CHARLIE STEEL -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 12/12/18

 

If you've been searching for a bland, ultra-low-budget imitation of '70s blaxploitation flicks that comes off like somebody's student film, the 1984 South African thriller CHARLIE STEEL (Indiepix Films) is the pot of bad-film fun at the end of your rainbow.

Charlie (Sol Rachilo), a poor man's poor man's Shaft, is a private dick who's called into action by a rich friend whose daughter Dudu (Sonto Mazibuko) has just been kidnapped by a gang of bad guys led by the Boss (Thapelo Mofokeng) and is being held for ransom in their secluded hideout. 

As a super-cool action hero, Steel leaves much to be desired, but part of his charm is the way this lanky, hangdog dude in a baggy suit and tiny Fedora, who looks like he's been around the block a few too many times, schleps around town looking for leads before stumbling into trouble and getting himself captured two or three times. 

Meanwhile, as the incompetent bad guys endlessly play poker around the kitchen table and take turns guarding Dudu, we find that one of them, Tony (Charles Joloza), has a crush on her and may turn out to be an ally, while another, Jimmy (Davis Diphoko), is a former military compadre of Charlie's whose seething animosity toward him will ruin the private eye's attempt to infiltrate the gang.

This is one of many low-budget films made in South Africa for black audiences during apartheid, when their access to mainstream films was prohibited, and subsequently rediscovered and restored as part of Indiepix Films' "Retro Afrika" series.  As such, it's a fascinating example of really indy filmmaking that tries to make something entertaining with severely limited resources and manages to succeed in spite of itself. 

In this case, the fun is in watching writer-director Bevis Parsons and his cast of earnest but unpolished actors put together a semi-watchable detective thriller that is endearing in its badness, filling it with tough-guy dialogue, limp action scenes, and a simple, repetitive plot that plays like a feature version of a grade Z serial.

After playing private eye for awhile, Charlie gets serious and goes into military attack mode, trading his rumpled suit for black cat-burglar attire and launching a one-man seige on the bad guys' backwoods HQ. 

Naturally he gets captured again, but that merely sets up the mildly exciting finale in which he and the Boss face off against each other one on one.  Along the way super-suave Charlie even finds time to meet a comely lass and give her his address so that they can meet for dinner the next evening. 

Technically, the film is a bit more competent that some of these apartheid-era films I've seen, but that's not saying a whole lot.  Still, for bad film fans, that's exactly what gives movies like CHARLIE STEEL their irresistible charm, something this one is steeped in.  And with expectations thus adjusted, one almost can't help having a good time watching it.


http://www.indiepixfilms.com
https://retroafrika.com/

Tech Specs
Format: Color, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR 
Studio: Indiepix Films
3:2, Color, Stereo
DVD Release Date: December 18, 2018
Run Time: 87 minutes
Extras: Trailer

CHARLIE STEEL -- DVD Review by Porfle

ONE MORE SHOT -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 6/12/19

 

It's hard to explain why I look forward to these Retro Afrika DVD restorations from Indiepix so much.  They're no-budget, totally amateurish productions that imitate Hollywood films on a home movie level, and are often hilariously bad.

But they're often so bad they're good, which is why movies such as ONE MORE SHOT (1984) are so perversely entertaining to me. Granted, those who demand that their viewing material actually be "good" or at least "competent" might well be expected to run the other way as fast as they can. But they'd be missing out on the fun.

Made specifically for black South African audiences who were denied entrance to mainstream theaters during Apartheid, these films are simple, earnest efforts to entertain using practically non-existent resources.

Just seeing how the filmmakers and their players struggle to overcome such drawbacks to produce something worth running through a projector for paying audiences is interesting in itself. And I find it fascinating to see what they were able to come up with.

This time, burly bad guy Tap Tap gets out of prison with one desire: to get revenge on famed kickboxer Johnny Tough, whose testimony sent him up the river. Tap Tap goes to sinister (but in an amusing way) nightclub owner and human trafficker Fly for help, so Fly has the daughter of Johnny's lawyer kidnapped to force him to divulge the location of Johnny's secluded ranch where he trains with his Asian martial arts buddy Chan.

Fly sends three strongmen out to Johnny's ranch, setting up the first in a series of action scenes that have to be seen to be disbelieved.  This is the kind of stuff that kids do in the front yard after watching a kung-fu movie, consisting of a lot flailing hands and feet punctuated by loud "thwack!" sound effects.  Johnny's biggest talent is doing backflips, which don't really help in a fight but look pretty good in slow-motion.

The big finale takes place at Fly's country estate where he's conducting a transaction with a visiting shiek who's in the market to purchase several young kidnapped women.  Johnny and Chan take on all the guards in various slap-fight vignettes, showcasing some of the worst fight choreography ever, until finally it's just between them and the main bad guys.

Technically, ONE MORE SHOT is a mess, even more so than the previous Retro Afrika films I've seen, with more meandering sequences to pad the 59-minute running time such as an opening duo doing incredibly limp breakdancing in Fly's club for eight minutes before the plot even starts. 

Johnny and Chan's training sequence offers another musical montage, as does a long helicopter ride with Fly and the Arab shiek out to the country estate, all accompanied by bad 80s-era techno (including a title song).

As usual, all of this ineptitude is both endearing and strangely compelling as all involved work to put a watchable movie together. When the plot finally gets a head of steam going, the fight scenes (interspersed with shots of Fly displaying his female wares to the shiek) come one right after another.

The cast do their best and are fun to watch. They're much more racially mixed this time--most films in the series have almost all-black casts with the occasional white actor, but this time it's a pretty even mix. 

The clumsy dialogue is all in English this time, another rarity, but with subtitles to help us with the heavy accents.  Two talented Retro Afrika faves, leading man Innocent "Popo" Gamede and comedy star Hector Methanda (ISIBOSHWA, UMBANGO, RICH GIRL) are sorely missed. 

As I've often emphasized, films such as ONE MORE SHOT can be a real hoot, but only if you're inclined to appreciate them for what they are--simple, charmingly amateurish attempts to create entertainment practically out of thin air.  If you're open to that, then this should be yet another chance to have some really offbeat film-watching fun.



Buy it at Amazon.com

Format: NTSC
Language: English (with subtitles)
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Indiepix Films
DVD Release Date: June 11, 2019
Run Time: 59 minutes
Bonus: Trailer

ONE MORE SHOT -- DVD Review by Porfle

LOLA -- DVD Review by Porfle

When LOLA (Indiepix, 198?) was over, I felt a bit as though I'd just been released from custody. Watching it is almost a punitive experience, not so much "entertainment" as punishment for whatever bad thing you've done in the past that you thought you'd gotten away with.

Not to say that I didn't find it interesting, as I do all of the Retro Afrika films from the 1980s-90s which were made for black audiences during South African apartheid. As a cultural artifact, it has the same kind of fascination common to these films which, thankfully, are now being restored and preserved for posterity.

Most of them, however, are way more fun to watch because they really try hard to imitate Hollywood films of various genres (action, crime thriller, martial arts, comedy, even science fiction) but with no budgets or resources, resulting in amateurish yet engaging efforts that are often quite endearing.

LOLA is, in fact, the first of these apartheid-era films which I found truly difficult to finish.  The sparse story could have been thoroughly explored in ten minutes, and as far as technique goes, I've seen security-cam footage that was more cinematic.

Indeed, many scenes are simply master shots so interminable that we begin to feel as though we're keeping the characters under surveillance, waiting for them to do something worthy of attention. There's minimal editing, and most of the dialogue is clearly improvised chatter that goes on for minutes at a time. 

The actors do seem quite comfortable in front of the camera, and have no trouble keeping up these lengthy conversations while in character.  Director Tony Cunningham is content to just aim the camera at them and let it run, as one would while taking the kind of home movie footage that puts your houseguests to sleep.

As for the story, we meet Lola (Constance Shangase) and her high school friends pondering where to go to university after graduation, which is the subject of the first long dialogue scene set in their homeroom at school.  Then, while walking home, they're taunted by a gang of no-account dropouts (one of whom has a crush on Lola), and the two disparate groups challenge each other to a volleyball match.

What follows are extra-long scenes of Lola's gang discussing and making plans about the big game and the after-party, as well as whatever else they can think of to gab about while pretending to drink big cups of tea. 

In a way, these scenes are almost mind-blowing in their incredible blandness and lack of noteworthy content.  When one finally ends, another begins, and the cycle is repeated yet again.

A couple of training scenes break the monotony a bit, and, eventually, game day arrives.  Lola, her BFF, and their three male friends take on the five-man team of arrogant dropouts in a match that's little more than ten people who don't really play volleyball all that well bouncing it around until it's time to declare the winner. 

Oh yeah, they take a break at halftime during which their teacher (the only white cast member, who speaks English) serves snacks on a plate and asks everyone to please return the peels.  Will everyone return their peels? That's about as suspenseful as the scene gets.

But it's not over yet. There's still the after-party, during which the ten of them squeeze into a tiny room for some awkward dancing and socializing. Then, incredibly, it's back to the schoolroom for another ten-minute random dialogue scene that meanders on until a merciful jump-cut to the closing credits.

 

Not only was I proud of my endurance, but, strangely enough, the film managed to deliver that same kind of fascination which all of the Retro Afrika titles do, not only as cultural artifacts but as examples of filmmakers putting actual movies together with less money and resources than most people spend on lunch.

And yes, I can imagine black South African apartheid-era teens having quite a good time sitting in a theater watching this harmless comedy, getting off on seeing characters like them with whom they can identify, and basking in its familiar, feel-good ambience.

LOLA is a film so obscure that it can't be found on IMDb and there's barely any reference to it at all online. Nobody even knows exactly what year it was made. But here it is, a survivor making it onto DVD in 2019 when so many of its kind have been lost, and in its own small, utterly unimposing way, I found watching it to be time well spent.


Buy it at Amazon.com

Format: NTSC
Language: Zulu, some English (subtitles)
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Indiepix Films
DVD Release Date: June 11, 2019
Run Time: 75 minutes
Bonus: Trailer

LOLA -- DVD Review by Porfle

HOSTAGE -- DVD Review by Porfle

IndiePix's "Retro Afrika" series does it again with another long-neglected, now rescued and restored South African apartheid-era film made for black audiences denied access to mainstream theaters.

HOSTAGE (1986) is one of the more serious offerings in the series, being the story of an aspiring crime boss who kidnaps a successful businessman's wife in order to force the man to give him access to his warehouse for storing drugs.

The would-be drug lord, Bra Jack, is played by South African cinema's ubiquitous handsome leading man Innocent "Popo" Gamede, the most competent actor in the cast. His cohorts, Jabu and Thabi, specialize in setting up rich married men (Thabi seduces and drugs them, then Jabu takes pics of them in bed together) for blackmail.

But Bra Jack wants to expand into the drug business, hence his attempt to secure the cooperation of warehouse owner Jackson.  When he refuses, Jack kidnaps Jackson's wife Thuli and holds her for ransom.

But Jackson has an ace up his sleeve--stocky tough-guy friend Michael, who takes charge of the situation and proves a formidable threat to the bad guys' scheme.

Being the sole IMDb credit for director Michele Hartslief, HOSTAGE is nevertheless one of the better films of this kind I've seen, although this assessment is purely relative.

It's still a makeshift, no-budget affair that's strictly amateurish on every level, yet it's just this quality that makes it so much fun to watch. It's like the cinematic equivalent of primitive art, aesthetically pleasing on its own unique terms despite its imperfections.

Acting by most of the leads is unpolished but engaging, with each member of the cast making the most of their parts.  One glaring omission is my favorite "Retro Afrika" regular Hector Mathanda of such films as FISHY STONES, THE COMEDIANS, UMBANGO, and ISIBOSHWA.

The story is simple enough, with a plot that would make the typical Hardy Boys mystery seem complex.  Thuli gets kidnapped, escapes, is recaptured, and then there's a tense showdown between the two factions that ends in gunplay.

Scenes play out mostly in long master shots with lots of dialogue to pad things out.  Camerawork is mostly of the home movie variety, but like every other element of the film, this only adds to its charm. A sprightly disco/techno score is another plus.

My usual disclaimer in regards to these "Retro Afrika" films still applies: if you require polished technical and artistic values in your film fare, chances are this one will prove less than watchable.

But if you, like me, thoroughly enjoy watching a film effort lovingly devised by unpolished yet enthusiastic filmmakers yearning to entertain, then HOSTAGE should prove a uniquely pleasing and perhaps even delightful viewing experience.


Buy it at Indiepix

Buy it at Amazon

TECH SPECS:
Actors: Pepsi Mabizela, Innocent Gumede
Format: Color, NTSC
Subtitles: English
Number of discs: 1
Not Rated
Studio: Indiepix Films
Extras: Trailer
DVD Release Date: March 12, 2019

HOSTAGE -- DVD Review by Porfle

ISIBOSHWA -- DVD Review by Porfle

Another "Retro Afrika" release from IndiePix, ISIBOSHWA (1989) continues the effort to recover, restore, and re-release some of the neglected South African films produced for black audiences during apartheid which were on the verge of being lost. 

While some of these extremely low-budget, low-tech productions choose to imitate gun-blazing cop flicks or westerns, ISIBOSHWA is an extremely laidback and pleasingly pastoral tale of three teenage brothers on a lazy camping trip that's more like a chapter out of "Tom Sawyer" than anything else.

What gives it the kind of kick we're looking for is the fact that their chosen campsite is smack dab on top of some buried money, and the two bank robbers that stole it have been released from prison and are back to dig it up. 

The problem is, the three boys are a feisty bunch and have no intention of vacating their chosen campsite.

The first half of the film is about as leisurely-paced as any story that revolves around hiking, fishing, and swimming on a sunny summer day, as well as scaring the youngest brother, Keeper, with some spooky campfire tales at night.

Director Tonie van der Merwe (FISHY STONES, RICH GIRL) is much more in his competency zone here than in trying to emulate an episode of "Hawaii Five-O", and for those of us who remember childhood days like this, the nostalgia value itself allows us to enjoy it all right along with the three boys.

Eventually, however, there has to be a plot, and this kicks into gear when the bumbling bank robber played by Hector Mathanda (GONE CRAZY, FISHY STONES, UMBANGO, THE COMEDIANS) starts creeping around the campsite waiting for an opportunity to dig up the loot while his hotheaded partner Lucky (South African cinema's handsome leading man Innocent "Popo" Gumede) waits back at their camper truck getting more impatient by the minute.

Mathanda, who seems to be the most talented and ubiquitious actor in South African cinema, is as fascinating to watch as usual, hamming it up in a comical way even when he tries to intimidate the boys into packing up and getting out, which fails miserably when the boys prove difficult to sway. 

With this conflict fully under way, the second half of the film generates some dramatic tension that's suspenseful while still maintaining a lighthearted air.  While the two robbers try to terrorize the boys, they in turn derive inspiration from a mythical African warrior king as well as their own ingenuity in order to fight back.

Pleasantly diverting in the most low-key sort of way, ISIBOSHWA transcends its rock-bottom budget and production values by using its own simplicity as a virtue.  Mathanda and Gumede are watchable as always, and the three boys are likable and easy to identify with for anyone who loved a wilderness adventure as a kid.


Buy it at Amazon.com

TECH SPECS:
Format: Color, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Rated:
Unrated
Not Rated
Studio: Indiepix Films
DVD Release Date: March 12, 2019
Run Time: 73 minutes
Bonus: Trailer

ISIBOSHWA -- DVD Review by Porfle

RICH GIRL -- DVD Review by Porfle

Anyone who's read my other reviews of IndiePix's "Retro Afrika" series knows how much I enjoy these modestly-produced (to say the least), wildly amateurish attempts at filmmaking which, in their earnest but inept efforts to entertain, can't help but warm my heart with "so bad it's good" goodness.

Tonie van der Merwe's RICH GIRL (1990) is no exception.  The director who gave us ISIBOSHWA and FISHY STONES is back with another tale starring Innocent "Popo" Gumede (ISIBOSHWA, HOSTAGE, FISHY STONES, UMBANGO) as a bodyguard hired to protect a headstrong rich girl named Charlotte (Lungi Mdlala) and Hector Methanda (THE COMEDIANS, UMBANGO, FISHY STONES, GONE CRAZY) as the leader of a bumbling pair of kidnappers who want to abduct Charlotte and demand a hefty ransom from her money-bags papa.

As you'll recall, these films were produced for black audiences (in a South Africa where apartheid prevented them access to mainstream cinemas) and are now being rescued and restored.  "Popo" Gumede plays his usual handsome leading man type here as he does in several such films, while the undisputed clown prince of "Retro Afrika" cinema, Hector Methanda, continues to be the most entertaining thing about any film he's in whenever he's on the screen.

The production values are predictably rock-bottom as are the technical skills of all involved (save for a fairly good cast).  It's as though people who'd never seen a motion picture before were given filmmaking equipment and told to make movies. 

Adding to this is a score consisting mainly of a backdrop of generic disco/funk music plunking away during almost every scene. The results of all this are, for me, deliciously entertaining in their own uniquely special sort of way. 

Lungi Mdlala's Charlotte is the typical spoiled rich girl who chafes at the constant presence of her hired watchdog.  When she isn't lounging around a drab-looking pool (which seems to be filled with swamp water) in a frumpy robe, she's milling about in an art gallery in an interminable scene (which features one of the few white actors to appear in these movies) before deciding to purchase their entire stock.

During one of her tirades against him, Popo suddenly professes his love for her in an explosive, almost violent manner that's borderline hilarious. It's at this moment that Methanda enters the picture with gun drawn and abducts them both, taking them to a secluded cottage along with his accomplice.

Whatever stretches of boredom there might've been up till this point disappear when Hector Methanda hits the screen.  Whether wielding his gun with a gap-toothed grin, relishing his dominance over his captives, or browbeating his peabrained partner, Methanda always seems to be having a ball chewing the scenery and apparently ad-libbing much of his dialogue in order to make his character more interesting and funny. 

Once Popo escapes the room where he and Charlotte have been imprisoned and takes on his two captors, director Tonie van der Merwe actually manages to generate some suspense. 

An outdoor gunfight between Popo and Hector utilizes much slow-motion and, surprisingly, some actual squibs in a scene so archly done that it almost looks like something out of "Police Squad!"  Things get wrapped up in satisfactory fashion at the end, and the short-and-sweet action tale (less than 70 minutes) coasts to a pleasant halt.

As usual, I have to add a disclaimer to my review of this "Retro Afrika" title: if you don't love bad movies, and require a certain level of technical sophistication in your viewing fare that must be maintained, then this movie is not for you. But if you do love bad movies--and I mean "bad" in an entertaining, earnest, and ultimately endearing way--then RICH GIRL is heartily recommended. 


Buy it at Amazon.com

Buy it at IndiePix

TECH SPECS:
Format: Color, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Rated: Not Rated
Studio: Indiepix Films
DVD Release Date: March 12, 2019
Run Time: 70 minutes
Bonus: Trailer

RICH GIRL -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE COMEDIANS -- DVD Review by Porfle

As a bad-movie fan, I've seen some obscure stuff. But THE COMEDIANS (Indiepix Films, 1984) is such an obscure, oddball oddity that it not only isn't on IMDb, but I couldn't even find it on the website of the company that released it on DVD.

It's one of the South African apartheid-era films made for black audiences who weren't allowed access to mainstream cinema.  Once on the verge of being lost (many already are), these films are being preserved and restored for posterity and released through Indiepix Films' "Retro Afrika" series.

Like the rest of the ones I've seen, THE COMEDIANS is a no-budget affair assembled from the most meager resources. But while the filmmakers' talents often transcend low budgets and sparse conditions on other titles, this one is about as crude as it gets, making even MANOS: HANDS OF FATE look almost lavish in comparison.

It stars Hector Mathanda, the most familiar face I've yet encounted in these South African films (he was also in FISHY STONES, UMBANGO, and GONE CRAZY) and by far the most talented actor. The gap-toothed comic is a natural performer and seems entirely at ease in front of the camera, delivering his lines with a loose improvisational style that's often quite funny. (He even refers to himself as "Hector" in one scene.)

He stars here as Mr. Bono, a con man who convinces his straight-arrow friend Mr. Slu to lend him his magic ring (we never find out where it came from or how Mr. Slu gained possession of it) in order to heal his sick wife, Pretty.

Bono, of course, wants the ring in order to amass ill-gotten wealth, a big house, and fancy cars, and even tries to use it to make his wife even prettier (which backfires with amusing results).

His entire plan ends up backfiring after he hires a gang of young toughs to break into Mr. Slu's house and rob him blind, including, presumably, his magic ring.  What happens after Mr. Slu gets wise to the scheme forms the satisfying conclusion to the story.

Till then, though, we get to watch Hector Mathanda perform the most comically craven, greedy, and egotistical character imaginable to his heart's content, dominating the film entirely and apparently having a wonderful time doing so.

Even the amateur-level supporting cast get into their roles and act as adequate straight men for Hector.  Once the big plan goes awry and all of his hired minions end up destitute and in rags (literally), they launch into a surprising acapella song lamenting their fate as they skulk through the ruins of their crumbling shacks.  It's a wonderfully unusual moment.

Technically, THE COMEDIANS is rock-bottom stuff that would get a D-minus if submitted as a student film.  At times you may find yourself wondering if the cameraman even bothered to look through his viewfinder--it's only through sheer luck that he manages to keep the actors in frame, and he often gets lost looking for them.

While many of director-photographer Japie Van Der Merwe's takes are amazingly long, mostly extended master shots without a cut, the actors seem to have the script memorized enough to at least ad-lib their way through it all without a pause.

Hector Mathanda, of course, is in his element here, reveling in his character's bald-faced deceit as he brags to his hired lackeys about such American friends as Michael Jackson, Dionne Warwicke, George Foreman, and even President Ronald Reagan, and pretending to chat with them over the phone.

The film gives us an interesting look at everyday surburban life in South Africa and what was considered upper and lower class among its residents. But mainly it's a fascinating example of utterly artless, basic, primitive-level filmmaking.

Some will have no desire to watch a single frame, while others (including myself) will wish it could go on for another hour or more.  THE COMEDIANS is a cinematic artifact like few others you'll ever see.

TECH SPECS
Format: Color, NTSC, 3:2, Stereo
Language: Zulu
Subtitles: English
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR
Studio: Indiepix Films
Run Time: 87 minutes
Extras: Trailer

indiepix.com
gravelroadafrica.com
retroafrika.com

THE COMEDIANS -- DVD Review by Porfle

FISHY STONES -- DVD Review by Porfle

Here's another of the South African apartheid-era films, made for black audiences, which are now being rescued from oblivion, restored, and released by IndiePix Films. 

As with the others I've recently seen, FISHY STONES (1990) is a low-budget affair that falls squarely into the category of films that I enjoy because they show filmmakers with severely limited resources doing their best to come up with something entertaining.

Here, it's director Tonie van der Merwe (UMBANGO, OPERATION HIT SQUAD) again, concocting a modest comedy/drama about two diamond thieves (Popo Gumede and Hector Mathanda of UMBANGO as "Robert" and "Makhosi") who must toss their bag of "fishy stones" out the window during a police chase in hopes of returning later to recover it. 

The diamonds are later discovered by David and Alex, two teenage boys on a camping trip.  When Robert and Makhosi escape from jail and return to find their diamonds missing, they descend upon the hapless young boys with threats and intimidation.  The rest of the film is a back-and-forth conflict between the two good guys and two bad guys with the missing diamonds in the balance.

Tonie van der Merwe's direction is passable and occasionally imaginative as it was in UMBANGO. The film even opens with a nifty car chase between the two diamond thieves and the local cops, with some well-rendered "poor man's process" shots.

The rest of the story takes place almost entirely in economical outdoor locations, mainly the forest where the two boys stumble across the bag of diamonds while camping out.

Diamond thieves Robert and Makhosi are, respectively, the handsome brains of the duo and its extremely low-I.Q. comic relief.  As Makhosi, the manic, gap-toothed Hector Mathanda (who also plays a mad bomber in GONE CRAZY) ably conveys a sort of sublime idiocy that helps turn most of their scenes together into amusing comedy routines even when they're at their most desperate.

While spying on David and Alex's camp, it's funny to listen to the two crooks argue about who's going to watch which boy (Makhosi claims that since he has smaller eyes, he can see the skinny boy better and thus Robert should keep watch on the fat one). 

They also fight over whose diamonds they are ("My diamonds! Mine!" the childish, intellectually-challenged Makhosi keeps insisting), finally turning on each other and wrestling for their only gun.

After the action of the first act, FISHY STONES settles into a leisurely pace that doesn't generate all that much suspense but does keep us interested in how things will eventually turn out. 

Some will find the long stretches of dialogue and meandering bits of business boring, with David and Alex lying around their camp hashing over what they're going to do with the diamonds (most likely they'll turn them in to the police) as Robert and Makhosi argue endlessly and get on each other's nerves while lurking in the bushes.

As for me, I managed to settle into FISHY STONES' modest groove and enjoy it as a likably low-key and ultimately harmless adventure that goes down easy. 


TECH SPECS
Actors: Popo Gumede, Hector Mathanda, Mandla Ngoya
Format: Color, NTSC
Language: Zulu w/ English Subtitles
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR
Studio: Indiepix Films
Extras: Trailer

indiepix.com
gravelroadafrica.com
retroafrika.com

FISHY STONES -- DVD Review by Porfle