In Antoine Fuqua’s documentary “Troublemaker,” the director highlights Nelson Mandela’s activism as a conversation starter. Like the title suggests, Fuqua focuses on the rabble he roused. Or, as spoken in Xhosa, the “branches he shook.” It’s less a high school social studies essay and more an examination of the act of rebellion. It’s a daunting, overwhelming playbook that details how to disassemble oppressive regimes, as narrated by the lifeblood of the South African equality movement, Mandela himself.
Fuqua repurposes hours of recovered audio from early 1990s interviews recorded by Mandela’s ghostwriter, Richard Stengel, for the film’s narration. While “Troublemaker” covers relevant tidbits about Mandela’s royal childhood and romantic impulsiveness, its focus is on his unwavering protest against the White colonization of South African territories. “Troublemaker” proves how one man’s actions have ripple effects across generations, detailing later revolutionaries and youth movements that arose while he was locked behind bars on Robben Island. It’s an encapsulation of a centuries-long struggle that began with invaders seeking resources and culminated in Mandela’s presidential election, speaking to modern audiences about the necessity of collective action.
Artist Thabang Lehobye imbues “Troublemaker” with a unique visual style, blending smudgy oil paintings with flip-book-ish animation. Fuqua employs catalog footage where possible, but not everything Mandela speaks about to Stengel has a video counterpart. In these instances, Lehobye turns canvases into moving pictures as Mandela’s words give life to brushstrokes in motion. It’s more evocative than still-image slideshows or talking heads, infusing a documentary rich in historical significance with culture and creativity. Lehobye’s illustrative expressionism is loudly and proudly unique, just like Mandela.
While Mandela’s life story has been retold ad nauseam, Fuqua’s motivations are timely. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate recalls the horrendous conditions under which his people fell to Nationalist Nazi sympathizers, which hauntingly relates to modern blueprints being laid out in contemporary global culture, even here in America. The anti-Nazi graffiti, the mindless violence, the white supremacist values, all hauntingly echo wholesale apartheid wannabes to governments testing similar waters right here in the U.S. Fuqua doesn’t presume you’ll hear specific anecdotes anew; “Troublemaker” levels a stark warning by forcing viewers to acknowledge the past, and inspires resistance through Mandela’s “power to the people” philosophies.
It’s a grueling watch at times (expectedly). Mandela and his trusted collaborator, Mac Maharaj (newly interviewed), detail the grotesque interrogation methods used by Gestapo-esque foot soldiers, ruthlessly depicted by Lehobye. What’s worse is the flashed evidence photography of South African massacres, as Fuqua does not hide the inhumanity of apartheid enforcement.
Graphic imagery feeds into a prevailing theme that peaceful protest only gets you so far. Mandela’s words send a chill when addressing another desparate crowd before his arrest. He states, with my paraphrasing, that non-violent protest cannot work against irrational and hateful regimes. That’s the ethos of “Troublemaker.” The extent one must be willing to fight when opposition leaves no option.
And yet, there’s an element of repetition to the documentary’s overall composition. When it hits, it hits like an atom bomb. But there is a formulaic structure to the pace with which Fuqua’s narrative themes unfold. That doesn’t mean intentions fail or are devoid of strengths. It’s more how “Troublemaker” can feel a bit dry in its deliveries, relying on crackly recordings and animated vignettes. Again, that’s not to denounce Mandela’s legend or ignore Fuqua’s plea for viewers to reconcile with history’s cyclical nature. More a commentary on the delivery method, stuck in rigid documentary processes.
At its best, “Troublemaker” poignantly honors Mandela’s given birth name, Rolihlahla (that translates from Xhosa as ‘troublemaker’). In an American microcosm, Mandela’s defiance makes a mockery of the sternly worded letters from Democrats sent in response to Trump’s tyrannical atrocities, as we’re already seeing innocents gunned down on the street. On a global scale, it’s a reminder of how dire colonization tactics can become and the government-funded hatred that drives activists to the brink. And yet, while figures like Mandela were villains to their foes, they were and will forever be heroes to the rest of us. Nobody wants trouble, but sometimes, there’s no choice.
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