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sophia_sol) wrote2014-02-01 03:37 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2014-02-01 03:37 pm
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The Gods Must Be Crazy
How have I never before seen The Gods Must Be Crazy? I have been hearing about it for like my entire life. I finally watched it last night with some friends of mine, and you guys, it is SO AMAZING.
For those who are not familiar, it is a South African comedy made in 1980 set in Botswana featuring a main cast of both black people and white people - which is really impressive given that this was made during the era of apartheid.
It's not perfect, of course - its explanation of the San people at the beginning is rather noble savage, for example. And of course there has to be a White People Romance in the movie. But aside from that it's all very remarkably well-done.
And it is FUNNY. REALLY FUNNY. I was about dying of laughter in some bits! And let me just say this movie has some of the best physical comedy I have ever seen. EVERY SINGLE SCENE involving the ancient and problematic jeep ("the antichrist" according to M'pudi, and I don't blame him) was PURE COMEDY GOLD, holy crap. Especially when what's-his-name the lead white dude (Steyn?) was having to go through all these gates on hilly roads when the brakes don't work. And the bit when Xi (the San man) drives it in reverse. And the bit where it gets stuck up a tree.
Unfortunately the lead white woman (I keep wanting to call her Barbara even though that was not her name. Google reminds me she's Kate Thompson) was not a particularly great role, and also it was the only female role amongst the main characters. And the romance between Miss Thompson and Steyn was....not something I was into. Steyn turns into the most complete stumblebum (his word) around pretty women and it was just embarrassing. And there was no reason for her to like him and yet she goes for him at the end anyways?
But when Steyn wasn't around Miss Thompson I actually quite liked him. And the interactions between him and M'pudi are great - and M'pudi is just generally stellar. As is Xi! Xi's just such a genuinely great guy, doing his best to be a reasonable human being in a context he's utterly unfamiliar with.
Another thing I love about this movie is that it doesn't feel the need to translate things for you. I mean, all the Africaans is dubbed in English for international release, and that was good, but all the !Kung and Tswana lines? Sometimes the narrator gives you the gist of what was being said, and sometimes you're just left to figure out what's relevant about the words from context and tone. And it works.
Also - the number one thing I knew about this movie beforehand is that at the end of the movie, the main character throws the coke bottle off of the end of the world, and that the end of the world is played by Sani Pass. The reason this is important: for pretty much my entire life my parents have used this movie to explain Sani Pass to other people. (for context, when I was a wee kidlet my family and I lived in Lesotho. Sani Pass is the only border crossing through the Drakensberg Mountains on the eastern side of Lesotho.) So it was really great to finally SEE this iconic scene!
In conclusion, great movie, thoroughly recommended, and SERIOUSLY WHY HAVE I NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.
For those who are not familiar, it is a South African comedy made in 1980 set in Botswana featuring a main cast of both black people and white people - which is really impressive given that this was made during the era of apartheid.
It's not perfect, of course - its explanation of the San people at the beginning is rather noble savage, for example. And of course there has to be a White People Romance in the movie. But aside from that it's all very remarkably well-done.
And it is FUNNY. REALLY FUNNY. I was about dying of laughter in some bits! And let me just say this movie has some of the best physical comedy I have ever seen. EVERY SINGLE SCENE involving the ancient and problematic jeep ("the antichrist" according to M'pudi, and I don't blame him) was PURE COMEDY GOLD, holy crap. Especially when what's-his-name the lead white dude (Steyn?) was having to go through all these gates on hilly roads when the brakes don't work. And the bit when Xi (the San man) drives it in reverse. And the bit where it gets stuck up a tree.
Unfortunately the lead white woman (I keep wanting to call her Barbara even though that was not her name. Google reminds me she's Kate Thompson) was not a particularly great role, and also it was the only female role amongst the main characters. And the romance between Miss Thompson and Steyn was....not something I was into. Steyn turns into the most complete stumblebum (his word) around pretty women and it was just embarrassing. And there was no reason for her to like him and yet she goes for him at the end anyways?
But when Steyn wasn't around Miss Thompson I actually quite liked him. And the interactions between him and M'pudi are great - and M'pudi is just generally stellar. As is Xi! Xi's just such a genuinely great guy, doing his best to be a reasonable human being in a context he's utterly unfamiliar with.
Another thing I love about this movie is that it doesn't feel the need to translate things for you. I mean, all the Africaans is dubbed in English for international release, and that was good, but all the !Kung and Tswana lines? Sometimes the narrator gives you the gist of what was being said, and sometimes you're just left to figure out what's relevant about the words from context and tone. And it works.
Also - the number one thing I knew about this movie beforehand is that at the end of the movie, the main character throws the coke bottle off of the end of the world, and that the end of the world is played by Sani Pass. The reason this is important: for pretty much my entire life my parents have used this movie to explain Sani Pass to other people. (for context, when I was a wee kidlet my family and I lived in Lesotho. Sani Pass is the only border crossing through the Drakensberg Mountains on the eastern side of Lesotho.) So it was really great to finally SEE this iconic scene!
In conclusion, great movie, thoroughly recommended, and SERIOUSLY WHY HAVE I NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE.
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