I had read some about this movie before I watched it, so the very first scenes made me directly understand WHY the character Gavin Hood plays does what he does.
But I didn't think I would be surprised after this. I thought I had spoiled the film by reading about it, but I was wrong.
The story is simple, about a teen-aged boy killing an infant. The thing itself is so gruesome that you immediately think he actually did it, and don't question it much more... But the story is so well setup that you, after a while, start to question things.
Gavin Hood wrote, directed, produced and also plays the lead. I must say his strength is writing and second direction. He is not a super-perfect actor, at least not in the opening scenes, but after a while his rather flimsy approach is very nice.
The really good part of this film is the judge, perfectly played by Nigel Hawthorne.
I was surprised by this film. Many times. Not only did it portray the witch-doctor scenes with a crispy clear camera, so it felt like witch-doctor stuff in the 90's, it also portrayed everything else with such a realism that the movie felt more like a drama documentary than a feature film. Sometimes I felt like if this had actually happened.
If I understand correctly, the movie IS based on some actual court cases (but not one specific).
I enjoyed this calm and bright little movie. It's a film that makes you think about many things, and in the same time question your own beliefs and your own standards. The fact that it is set in South Africa of course brings out the race questions - and they too are there, but only on a secondary level, which is, perfect.
Great movie. 8 of 10.
The only bad things about it is that it could have used a slightly higher budget to make things look a little bit more "big". Other than that, most is great.
But I didn't think I would be surprised after this. I thought I had spoiled the film by reading about it, but I was wrong.
The story is simple, about a teen-aged boy killing an infant. The thing itself is so gruesome that you immediately think he actually did it, and don't question it much more... But the story is so well setup that you, after a while, start to question things.
Gavin Hood wrote, directed, produced and also plays the lead. I must say his strength is writing and second direction. He is not a super-perfect actor, at least not in the opening scenes, but after a while his rather flimsy approach is very nice.
The really good part of this film is the judge, perfectly played by Nigel Hawthorne.
I was surprised by this film. Many times. Not only did it portray the witch-doctor scenes with a crispy clear camera, so it felt like witch-doctor stuff in the 90's, it also portrayed everything else with such a realism that the movie felt more like a drama documentary than a feature film. Sometimes I felt like if this had actually happened.
If I understand correctly, the movie IS based on some actual court cases (but not one specific).
I enjoyed this calm and bright little movie. It's a film that makes you think about many things, and in the same time question your own beliefs and your own standards. The fact that it is set in South Africa of course brings out the race questions - and they too are there, but only on a secondary level, which is, perfect.
Great movie. 8 of 10.
The only bad things about it is that it could have used a slightly higher budget to make things look a little bit more "big". Other than that, most is great.