By Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer
The main character of Oliver Hermanus' shattering "Moffie," set in 1981 South Africa, is a handsome, white 18-year-old. In the country's system of apartheid, he is a member of the ruling class, but he's no insider.
Shy, timid and closeted, Nicholas van der Swart (Kai Luke Brummer) is conscripted into the army as part of regulated military service for white males over 16. There, the film's title — an Afrikaans' anti-gay slur — isn't directed at him but it's hurled all around — an ever-present threat of ostracism and abuse. In brutal basic training, it's as if bullets are already flying perilously close to Nicholas.
But "Moffie," which opens in theaters and on-demand Friday, is more than a coming-of-age story about a young gay man in an unprogressive society. In following Nicholas into basic training, the film wades into the dark heart of apartheid and a cauldron of destructive masculinity. There, young men are indoctrinated, through the barks of drill sergeants, to an ideology of fear, oppression and nationalism endemic to 1980s South Africa but also to most any other place or era. Nicholas has been conscripted into an army of intolerance, one that sees him as an enemy.
From the start, the imagery by Hermanus and cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay is grittily intimate, tactile and vivid. The score by Braam du Toit sets an ominous tone. The camera trails overhead the train that will take Nicholas to the barracks as it snakes slowly over the grasslands. We only briefly glimpse his life beforehand; his father hands him a girlie magazine for "ammunition." On the train, a soon-to-be-friend (Stassen, played by Ryan de Villiersoffers) offers him a drink. When Nicholas declines, Stassen replies, "Are you sure? Do you know where we're going?"
They're in training for the border war with Angola and the perceived threat of communism. The training, at the orders of Sergeant Brand (Hilton Pelser), is grueling. While suffering under the hot sun, they're not just turned into warriors but brainwashed into believing communists, "Black savages" and "moffies" are all to be "cured" by killing them. Some of the scenes of bodies in the desert suggest Claire Denis' "Beau Travail." Life in the barracks nods to Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket."
For Nicholas, it means keeping himself hidden except for a stolen glance or a moment of understanding from another in the same predicament. So silent and interior is the performance by the striking Brummer that Nicholas stays, to a certain extent, hidden from us, too. A single flashback to his life beforehand gives a hint at how he has been conditioned to feel only guilt about his sexuality. As time goes on, Nicholas realizes he's not alone, and our sense of the many lives — both Black and white — left broken, beaten or dead by a heinous othering only expands.
It's an usual perspective for an apartheid film, something the director — who is gay and mixed race — has acknowledged initially recoiling from. But that point-of-view only makes Hermanus' mission all the more laudable. His film, adapted from a novel by Andrรฉ Carl van de Merwe, is like an inside job. By burrowing within the brutal propaganda of apartheid, Hermanus, in his intensely expressive, achingly sorrowful fourth film, has captured a mean machinery at work — one that still abides, long after the end of apartheid.
"Moffie" an IFC Films release, is unrated by the Motion Picture Association of America but contains intensely violent scenes. Running time: 106 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
Oscar and Emmy-Winning Composer Kris Bowers Joins Barking Owl For Advertising, Branded Content
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowersโ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, โHis artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.โ
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, โKris first caught my attention when he released his record โHeroes + Misfitsโ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More