Whispering wind
This sweet tale of young lovers has darkness bubbling under the surface. By Sue de Groot
IMAGINE an episode of the 1970s SA sitcom The Villagers, directed by David Lynch ( Blue Velvet), with sets dressed by John Waters ( Pink Flamingos ), and you would have something pretty close to Die Windpomp.
In Afrikaans with English subtitles, this charming film tells the story of Hendri (Armand Greyling), a melancholy young man who likes to climb on the roof and look at the night sky through binoculars in hopes of seeing the Martians who abducted his parents. He knows, now that he is grown up, that there are no Martians, that his relatives were simply trying not to upset a small orphaned boy, but still he watches.
Hendri is living “temporarily” in an old-age home, where he is cosseted by Tannie Marietjie (Marga van Rooy), counselled by Dr Rossouw (Ian Roberts) and preyed on by Tannie Miggie (Grethe Fox). He plays the piano for a children’s ballet class taught by the captivating Margot (Leandie du Randt), who is very like a young Kate Winslet, full of snap and sparkle, grabbing everything life brings her way as though she had only that moment to be happy.
Du Randt and Greyling make a pretty couple with long lashes and shiny teeth. Both are skilled performers and the tenderness between them is beautifully conducted by director Etienne Fourie, who also wrote the script.
So far so chocolate box, but this is more than a sweet tale of young lovers. On the surface, Die Windpomp appears to be a set comedy piece about eccentric old people living in a place where death is treated with as much contempt as the “no fishing” sign next to the pond. It turns into something darker when Hendri follows a few of the “bejaardes ” through the forest one night and sees them swimming by moonlight under the mysterious windpomp of the title.
There is more than one secret lurking in the flowering shrubs between the garden gnomes and plastic flamingos, as it turns out. Too many clues are given away for the final denouement to be completely unexpected, but the film is worth watching for Tannie Marietjie’s wallpaper alone. Despite its sometimes trudging pace, it also stabs you in the solar plexus with its reminder of how extraordinary it feels to be young and in love, and how much we will miss those things when they are gone. LS
Die Windpomp is in cinemas on Friday