MY FATHER’S WAR
DIRECTOR: Craig Gardner
CAST: Edwin van der Walt, Stian Bam, Erica Wessels, Fumani Shilubana
CLASSIFICATION: PG 10 - 12
RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes
RATING: 4 stars (out of 5)
BY LATOYA NEWMAN
THE bilingual (Afrikaans/English) drama, My Father’s War, releases at cinemas today, making for an enlightening and moving experience that tugs at the heart strings.
Focusing on the broken relationship between a father and his rebellious son, My Father’s War is set in 2003, but also against the backdrop of the Border War.The beauty of this film is that writer, director and producer, Peter Lamberti, who served as a recce (Special Forces Operator) in the SA Defence Force during the South African Border War, uses a father-son relationship to universallytap into to so many issues.
Whether you’re a former soldier, a wife, a child or a former soldier (in South Africa or anywhere in the world); this film will bring some heart-wrenching realities to life on the big screen.On the other hand, even if you don’t have that deep connect to the broader life affects of war on families, anyone can relate to this film on a human level. And therein lies the point of this film’s success – it’s not just another South African historical account of our past – which would significantly limit audience interest and reach. No, it humanises these kinds of issues on a universal level, using a broken relationship between father and son, something anyone can relate no matter where you are in the world.
Dap Smit (Van der Walt), 19, is constantly fighting with his father, Dawid (Bam), a veteran of the Border War. They are at constant loggerheads and Dawid’s wife, Carina (Wessels), is caught between the two.But then Dap has a series of dreams in which he is a combat soldier in the Border War in the 1980s. This turns his world upside down and sets things on an interesting course.
The director of photography, Tom Marais, does a great job of capturing the respective eras – the '80s and 2003 – respectively. Especially given that the movie moves between these two spaces.Kudos to the cast for brilliant performances, but Van der Walt and Bam deserve special mention for really getting to the heart of their characters and drawing the audience into the emotion behind it all. It’s not just a film you’re watching, their performances make you feel part of this father and son’s journey. If you choose to look this one up, I’d advise you take a box of tissues – a pocket pack will not last, as I found out!If you liked The Tree of Life and A Man Soos My Pa, you’ll like this.