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What it's about:
The story of Fokofpolisiekar, the band that changed the meaning of Afrikaans music for a generation.
What we thought:
Well, someone confused a slogan for a title, didn’t they? Fokofpolisiekar: Forgive Them for They Know Not What They Do is a pretentious name that will now be tacked on to a musical phenomenon that, for many critics, has become a bit too enamoured with itself.
Here, as with the recent music doccie 12 Mile Stone, the filmmakers would do well to remember that not all talking heads were born equal. Forgive Them... features some very disposable analysis from an assortment nightclub owners, fellow musos and friends of the band. Few of them are equipped to unpack a complex social phenomenon in easy soundbites and few of them are cut out to be on camera at all. But it’s a small nuisance.
For fans of the band, Forgive Them... offers the chance to relive a story that seemed to unfold so rapidly that it’s easy to forget the impact it has had on Afrikaner youth. It is the story of how an ordinary band grew into a fantastically successful band, a cultural phenomenon, and how it eventually came to terms with itself.
Whether by foresight, or vanity, or a good sense of fun, the band trucked on in their early career with the cameras always turned on. It’s astounding what’s been captured and what we get to see: their first gig, their first recording sessions, Wynand’s admission that they had to sell some special "merchandise" to make ends meet on the road. For rock 'n roll voyeurs, it’s priceless viewing.
Of course, the soundtrack is provided by Belville’s prodigal sons themselves. Thanks to snappy editing and some great animated photo slides, Forgive Them... can be enjoyed as a feature-length music video. This raises an important point. If you like the music, if Fokofpolisiekar’s bold, unintended reconstruction of Afrikaans identity has meant anything to you, you’ll enjoy this documentary - whether for the music, the inside references or just the laughs. I suspect outsiders will not be as easily convinced.
The documentary shies away from the personal darkness from which much of the band’s early art gained its power, choosing instead to talk up their collective boredom with Afrikaans culture, their love/hate relationship with the suburbs and other group narratives. There is a much bigger story to genial lyricist Hunter Kennedy, to the self-destructive Francois Van Coke, there just has to be, but in the arts community perhaps no one is willing to tell it. In truth, every person on God’s green Earth is interesting enough to be made into a movie, but then you have to put everything on the line.
Forgive Them... is not revelatory, but it is a landmark. If a nihilistic, blaspheming crew of Afrikaners can conquer the local zeitgeist so completely, so utterly as to be the cause of a film, then truly this Rainbow Nation is a land of opportunity.
