Eastern Cape's icy weather posed a challenge during filming of this local western

Johannesburg – If you’ve watched the trailer for Five Fingers for Marseilles then you would have been privy to some of the movie’s beautiful cinematic shots. 

Filmed during gruelling weather conditions in the Eastern Cape, Vuyo Dabula, who plays the role of Tau in this South African Western, says it was not always easy being on set. 

“It was tough. I went there with my son as well, I don’t think he will ever forget that. I know he will never forget the scenery, it was something else – breathtaking. Mountains in the distance, you get close to it and it’s snowy, just farm animals, horses. So it’s like a nature overload for the kid,” he tells us at the film's premiere. 

He describes his character as “very quiet” and “sort of in control of his emotions”. “He becomes a really successful criminal in Johannesburg. The ruler of the streets. Law of the jungle? Control your emotions. For obvious reasons,” he goes on to say. 

To help him get into character for his part as the tough criminal Vuyo says he spent some time with boxers. “[I] Interviewed them, tried to get into their heads. Because they charge towards the trouble, not like the rest of us.” 

Also starring in the film is legendary actor Jerry Mofokeng who says even though it was shot as a Western, the movie is so much more than that. “Five Fingers does not foreground the genre. It tells a story in a particular manner. So even as you consume it, even as you take it in, it’s just gentle on you. I think people will say, ‘Oh, ja! It was a Western hey’. But whilst it’s happening, you forget about the conventions, the methods, everything that’s used.” 

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:

Five Fingers for Marseilles releases in cinemas on Friday, 6 April. 

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