A fugitive is given a ride by a minister on his way to a new church in a remote part of the Northern Cape Province South Africa. The minister comes on to the fugitive who accidentally kills him being frustrated with persistent timid drunken sexual advances. Not knowing what to do he hides the body in a quarry (title) and falls into assuming the minister's identity to hide from the police.
This movie was made 4 years after white rule ended in South Africa-- during the rainbow honeymoon.
This has to be one of the most unique movies I have watched in a long time--the director is Belgian and the original movie was surely entirely in Afrikaans?? In the version I watched the main roles The Fugitive---The Minister--The Police Chief etc...appeared to be dubbed into English and a poor job of it at that--most dubbers try to match up sound with lip movement not this one. Either that or the sound track was wildly out of sync?
It is a film noir with black majority rule sensibilities. The police chief has a black mistress who happens to be in charge of the church house keeping. The blacks are handled in a PC manner. The only one to get the PC shrift is the gay minister although his killer had trouble burying him. This movie could also be interpreted as a liberal attempt to analyze the evils of apartheid. The movie has extremely authentic views of small town rural SA 1998.
I saw nothing overpoweringly religious in it as other reviewers did perhaps just the opposite--the minister smoked and drank--what kind of baptist was he? The church was burned down by the marijuana smoking thief--biblical? or ironical a sort of satire it could be interpreted either way. Yes there is lots of symbolism....the torn umbrella at the end is a version of the black cloak...it will not protect the thief either. In jail there is a WHY ME? carved into the cell wall....lots of symbolism...am still trying to figure out the blue flower.
With some tweaking this could have been a really great movie--by toning down or even discarding! the PC baggage---a dream that will never happen.
The music is great (Takashi Kako)--and won an award.
RECOMMEND FOR ITS UNIQUENESS AND AUTHENTIC SCENERY
This movie was made 4 years after white rule ended in South Africa-- during the rainbow honeymoon.
This has to be one of the most unique movies I have watched in a long time--the director is Belgian and the original movie was surely entirely in Afrikaans?? In the version I watched the main roles The Fugitive---The Minister--The Police Chief etc...appeared to be dubbed into English and a poor job of it at that--most dubbers try to match up sound with lip movement not this one. Either that or the sound track was wildly out of sync?
It is a film noir with black majority rule sensibilities. The police chief has a black mistress who happens to be in charge of the church house keeping. The blacks are handled in a PC manner. The only one to get the PC shrift is the gay minister although his killer had trouble burying him. This movie could also be interpreted as a liberal attempt to analyze the evils of apartheid. The movie has extremely authentic views of small town rural SA 1998.
I saw nothing overpoweringly religious in it as other reviewers did perhaps just the opposite--the minister smoked and drank--what kind of baptist was he? The church was burned down by the marijuana smoking thief--biblical? or ironical a sort of satire it could be interpreted either way. Yes there is lots of symbolism....the torn umbrella at the end is a version of the black cloak...it will not protect the thief either. In jail there is a WHY ME? carved into the cell wall....lots of symbolism...am still trying to figure out the blue flower.
With some tweaking this could have been a really great movie--by toning down or even discarding! the PC baggage---a dream that will never happen.
The music is great (Takashi Kako)--and won an award.
RECOMMEND FOR ITS UNIQUENESS AND AUTHENTIC SCENERY