Uitvlucht

What it's about:

Anna is a teacher at a farm school, Uitvlucht, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The school is barely surviving on dwindling funds. Here Anna is happiest, she is fond of the honesty and colloquial humour of the children who are all from the Langkloof villages. Her marriage to Walter, is on its last legs. She is struggling to keep it together for her children sake. Anna finds herself at the frontline of a battle for the well being of the children in her class. She is confronted with issues like child molestation, alcoholism and apathy for the degradation in the community around her. As she builds courage in herself she builds up the people around her. Anna takes a brave stand for what is right. This is a story about God’s unending mercy and grace. It is a story about a love that conquers all.

What we thought:

South African movie fans are being treated to a new local flick in cinemas almost every week now. Some really good and others really bad.

This week the local offering includes Uitvlucht. Directed by Regardt van den Bergh, who also directed Faith Like Potatoes, this film lands comfortably in the middle of the good/bad scale.

It’s not the best local production I’ve seen but it’s far from being the worst.

As with Faith Like Potatoes the film has a strong religious theme and sees the protagonist overcome an emotional obstacle whilst learning a few valuable life lessons along the way.

The majority of the film plays off as a flashback but this isn’t made immediately clear. It takes the viewer a good amount of time to figure out just how far back the flashbacks go. Another challenge comes in with the different story lines and sub-plots that diverge from the main plot. A few of them are so random that they just don’t fit in or compliment the main story that’s being told.

The film’s lead actors are without a doubt a highlight. Stian Bam and Clara Joubert do a beautiful job at capturing the audience and making them believe in the hearth wrenching drama that’s unfolding in front of them.

The talented cast combined with the beautiful cinematography and the aesthetic of the Eastern Cape setting makes this film worth the watch.

If you loved Faith Like Potatoes then you’ll enjoy watching this film.