AT THE MOVIES WITH DILLON KIMMEL
The events of Catch a Fire follow the real-life struggles of Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) a conforming citizen turned freedom fighter in the 1980s in South Africa, a time marred by the all-white government’s horrific policy to apartheid.
Through the conflict rose the ANC (African National Congress), who carried out numerous attacks intended to embarrass and pressure the government to step aside, allowing the 22 million blacks within South Africa to reclaim their freedom.
We first see Chamusso content with staying low at his management job (a rarity for blacks at the time) at the Secunda Oil Refinery, which supplies the oil for the entire country. He enjoys spending his time with his wife and two girls. He also coaches a youth soccer team on the side. But when the plant is bombed, he is accused of the crime simply because he had access to the part of the plant that was blown up. He is held without a lawyer for days and is repeatedly tortured, but he refuses to give himself up for a crime he didn’t commit. Determined to bring him down, the Director of Counter-Terrorism, Nic Vos (Tim Robbins), brings in Chamusso’s wife, Precious (Bonnie Mbuli), who, it is inferred, is beaten and raped by Vos’s cronies.
To spare his wife, Chamusso dreams up a false confession but gets the details wrong. Vos lets Chamusso go, realizing his mistake but offering no remorse for the horror that has befallen him and his wife.
Furious, Chamusso becomes determined to fight back. He leaves his family in the middle of the night to join the ANC. He trains with them for months, and in the meantime prepares a plan to cripple the government by sending their precious oil refinery up in flames.
Race divide will always be an issue in our society, and it certainly will remain an issue in our past. Catch a Fire distinguishes itself from other films like it in the fact that it is told by an African, from his perspective. It takes an unflinching look into the horrors of the apartheid period in South Africa but does become far too preachy in the latter moments. It takes far too long to get going, but once it does kick-start, it is a fairly entertaining political thriller-biopic mix.
Chamusso is an effective hero to an extent, but his own faults (including a scandalous affair to which he never really explains) cost him credibility with the audience. At the same time, however, Chamusso does seem like a real person with genuinely real problems, but his faults still deter too much. Furthermore, Robbins is completely emotionless. If that was the filmmaker’s intent, to make his character hardened and uncompromising, it didn’t come off that way. He came off far too apathetic and stiff.
This movie should have been made in 1996, not 2006. Most of the viewers who see this movie will vaguely remember, if at all, the apartheid over 25 years ago. And the lack of explanation of the details of this specific time will leave some viewers wishing they knew a little more background before delving in.
Despite some glaring problems, the movie has its strong points too. Derek Luke delivers a terrific performance. The script isn’t particularly deep, but Luke does a great job of making the character his own. In a movie marred by lack of emotion, he delivers. Catch a Fire also nails home the idea that one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist. And although it mostly shows the freedom fighters in a good light, it does expose their often rash and foolish choices.
Catch a Fire is a lukewarm political thriller at best. Its obnoxiously slow start and dull character performances (aside from Luke) bog down an otherwise solid film. 2 stars.
> Read More Information About Us
> More Articles Written By Our Staff
- Community Invited To Paint Rocks For Urban League Project - April 26, 2024
- The “Bad Guys” In Your Garden & What To Do About Them - April 26, 2024
- Why Voting In The Primary Election Matters - April 26, 2024