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What it’s about:
Rebecca Dreyer (Karen Zoid) is almost forty, lives with her mother (Marie du Toit) and works in a café in a small Karoo town. To escape her depressing life, Rebecca dreams of getting as far away as possible from her smothering mother and pursue the stardom her mother never experienced – that of a successful singer. Will this small-town girl survive in the gruelling, profit-driven and superficial Afrikaans music industry?
What we thought:
The most important thing worth mentioning about Susanna van Biljon is that Franz Marx totally and utterly redeems himself after his woeful Egoli movie attempt. Sjoe! That said, let me explain: It’s more a case of, "Wow, that’s so much better than the Egoli movie", rather than declaring this his best work ever.
Karen Zoid is unrecognisable in her film debut as the frumpy, dark-haired small-town Rebecca Dreyer. As one of SA’s most influential rock chicks, one who herself had to pave her own way to stardom, Karen is a good choice for the role, because she understands what it’s like to dream big and make it on your own. She is convincing in her role most of the times. Among the highlights is Rebecca’s romantic involvement with the widowed sheep farmer Dirk (David Rees) and, of course, her singing scenes, because let’s face it - Karen can sing.
The film consists of an overwhelming amount of Afrikaans singers playing themselves; which reminded me a lot of Jakhalsdans: Afrikaans singers acting as themselves and singing their own songs. And now that I think about it, the plot also reminds me bit of Jakhalsdans… shot in a small Karoo town... featuring Afrikaans singers… It doesn’t make the film all bad, because fans of Kurt Darren, Nicholis Louw, Jakkie Louw, Elizma Theron, Nianell, Romanz and Rina Hugo will have plenty of reasons to enjoy it. What bothers me, though, is the fact that it makes the movie feel a bit like one big PR event.
Maybe it’s just me… you decide.
Other characters that make the movie worthwhile are Max (Nico Panagio), the sly music promoter and the cheeky Jo-Ann (Shaleen Surtie-Richards) who works with Rebecca.
Just a word of advice: if you’re an alternative Afrikaans music fan, rather steer clear of this one. This is as traditional an Afrikaans story as you'll find.
