Les Initiés

I don't know anything about the Xhosa tradition or this ceremonial period in which boys supposedly become men however it has made an excellent vehicle for this exploration of masculinity, complex gay themes and clash of cultures. This is a very efficient piece of filmmaking. The dialogue is sparse but a great deal is communicated about the complicated dynamic of the relations between the lead characters. The film is also beautifully shot which always helps. I was impressed when I discovered after watching the film that Nakhane Touré, who plays Xolani is a musician of some kind, I thought he played his part really very well, he is totally convincing as Xolani and Xolani is a very complicated character indeed. A lot of the drama is simply a gradual reveal of the emotional makeup of the lead characters that takes place as the film progresses. All the actions by the characters makes sense within the logic of the world as they understand it and this brings some surprising results. The culture clash between the modern world and the ancient Xhosa tradition is the biggest dynamic in the film. As we learn from the film you can not move easily from one to another.

Firstly the film was an education for me as I hadn't appreciated the ritual of male circumcision in African culture. Secondly the film has a good tale with a plausible, if a somewhat uncomfortable ending. The photography is excellent along with the styling. I can't quite believe all the actors and extras were organised considering the script. That's a triumph. The direction and edit to "suggest" in many scenes and not to be photographically explicit is well skilled and opens up the film to a broader audience.

South African drama about a gay young man Kwanda who gets initiated into a mountain camp by his father to toughen him up. He gets assigned to Xilobi another closeted gay man who is having a secret romance with another called Vija. Complications arise between the three. The story is engaging and promising enough until the end when Kwanda stumbles onto the other two having sex. Xilobi leads him to the edge of a cliff and pushes him off. I fail to see what this story is trying to prove or convey. I guess it's down to personal taste as I have a particular loathing of bad endings or stories that end in violent death when the makers could easily have opted for a very different outcome. The DVD (which I am glad to say I rented rather than bought) also includes an interview with director John Trengove who fails to explain why he opted for such a sick and twisted ending. One film I will never be watching again.