The Hansie story

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It's all in the handshake. It says so much about the person you've just met. And on first contact with the two public faces of the Hansie story, Frank Rautenbach's firm, welcoming handshake contrasts greatly with the limp, wary hand-flap from Frans Cronje minutes later.

Frank Rautenbach - best known for his role as Tiaan Terreblanche in the Afrikaans drama 7de Laan - is the epitome of affability with his warm, blue-eyed smile and polite Afrikaner-boy manners (although I couldn’t blame him for trying to grab a peek at my questions before our interview). You get the feeling the makers of Hansie are bracing themselves for a torrent of criticism.

For Frank, the chance to play this tortured, broken man was an honour. "After I was offered the role, when I had some time to think about it, my head started spinning. I thought 'Wow, hang on a second, this is a really famous guy'. It probably took me a year to get to the point where I felt that I could do it, that I'd made the right decision."

Another reason Hansie is primed for scrutiny is that the movie was written and produced by Cronje's brother Frans, meaning that a critical take on the whole saga was pretty much out of the question. Instead, the Hansie story is presented as a parable, about a respected man who gave into temptation, betrayed a nation's trust and had to fight his way back to redemption and acceptance.

Frank's passion for this star-making role as the tragic figure is clear – in his daily 5am trips to the gym (with Frans in tow) to physically prepare for the role, to the amount of research he did to get into the mind of the character. "I was given the opportunity to do my own research. I spoke to the family, ex-players, some of the administrators, and we were fortunate to meet with Bob Woolmer. I read books, watched TV shows and documentaries, players' home videos."

Read our two-star Hansie review

The image of Cronje breaking down into tears as he was cross-examined during the 2000 King Commission, where Cronje was ultimately tried for his crimes and banned from cricket for life, is burned into the South African collective consciousness. And unsurprisingly, Rautenbach found it tough to film these scenes.

"At that point Hansie was a broken man, emotionally drained and depressed. To be at that point, where the country and the whole world is against you… it takes a lot out of you. I spent so much time studying him that when it came to doing the scenes and watching it afterwards, I realised I'd touched my face and moved the way he did without even realising it."

For Rautenbach, Cronje's arduous journey back from the brink made him more of an inspirational figure. "It's one thing when everything's going your way, but when you did what he did, literally commit career suicide, and after 18 months of severe depression, to be able to make the decision that the old Hansie is going to die and the new Hansie is going to live. That for me is even greater than all his achievements on the cricket field."

With Cronje's death six years ago, the book seemed to have been closed on the saga. Hansiegate was soon forgotten, like a bad memory we all shared and weren’t keen to revisit ever again. But for Frans Cronje, the movie was an opportunity for the world to learn from his brother's incredible life story.

Repeating his well-rehearsed spin yet again, he says: "I told Hansie during the King Commission that we should tell his life story, because he's been through so much and people could learn from his successes and his failures. I would have personally wanted to make this movie a long time ago, but Hansie said at the time 'You can't tell a story until it’s finished'. Two years later he passed away and I knew his story was complete and ready to be told."

As both writer and producer, Frans was well placed to tell his late brother's story in a way that focused on the role his Christian belief played in his recovery. This was to be expected from the team who also brought farmer-turned-evangelist Angus Buchan's life story Faith Like Potatoes to the big screen.

The bad guys in this piece are easy to identify – they're the non-Christian Indian bookies who tempted Hansie to stray from his righteous path. Faith and "decency" seemed to also have influenced the casting choice of American Sarah Thompson as Hansie's wife Bertha. In choosing her, the makers were looking for someone who had played only "morally clean" roles before. Ironic, considering the ethical and moral struggle at the centre of the film.

So far, opinion on the Hansie story has been divided. Former cricketer Fanie de Villiers has come out against the film, saying it's opened old wounds and brought back the anger players felt at the time. Frans Cronje refuses be drawn into a battle with de Villiers ("He is entitled to his own opinion," he insists) while former United Cricket Board boss Dr Ali Bacher has praised the movie for its "staggering" accuracy.

Ultimately though, the last word on Hansie lies with the people it has been designed to inspire – you. If you've watched it, why not write a review or an opinion piece for MyChannel24.

Watch behind-the-scenes footage and interviews

- Shaheema Barodien