There’s a scene early in the film where the French Foreign Legion is performing a rehearsal for an attack in a ruined building. There is no enemy surrounding them or being chased, apart from the imagined one. We cut to a group of local Djibouti women and it seems like they are witnessing this exercise, giggling. But the reverse shot (if it is even one) reveals that the probable object of their fascination is a brave (local) man standing on…
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The Bank Robber 1973
We can only speculate about the potential impact on the South African film industry if the dissident Sestigers writers had also turned their attention to scriptwriting. Prominent writer from this group Chris Barnard provides one such case in point of what could have been, having penned this jazzy caper. Directed by Afrikaans auteur, Manie van Rensburg, The Bank Robber follows a standard template of the genre initially, only to reverse it quite satisfyingly in the second half.
I could only…
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The Conversation 1974
Found myself thinking about this quite a bit afterwards. Poses some troubling ethical questions that obviously still remain relevant today. Only, the sense of morality seem to be missing from the equation for those finding themselves in Harry’s position nowadays. Intimately crafted on a small scale (by Copolla’s standards) and all the better for it. His decision to associate the surveillance expert’s guilty conscience with his religious beliefs, which are defined by omniscience and -presence, is a deft writerly touch. It elevates the film from being just a tense paranoia thriller into something more existential.
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Paljas 1998
“Ons gaan net aan. Ons maak of niks gebeur het nie.”
A stunning portrayal of the Afrikaner psyche re-emerging from years of isolation back into the world; which very well could seem like a circus to eyes that had been shielded for many years from these so-called evils. Yet, the protectionist attitude that reigned for so many years also bred a repressive mindset that shuns the admitting of vulnerabilities. It’s a pointed cultural observation, which Katinka Heyns portrays so wonderfully…
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West Side Story 2021
Technically dazzling with heaps of flair! And a large helping of blinding lens flare, too. West Side Story is perfectly suited material for Steven Spielberg’s idealism, romanticism, and melodrama that make his sentimental films feel like the Old Hollywood greats that inspired them.
I especially appreciated the very active camera movement (what an opening!) and flawless framing of dance sequences that distinguish it from the stage musical, where the actors’ expressions often remain at an obscured distance. (Or maybe I’m…
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