A Reasonable Man


A Reasonable Man tells the story of a city lawyer who comes across the case of a herdboy from remote, rural Zululand, who has killed a one year old baby in the mistaken belief that he was killing an evil spirit, known throughout Southern Africa as the Tikoloshe. Dark secrets which lie buried deep within the lawyer, connect him to the boy. He takes the case and enters a world of witchcraft and mysticism to discover the truth about the killing - and himself.
This is a South African movie, so no overseas info is available yet.

103 minutes.
No persons under 13 .
Drama

Not currently showing on the local cinema circuit.

I always wanted a role like this...
I always wanted a role like this...

Credits

Cast
Gavin Hood, Nigel Hawthorne, Nandi Nyembe, Janine Eser, Vusi Kunene, Ian Roberts, Ken Gampu
Director
Gavin Hood
ScreenplayGavin Hood
MusicNeill Solomon
CinematographyBuster Reynolds
Sound formats
Made in1999





Ratings

Scale (Max)20

What the Critics say

Movies for Africa
Ian Douglas
12
Cape Argus
Gary van Dyk
15
Cape Argus
Adrian Monteath
10
The Cape Times
Jean-Pierre Rossouw
15
The Star
Diane de Beer
14
Die Burger
Gabriël Botma
15
Rapport
Barrie Hough
16
SA City Life
10
TV3 Screenplay
Barry Ronge
16

Average .. 68%

14

Visitor Ratings

Scale (Max)20
Penny de Vries 16
Philip Garratt 18
Patricia Martinovich 20
Thomas McIntosh 18

Average .. 90%

18

Visitor Comments

Ian Douglas: Not a bad effort. The film appears to discuss the question of what is ''reasonable'' in a multi-cultural society, but it actually takes a serious dig at superstition and religion, asking if there is really any difference between them at all. It suggests that we should not poke fun at tribal beliefs when our own are just as silly. It is a disturbing drama. I suggest you have dinner before the show.

Motlokoe Phatudi-Mphahlele: Perfectly South African

Penny de Vries: I loved this movie, the best SA movie to date. Although flawed in some ways, its 50 times better than most of the American garbage dished up ad nauseum. It was sensitive, thought-provoking, suspenseful and portrayed problematic aspects of SA society without being cliched or predictable. More of these please.

Philip Garratt: What a pity that it showed only in out of the way cinemas. Such a good film deserves wide exposure to the public and should have been shown at Musgrave and the Pavilion for example instead of just the Wheel and the Workshop.

Patricia Martinovich: I saw the film at the Chicago International Film Festival. It was very well-received by the audience, and I must say, the question and answer period after the film was very enlightening. Also, the Chicago audience was very enthusiastic about asking questions of the director after the show. There seemed to be much interest in learning more about South Africa and all of the people who live there. I think that more bridges could be built between SA and the US by exporting film, music, and art. Our racially mixed crowd received this film very positively, and the dialogue afterward had to be interrupted because of time constraints. Many hands were still up when they stopped the question and answer period!

Thomas McIntosh: I came across this film late last night, and watched it right through. I found it very moving, captivating and above all challenging, requiring me to think, unlike so many films, about the issues presented. Brilliant.






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