"Stander"
In the late 1970's, the segregated black townships of
South Africa were seething with hatred for the white
minority apartheid government. Andre Stander (Thomas
Jane), the youngest captain on the South African
police force, is on riot duty in one of the centers of
discontent and, when violence breaks out, he kills one
of the rioters. This act changes the man from staunch
supporter of his government into the country's most
famous bank robber in "Stander."
The killing that Stander committed "in the line of
duty" had such an impact on the man that he refused to
comply with his commander's order to return to riot
duty. Such a move, he knows, will ruin his budding
career as the rising star on the S.A.P. When, one day,
the entire station is emptied out for riot detail,
Stander finds that he is alone. On a whim, he walks
into a nearby bank, draws his gun and robs it. He
calmly walks out, buys a newspaper and drops the loot
into the lap of the surprised newsboy before returning
to the station. His clean escape emboldens the young
cop and he begins to take a liking to the excitement
and danger of his newfound calling.
Stander continues his audacious crime spree and
becomes a master of disguise, robbing a bank during
his lunch hour then coming back in his official form
to investigate the robbery. As Stander's criminal
notoriety grows, so does the interest of his bosses in
the string of robberies. Their public embarrassment at
not stopping the crime spree force a huge effort,
ending with Stander's arrest and conviction. He is
sent to prison for a long, long time.
The South African authorities keep Stander under lock
and key for three years. During this time in prison he
befriends Allen Heyl (David Patrick O'Hara) and Lee
McCall (Dexter Fletcher) and the trio plan and execute
a daring jailbreak. Dubbed the Stander Gang, the three
criminals begin a bank robbery spree of legendary
proportions, sometimes robbing as many as 4 banks a
day. They become South Africa's most notorious outlaws
and most popular anti-heroes.
Bronwen Hughes, whose previous works were the cute
"Harriet the Spy" and the non notable "Forces of
Nature," gives us a pleasant surprise with his taut,
well-made crime drama that agreeably showcases Thomas
Jane in the title role. Jane handles his center stage
duties quite well and the actor is aided immeasurable
by his costars O'Hara and Fletcher. The film works
best when these three are together and a real
chemistry takes place among these disparate
characters. Things work less well when Jane plays off
Deborah Kara Unger as Stander's wife Bekkie. It's not
that there is a problem; it's just that Unger is
saddled with the two-dimensional role as the suffering
spouse. Other support is well played.
Browen and his crew craft a good period docudrama that
steeps itself in the tensions and violence of that
time when the vast majority of South Africans were
yoked by the iron hand of the Afrikaaner minority. The
helmer's stylistic you-are-there look to the pivotal
riot sequence is reminiscent of Peter Greengrass's
"Bloody Sunday" and the whole film is well-captured by
the skilled lens of relative newcomer Jess Hall.
Costume (Darion Hing) and production design (Lester
Cohen) do a masterly job in creating the look and feel
of the often violent world of Johannesburg during that
volatile period in South African history.
A good story, well crafted, with a glimpse into a
hitherto unseen world represents a leap forward,
artistically, for Hughes. Unfortunately, "Stander's"
release is having problems and few may have the
opportunity to catch it at the theater. Put it at the
top of your pick list when it comes out on DVD. I give
it a B+.
For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com
robin@reelingreviews.com
laura@reelingreviews.com
========== X-RAMR-ID: 38522 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1312882 X-RT-TitleID: 1134564 X-RT-SourceID: 386 X-RT-AuthorID: 1488 X-RT-RatingText: B+
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews