The American Western is skillfully
transported to the rugged Eastern Cape in post-apartheid South Africa. (Review
by Patrick Compton - 8/10)
Destiny, gangsterism and corruption mark
the themes of this movie that convincingly imports Sergio Leone into a local
setting without compromising its essentially South African nature.
This is quite a trick to pull off and
director Michael Matthews and scriptwriter Sean Drummond manage it with aplomb.
There are gunfights, bar-room brawls and the kind of spare dialogue common to
the genre. There are also some stunning images of mountainous frontier
territory that are vividly captured by cinematographer Shaun Harley Lee.
And then there are a clutch of convincing
performances from the largely black cast who are holed up in Marseilles (filmed
in and around Lady Grey in the north Eastern Cape), a remote railroad dorp that
gets its name from colonial times.
Parallels are drawn between South Africa
and the old West. As in so many American Westerns, the local people (whether
they be Mexicans, American-Indians, poor farmers) are held in thrall by the
powers that be, whether they be outlaws, corrupt sheriffs or greedy
entrepreneurs.
In the brief early scenes it is crooked
apartheid-era cops, later on, after independence, the picture is differently
dark, with a bent Mayor and local gangsters calling the shots.
I have no idea what went through the minds
of the director and the scriptwriter, but I would like to think that their
borrowing of certain Western archetypes is not just a gimmick, but a genuine
attempt to create a parallel between the frontier histories of the US and South
Africa.
The story, briefly stated, concerns a group
of young friends (the “five fingers”) in Marseilles who are oppressed by
corrupt white cops. This leads to an explosion of violence in which one of the
fingers, teenager Tau (Toka Mtabane), shoots the policemen and flees the area,
leaving his friends to their fate.
Many years later, after a long spell in
jail for robbery, Tau (superbly played by Vuyo Dabula) returns home, to find
that things have not improved, albeit the oppressors have changed their skin
colour and modus operandi.
Initially, Tau tries to keep his head down,
calling himself “nobody” (perhaps after Clint Eastwood’s iconic “man with no
name”), but soon he finds himself forced to make some serious choices.
Among the excellent cast, Dabula gives a
nuanced performance as the conflicted Tau, Hamilton Dhlamini is wonderful as
“Ghost”, the flamboyantly villainous gangster boss with a sonorous voice to
match, and Kenneth Nkosi is empathetic as “Pockets”, the mayor of Marseilles
who has to cut too many deals with various devils in order to maintain a
comfortable lifestyle.
Five
Fingers for Marseilles is visually ravishing, in a
grim sort of way, and its studied pace (a little too studied at times) enables
it to develop characters and their complex relationships as well as some of the
pertinent issues that bedevil contemporary South Africa.
Cinematically, this is a classy offering
that ought to do well on both the local and festival circuits.
Dialogue is largely in Sesotho with
snatches of Xhosa, English and Afrikaans. English subtitles are used
throughout.
Five
Fingers for Marseilles opened on April 6 and is
showing at Suncoast, Gateway, The Pavilion, Midlands Mall and Galleria. –
Patrick Compton
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