Signis

Beauty/ Skoonheid

(JPEG)

2011, South Africa Deon Lotz, Charlie Keegan Directed by Oliver Hermanus

...is in the eye of the beholder. Quite subjective. This is very much the case in this very serious, at times grim, portrait of Francois (Deon Lotz),a middle-aged Afrikaaner , a mill manager in Blomfontein, married with two adult daughters, whose life begins to unravel, especially as regards his sexuality.

The film opens with quite a long sequence of the wedding dinner of one of his daughters. The crowd greets the young marrieds, mingles - as do we. However, we can see that Francois is preoccupied, gazing at the twenty-something son of an old friend. The close-ups and the long gazes of Francois indicates that much more is going on. This is one of the visual styles of the film, the audience gazing and contemplating Francois as he gazes at and contemplates Christian (Charlie Keegan).

There are also some scenes of Francois, ordinary life, especially at home with his wife, taking each other for granted, tensions, a lot of humdrum. We see him at the mill, getting cash from the bank, talking with a friend who has left his wife and is disapproved of by Francois’ wife.

Then we go on a longish drive with Francois and find him gathering with a group of middle-aged men who meet for secret sexual gratification. This makes Francois’ obsession with Christian more understandable, especially when he goes to his doctor because he is irritated with everything and fears he will lose control of himself.

He invents a reason for visiting Cape Town, goes to Christian’s parents house but then tracks down Christian who is with Francois’ daughter. Francois’ behaviour becomes more erratic: a visit to a club, being propositioned, being sick. His plan is clear. Audiences will be horrified by Francois’ attitudes and his behaviour, especially in a graphic sexual encounter. The film tends to be visually reticent except for the two scenes, the latter of which is particularly grueling.

Advertising for the film mentions envy and jealousy, but thinking of the seven deadly sins, we can see this as a portrait of a proud Afrikaaner whose peers are still racist and think the country is going to the dogs (in contrast to the newer generation who mix easily with other races). He covets Christian and is envious of his and his way of life. He is also an angry man though he experiences that spiritual sloth that saps energy and willpower - and, of course, his motivation is lust.

Some have complained that the film does not ‘explore’ its themes, especially at the end. While it does not make its points verbally explicit, the whole film has explored in some depth Francois himself and leaves enough visuals for audiences to sort out for themselves what they have felt and thought.

Peter Malone