Some films are bad because they are badly acted or badly produced, or the script is weak. Amandla is none of these (much); it is a bad film because it is designed to convince the viewer that life is horrible, most people are horrible, and those who aren't, come to horrible ends. Seriously, there isn't a glimmer of hope throughout this pageant of brutality that makes Game of Thrones look like a Disney production. But at least the brutality of Game of Thrones takes place on an epic scale.
"Amandla" ("power") was a rallying cry of the anti-apartheid movement, so I was expecting something stirring, or at least politically aware, but it's hard to tell what message the film is trying to give. Don't move to Soweto? Don't take up burglary as a way to put your brother through police academy? Politically, it says little other than the New South Africa isn't everything it was cracked up to be. Yes, South Africa has serious problems with violent crime, but we all knew that, and the early '90s, when the film is set, were a peak. More importantly, there is no suggestion of how we should act on this or even interpret it; it's just there as a trigger for our tragic protagonist, a kind of "girlfriend in the fridge" trope with a more than usually nasty tqwist.
Speaking of girlfriends, the female characters only appear as sacrificial or self-sacrificial victims. As for the white characters, they are just the "good Boer/bad Boer" stereotypes. If anything, there's an implication (presumably unintended) that we'd have been better off if only the good Boers were running things.
"Amandla" is a completely misleading title. The overall message of this film seems to be: your dreams will be crushed and everyone you love will die, and it will be your fault as much as anyone's.
0 out of 0 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink