Skoonheid gets mixed reviews in Cannes

Cape Town - Skoonheid, the first Afrikaans and second South African film to run in the category Un Certain Regard at the Cannes film festival, received mixed reviews.

Skoonheid is about a middle-aged man (Deon Lotz) who develops a dangerous obsession with a family friend's son (Charlie Keegan).

The influential Hollywood Reporter calls Skoonheid "a plodding South African drama that feels like a short stretched into a feature".

It goes on to say that "the film battles to get on track, despite a very strong interpretation by Lotz".

The static use of widescreen, "slows down the pace of the film," continues the Hollywood Reporter, despite featuring the work of cinematographer Jamie Ramsay (who also filmed parts of District 9). The reviewer also believes that it’s "not enough to make Skoonheid the parable on stilted South African machismo that it was meant to be".

Co-production

Variety's Jay Weissberg said the film is well directed and is an improvement on Oliver Hermanus's debut film, Shirley Adams.

Hermanus is also praised for his sensitive portrayal of people in crisis and the fate of the white middle-aged man in the new South Africa.

Weissberg said the film should not be trapped in the "gay ghetto", but should have a life on the art circuit. Lotz was again praised for his "quiet and intense acting".

Weissberg did not experience problems with the cinematography. He described it as "striking" and described the soundtrack by Ben Ludik as "sophisticated".

Skoonheid is the first co-production between France and South Africa after an agreement was signed at last year's festival. Hermanus developed the film in France at Cinefondation.