| Film Review | Dana Place |
Catch
a Fire
Tim Robbins
Derek Luke
Bonnie Mbuli
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Catch a Fire is a touching and inspirational film based on
the true life story of Patrick Chamusso, a South African
citizen living during the period of Apartheid who was
mistaken for an extremist determined to bring down the
current government. He ends up joining the group and using
his knowledge of the oil refinery he worked at to bring the
government to its knees. Chamusso gives up his life and
family to save a troubled nation under the oppressive grip
of a racist government.
Catch a Fire seems like less a film released inside the
state of California and more of someone’s obsession that
against all odds would make it to the big screen. You can
see passion and determination all of the actors that could
have very easily been pulled from pre-Mandela South Africa.
With the exception of its one noticeable actor, Tim Robbins
(more about him in a second), this film could have very
easily been hiding in someone’s closet for years. The film
feels like an authentic piece of a horrible history and that
feeling carries you throughout the film, leaving you with a
feeling of uneasiness and unabashed joy by the end of the
film. My only complaint is Tim Robbins. As a South African
expert in counterterrorism and interrogation, he is the only
piece of the film that doesn’t seem to fit. He is too well
known and too distracting to be placed in a film that is
trying to pull you into a moment and make you forget about
your surroundings. Also, whenever he speaks, his mumbling
and vague accent takes some of the tension out of a few
scenes of the film. This film is an important look at a time
in the history of South Africa that cannot be forgotten and
deserves to be told with reverence and mature contemplation.
Phillip Noyce does a wonderful job using this film to tell a
wonderfully poignant story.
