A look at the back-stage manoeuvring which led not only to the release of Nelson Mandela but the relatively peaceful transfer of power, in 1994, from the National Party to the ANC.
The topic and the access to big names couldn't be more enticing, it's just a shame the film-makers keep insisting that none of the above would have been possible without one man. Step forward, Jean-Yves Ollivier. He's a rich, white French businessman whose negative experience of Algeria's fight for independence, he says, made him want to play go-between in Southern Africa. We hear about him dipping into his own pockets to pave the way for freedom. We never learn how he filled those pockets in the first place and what advantages he may have gained by taking part in the negotiations.
Unless you think bored rich men who want to place themselves at the centre of history are intrinsically virtuous, Plot For Peace will leave you fizzing with frustration. We're in the shady world of Graham Greene, but we can't get past the sunny smiles.
