July's people

For years, it has been what is called a 'deteriorating situation'.

Now all over South Africa the cities are battlegrounds.

The members of the Smales family - liberal whites - are rescued from the terror by their servant, July, who leads them to refuge in his native village.

What happens to the Smaleses and to July - the shifts in character and relationships - gives us an unforgettable look into the terrifying, tacit understandings and misunderstandings between blacks and whites.