and adults are shot, rocks are thrown at people, people are lit on fire, woman burned alive with a tire around her neck, people are beaten with clubs and rocks, people are electrically shocked, fistfights break out, bombs are set off inside cars, man crushes man’s leg with rock, woman shot in stomach and becomes barren, and biting; some sexual content, including one young woman tries to get her boyfriend to sleep with her so she can lose her virginity, it is implied that one main male character sleeps with a girl and gets her pregnant, tribal chief forces himself on his young wife; natural nudity among Zulu tribesmen who do not wear shirts and tribeswomen who wear bikini-like tops; main character becomes an alcoholic and a drug addict; and, racism against Africans, main character steals cars, men set off bombs in cars, young girl is sold by her family to be the wife of a chief (who’s at least twice her age), and villain lies, cheats, steals.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Norman refuses to support an unjust system. How should Christians respond when political power conflicts with truth and compassion?
Micah 6:8 · Acts 5:29The film presents friendship across racial barriers as a source of hope. What does Scripture require of us when prejudice divides people?
James 2:1–9 · Galatians 3:28Muntu turns to alcohol and drugs while coping with guilt and painful choices. Why do repentance and forgiveness offer more than escape?
1 John 1:9 · Ephesians 4:22–24The story points to Jesus Christ as the only true answer. What does it mean to become a new creation in Christ?
2 Corinthians 5:17 · Titus 3:4–7The Final Word
A MILLION COLOURS is an excellent-looking, emotionally powerful drama with a hopeful Christian message. But its violence, profanity, sexual content, drugs, and witchcraft make it unsuitable for children and young teens. Our answer is WAIT FOR HOME — ADULTS ONLY. For gentler family viewing, begin with.
