Stander (2003)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

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

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 filmmakers got to talk to Allan Heyl, one of Andre Stander's accomplices who was paroled on May 18, 2005; Cor van Deventer, his police partner; and the warden of the prison where Andre was incarcerated.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the beach scene with his wife, Stander is shown using a Voigtlander Bessa-T camera, which was not available until 2001.

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

"If you're a white guy, you can get away with anything"

So speaks Andre Stander the day after a massive riot in Johannesburg South Africa in which Stander as a police captain finds himself killing a Zulu man in a morally shattering encounter. This utter disillusionment with the police force and their responses to the Apartheid situation makes Stander withdraw emotionally and physically from the Riot Squad and eventually his challenge that the blacks are unduly mistreated leads him to break the white laws by initiating a string of bank robberies - not for money but for a bizarre sort of revenge.

Stander (Tom Jane) is good at what he does, both as a cop and as a criminal, but his clever bank heists eventually result in his being jailed where he finds two partners (David O'Hara and Dexter Fletcher) to join him in escape and in one of the longest bank robbery sprees in the history of South Africa. Stander remains conflicted: he loves his new wife Bekkie (Deborah Kara Unger), he knows what he is doing is wrong, but the money is often shared with the blacks of Johannesburg, and he is driven to leave South Africa to eventually locate in Lauderdale, Florida. The eventual results of this man's career bring this film to a close in an action packed yet very soulful way.

The film, as written by Bima Stagg and directed by Bronwen Hughes captures the atmosphere of the era in South Africa, and gives us a realistic look at the plight of the Africans in the Apartheid, offering insights to both sides of the conflict like few others have in film. He coaxes fine performances from his large cast of actors and extras, making this film less an action thriller than a character study of the enigmatic Andre Stander.

The true star of this film, a film that deserves far more attention than it has been given, is Tom Jane. Jane is a strong actor, able to take on language accents with the best of them, and able to make us understand the spectrum of personality in this fascinating character. There are many scenes in which he plays in full nudity, quite apropos to the story, but just an indication of his commitment to 'fleshing out' of his role. He is an actor to watch, an actor unafraid of tough roles in contrast to the showy Hollywood star parts. Grady Harp