Winner of the audience award at the recent Mill Valley Film Festival, this vibrant
and emotional political thriller from director Phillip Noyce
(Rabbit-Proof Fence) stars Derek Luke and Tim Robbins
in the true story of a South African hero’s journey to freedom during the
apartheid era. Luke stars as Patrick Chamusso, an oil refinery foreman in 1980
who is apolitical, until he and his wife Precious (Bonnie Henna)
are wrongly interrogated and tortured by Afrikaner police colonel Nic Vos (Robbins).
In response, Patrick joins the African National Congress, becoming an activist
against an oppressive regime that brands him a terrorist. While vividly capturing
a specific time and place, and a political system that has (thankfully) passed
into history, Catch a Fire remains a potent tale with contemporary relevance,
as it questions the ethics and effectiveness of a state’s use of torture
in response to resistance. Patrick’s ultimate triumph is a story that mirrors
the South African miracle itself. Rated PG-13. Writer: Shawn Slovo. Producers:
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anthony Minghella, Robyn Slovo. Director: Phillip Noyce.
(UK/South Africa/US) 102 min.
Winner of the audience award at the recent Mill Valley Film Festival, this vibrant
and emotional political thriller from director Phillip Noyce
(Rabbit-Proof Fence) stars Derek Luke and Tim Robbins
in the true story of a South African hero’s journey to freedom during the
apartheid era. Luke stars as Patrick Chamusso, an oil refinery foreman in 1980
who is apolitical, until he and his wife Precious (Bonnie Henna)
are wrongly interrogated and tortured by Afrikaner police colonel Nic Vos (Robbins).
In response, Patrick joins the African National Congress, becoming an activist
against an oppressive regime that brands him a terrorist. While vividly capturing
a specific time and place, and a political system that has (thankfully) passed
into history, Catch a Fire remains a potent tale with contemporary relevance,
as it questions the ethics and effectiveness of a state’s use of torture
in response to resistance. Patrick’s ultimate triumph is a story that mirrors
the South African miracle itself. Rated PG-13. Writer: Shawn Slovo. Producers:
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anthony Minghella, Robyn Slovo. Director: Phillip Noyce.
(UK/South Africa/US) 102 min.
