SA cinema escapes doldrums
BIANCA COLEMAN
ON THE back of watching two of what I consider to be among the finest films released this year –
Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story and
Kanarie – I am keen to explore the local content offering on Showmax.
It’s a successful component on the streaming platform and there’s a huge catalogue of movies and series with something to suit just about every adult and child’s tastes.
I began with the official South African entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Annual Academy Awards in 2017, Noem My Skollie. It was director Daryne Joshua’s debut; he also directed
Ellen.
In Afrikaans with English subtitles (which lost a lot in true meaning, so it’s useful to be able to understand and follow the Cape Flats dialect which will enrich your viewing experience), it’s based on the life story of the scriptwriter, John W Fredericks, in which Abraham “AB” Lonzi survives jail by telling stories – becoming “the prison cinema”.
Set in a different decade, it is as impossible not to be moved by the socio-economic conditions and their repercussions on the Flats in this film as it is with
Ellen. The story follows AB and his friends Gif, Gimba and Shorty from childhood as they form a gang for their own protection, through to the incident which leads to AB and Gimba being arrested and sent to jail. There they encounter the infamous Numbers gangs and do whatever they have to survive.
Winner of five South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas), including Best Actor (Dann Jaques Mouton as Abraham) and Best Supporting Actor (Abduraghmaan Adams at Gimba’s father, Mr C), Noem My Skollie (or Call Me Thief) is a touching and tragic story which had me weeping with all the feels at the end.
Other titles to watch now include: a sunny Sunday afternoon, I browsed my well-curated watch list (and added a few more titles) before deciding on The Girlfriend Experience (first and only on Showmax); a full season of 13 25-minute episodes can easily be watched in one sitting and gave me a wonderful sense of achievement.
It’s about a law student who becomes an escort on the side, a role which earned Riley Keough a Best Actress nomination at the Golden Globes last year. Executive produced by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh, Time named it as its second-best series of the year (season one).
Personally, I wouldn’t go so far. Yes, it was compelling enough to keep me watching but I feel it lacks depth of character. At no time did I feel particularly engaged in what Christine Reede (Keough) might be going through or thinking, or reacting to – and there are some pretty lousy situations, especially in the second half of the season, shame. Also, I’m the first to admit I don’t always focus 100% of my attention on the TV so the questions I have about plot twists and story lines could well be my own fault.
Like who sent the photographs? And the video on email? Did she have real feelings for David? No spoilers please, but if you have the answers, please let me know before I watch season two.
The content is very much of an adult nature, and it did cross my mind that the neighbours who could hear my television later in the evening were probably raising their eyebrows just a bit.