On the other hand there is Stoltz, the agent of the special branch, he is also a sly and cunning character like Stanley but is against Ben’s actions. His character is also very convincing, as his evil actions are reflected in his cold character. The two main women characters in the film are Ben’s wife Susan and Melanie the reporter: these two have very contrasting characters. Susan is not as mentally strong and courageous as Ben and is therefore unable to support him. She feels that Ben is fighting a helpless cause and is jeopardising his career and wealthy lifestyle.
In contrast to this Melanie is a tough reporter who goes on reporting the injustices to Black people regardless of the dangerous consequences she might face. She becomes very close to Ben and shares many of her personal feelings with him. In general I think the characters are very realistic and the film gets the audience to feel sympathy for them. The characters against Ben’s cause like are also get the audience emotional involved and possibly feel hatred towards the South African police and government. At a first glance I thought the film was going to consist of a clichi??
d plot of one mans fight against the system, which it was in some aspects. Although this film did not completely the classic individuals-versus-the-system scenario, because I did not expect Ben’s family, with exception from his son, to go against him like they did. The storyline and plot moved at a fairly fast pace, which gave it a slight element of adventure. Throughout the film there are some graphic scenes of violence. This can be seen at the beginning, which shows dozens of Black school children being chased through the village being masqueraded policemen with guns.
Additionally there is a torture scene, which I thought was terribly graphic. But this violence was not unnecessary because it was needed in the film to give it the strong element of realism. The aspect of the film I think is different from other films from a same genre is the ending. Usually a film like this would have a “happy” ending where Ben would have been successful in his fight for justice, but instead he is murdered. Out of revenge Stanley then kills the cop who murdered Ben, so one could say nothing was achieved.
This gives us the impression that the issues were not resolved. Although this film is certainly not a comedy I found some aspects of Stanley’s personality, his wit and cocky attitude to be humorous. I was worried about the quality of the film due the lack of famous actors and actresses (as shallow as that may seem) but this didn’t matter because I was very impressed with the way the film got it’s message across with very convincing characters, with good actors and actresses playing the parts. The film was very touching as well as slightly disturbing to watch.
The scenes that showed the schoolchildren shot by the police were very sad and disturbing to watch along with the torture scenes. This really gave the film a very powerful drama-like feel to it. Further more the film does make you consider that situations like these have actually occurred in real life and makes you think about the state the world is in, and how far we have come in terms of racial equality. Another major influence in the film that I think played a huge part in adding to the atmosphere of the film was the soulful soundtrack.
