south african film

1

Layla Fourie (South Africa) – How Long Can You Hold a Lie?

Layla Fourie Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Up for a slow-burning thriller with racial undertones? Here’s Layla Fourie, a young single mum in South Africa trying to earn an honest living. Unfortunately for her, an accident may derail all hopes of a normal life.

Why Watch Layla Fourie?
  • You like a good slow burning thriller
  • For the excellent acting of Layla’s son!
  • To hear one of the best (and simplest) interview questions
  • To continue exploring South African film (check out Tsotsi and District 9 first)
The Breakdown

Layla Fourie starts with what sounds like a doctor quizzing a woman about her health. Does she drink alcohol? Sometimes after work. Has she driven under the influence? Strange question for a doctor, but no. As the person asks her another question (has she ever lied?) the camera shows a lie test followed by a black hand tied to a pulse detector. It’s all part of a job interview, but it seems more like an interrogation. Luckily for Layla Fourie, she’s all lie-free.

However, at night the first piece of foreshadowing spells trouble: a car crash outside Layla’s apartment. The next night, whilst driving in the early hours of the morning with her young son, Layla is lost. She is obviously disorientated, she has to stop to look at a map and keeps flicking her headlights on and off (which doesn’t help clear up the darkness of the night). A few minutes later her son wakes up from a slumber and distracts her enough to crash into a man whose car has broken down.

Now it’s Layla’s time to lie. She becomes more suspicious of everyone and much less assured. Can she get away with what she’s done or will she be found out?

Conclusion

Whilst some of the coincidences seem a little bit too contrived, the film does keep up the tension for a lot of the film. If you’re into thrillers, especially those that delve into racism, then this film might just be for you.

2

Umbango – Your Chance to See a South African B Movie

Umbango Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

The framing is off, the characters are melodramatic, and the dialogue is cheesy at best. Welcome to the South African B-movie Umbango. It’s one of hundreds of films produced at the height of the apartheid for African audiences. By the early 1990s most of these films had disappeared, but luckily for you, Umbango is one of a few that have been recovered.

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Why Watch Umbango?
  • To see an authentic Zulu film (not counting that Michael Caine film)
  • It’s a classic B-movie – perfect to laugh at
  • Find out what kind of films were made under the apartheid
  • For an alternative to the polished South African films such as Tsotsi or District 9
The Breakdown

The opening introduces us to Kay Kay, a bandit chilling by a camp fire out in the wild. Another traveler joins him by the fire and pledges his loyalty to Kay Kay. They fulfill the typical bad-guy and silly side-kick role.

There are two things you’ll notice in this film:

  1. The production quality is pretty terrible. The camera framing is all over the place, the colour contrasts are often completely washed out, and the sets are obviously fake. You have to accept that this is a B-movie to enjoy the little things.
  2. The humour is very different to what you’re used to. It seems to be parodying the western genre as well as some South Africans (although I cannot confirm this). The characters also find calling their enemy ‘smelly’ hilarious. There’s a scene where the bad guy calls his nemesis ‘smelly like a jackal’ and ‘smelly as a skunk’ as if it’s the funniest thing in the world.

As long as you accept the poor production quality and can laugh at the strange humour, you’re in for a treat.

Conclusion

Watch Umbango to get an idea of what films were made for South African audiences under the apartheid. Whilst it is obviously a B-movie, it is still a lot of fun to watch!