Stander (2003)

Director:

Bronwen Hughes

Writer (WGA):

Bima Stagg (written by)

Release Date:

10 October 2003 (South Africa)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Good cop. Great criminal.

Plot:

The life and career of Andre Stander, a South African police officer turned bank robber.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Bank Robber | Apartheid | 1980s | Jailbreak

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Thomas Jane	...	Andre Stander
Dexter Fletcher	...	Lee McCall
David O'Hara	...	Allan Heyl (as David Patrick O'Hara)
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Bekkie Stander
Ashley Taylor	...	Cor van Deventer
Marius Weyers	...	General Stander
At Botha	...	General Viljoen
Lionel Newton	...	Sergeant Smit
Melanie Merle	...	Sharmiane
Sean Else	...	Ed Janis
Peter Gardner	...	Allums
Patrick Mynhardt	...	Judge
Wikus du Toit	...	Lawyer
Drummond Marais	...	Prosecutor
Nicole Abel	...	Young Lady

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language, some sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

116 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:111 min

Country:

Canada | Germany | South Africa | UK

Language:

English | Afrikaans | Zulu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

ApolloProMedia GmbH & Co. 1. Filmproduktion KG (I)

Trivia:

The riot scenes were shot in Tembisa, where the real Andre Stander had been stationed on riot duty. The crew left most of the buildings as they were since they were old enough not to bear too many anachronisms.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one version of the film poster, the character Stander is shown holding a weapon. The weapon is a South African Mechem BXP submachine gun. It was not produced until four years after the real Andre Stander died.

Quotes:

Andre Stander: I'm tried for robbing banks. But, I have killed unarmed people.
Judge: That is not the business of the court.

Movie Connections:

References Dirty Harry (1971)

Soundtrack:

New York Moving

One of the best South African films to date

I've seen my share of South African films, being a South African myself, and I can tell you with pride and without hesitation that this was one of the best films from my country I've ever seen. I felt the protagonist's confusion and frustration. I cannot remember the last time I've wanted the bad guy to escape more than in this movie.

"ebhp1" commented on the accent, which made it difficult to understand the dialogue. I think it was a functional and very important part of the movie in an attempt to make it REAL. A movie about South Africans with an American accent? No. It's like making a British film French accents... I do have to congratulate the American actors who handled the accent so well. I even wondered if they were South African!

I take my hat off to you. A great movie with great actors.