In Contention

Tag: Tsotsi

  • Hollywood, Johannesburg

    Sharlto Copley in District 9In January 2005, exactly one week after I left my birth town of Johannesburg to study film in the brighter lights of London, Darrell James Roodt’s earnest AIDS drama “Yesterday” became South Africa’s first Oscar nominee in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

    Only a month later, the rather better “uCarmen eKhayelitsha” took the Golden Bear at the Berlin fest; again, the country’s first production to take top honors at one of the major festivals. And only a year later, Gavid Hood’s “Tsotsi” went one better than “Yesterday” by taking the Oscar.

    By this time, I was beginning to wonder if the movie gods were sending me a sign that I’d picked the wrong country: South Africa’s film industry seemed poised for a crossover explosion. That didn’t quite happen. Hampered by the usual financial constraints of a third-world industry, the country went back to its steady output of provincial lowbrow comedies and not-quite-there dramas, few of them seen beyond its own borders.

    Almost five years later, however, something interesting is starting to bubble there again — but this time, it’s not South Africa’s own industry making waves as much as an international cinematic preoccupation with the country and its stories.

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  • Speaking of South Africa…

    White Wedding… as I just was, my Cape Town-based friend Ed just notified me that the country has selected their official foreign-language Oscar submission. “White Wedding” is a romantic comedy from novelist-turned-filmmaker Jann Turner, and starring Jodie Whittaker of “Venus” fame.

    The blurb describes it as “an appealing, feel-good movie about love, commitment, intimacy and friendship and a host of maddening obstacles that can get in the way of a happy ending.” Yes, but what’s it actually about? I’m afraid I’m none the wiser.

    Turner’s accomplished novels are on the sentimental side of socially conscious; I’m guessing that sensibility extends to her films. “White Wedding” has had a healthy domestic box-office run; an unusual feat in a country where local adult-oriented cinema rarely finds a large audience.

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  • ‘Moon’ takes top prize at Edinburgh

    Sam Rockwell in MoonThe Edinburgh International Film Festival closed today with an awards ceremony that culminated in Duncan Jones’s sci-fi debut feature “Moon” landing the fest’s most coveted prize, the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature. The jury, headed by Joe Wright and including Oscar-nominee Frank Langella, said of the film:

    We award “Moon” for its singular vision and remarkably assured direction as well as for the inspired manner in which it transcends genre. The central performance by Sam Rockwell embodies the film’s emotional complexity and compelling philosophical perspective.

    The award is an aupicious one; recent winners that have gone on to considerable international success include “My Summer of Love,” “Control” and Oscar-winner “Tsotsi” (yes, it’s British). I suspect Jones might land a few more citations, particularly of the Best First Film variety, before the year is out.

    (More details, and a full list of awards, after the cut.)

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  • “I just don’t know if I’m going to be that dope.”

    will.i.amWith “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” having landed with a bit of a thud, the snarkster in me couldn’t help but smile at a couple of soundbites from this interview with supporting player will.i.am:

    “I’m nervous to see my performance,” said the self-described “X-Men” fan. “My participation in it automatically lends itself to: That dude messed the film up.”

    “This film showed me what I’m capable of doing, and I’m capable of letting go,” he said. “Now I’ve got to let go and watch it. I know it’s going to be dope, I just don’t know if I’m going to be that dope.”

    Well, according to Kris’s review, what he’s “capable of doing” isn’t very much, but clearly, the film’s problems run deeper than having a gimmicky pop-hopper (not a real term, I admit, but how else to describe his music?)  in a supporting role. So to say he “messed the film up” would probably be unfair.

    But as fans of decent music know by now, will.i.am’s presence rarely augurs well for a project, so I guess the curse transfers to film as well. (Bias alert: I’m still bitter about Macy Gray’s hideous last album.)

    Meanwhile, someone from the “Wolverine” supporting gallery who I’d like to think has a brighter acting future is “Friday Night Lights” star Taylor Kitsch. (Gotta love that name.) There’s a fairly unrevealing piece about the young actor here, one of those that describes a process seemingly far more elaborate than the eventual performance. (If the film does indeed portray the “complexity” and multiple “levels” of the Gambit character alluded to in the article, the reviews aren’t reflecting it.)

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