'Catch a Fire' is a well acted film about South Africa. Set during the turbulent 1980s the film is rather macabre. That term applies to both its content and context.The dominant theme is Apartheid. Specifically, the film focuses on the black peoples' struggle against the ruling segregationist white regime. That usually is the case with most of these films.As I expected, the story unfolds in a township. Straight away, the plot is told mainly from the oppressed native peoples' perspective. In this instance, that perspective belongs to the ANC or African National Congress. Famous former prisoner, Nelson Mandela, was one of the group's founding members.When we do hear from the supposed oppressor or Boers' point of view, it comes in fleeting glimpses or as banal catch phrases. And usually all we see or hear from the 'whites' is always in the negative. The South African Boer or European colonizer can't catch a break anywhere in the film. That's because Hollywood and much of the world treat the colonizer farmers with contempt. And during these tumultuous modern times that contempt approaches or exceeds the degree once reserved for the 20th century's archetypal ruthless killer villains or Nazis.The film's hero, Patrick Chamusso, is based on the same real life ANC freedom fighter. Derek Luke, an American actor gives a good impression of the man.Chamusso's main antagonist is Nik Vos. He's a Boer and the head of the state's anti-terrorist branch. His character is portrayed by another American, Tim Robbins. Robbins gives a convincing if not chilling performance. His accent is nothing less than all southern hemisphere Boer.Now I'll get back to Chamusso...The film makes a case that he started out as an innocent peace loving family man. Patrick, who also is employed as a foreman at the state's oil refinery, Secunda, lived a model life even for a black man. Ostensibly the film suggests that Patrick was as far removed from politics and the ANC's armed struggle as Pepsi is from being a drink option on McDonald's drive through menu.Chamusso's presumed innocence and neutrality soon change. A recent terrorist attack on the oil facility saw to that. Always diligent, Inspector Vos sniffs Chamusso's scent at the scene. Not satisfied with Patrick's alibi that he coached football that day, the zealot (terrorizing) Boer soon arrests him. To persuade Patrick to confess to the crime, Vos even resorts to torture.And that gruesome treatment is not exclusive for Chamusso. Soon after, he arrests Patrick's wife. When the couple meet later in detention, she reveals her broken jaw, courtesy of Vos' interrogation methods.Fast forward...That is the last straw. Now Chamusso's former peace loving resolve is replaced by his rancor. In mere minutes he hikes to Mocambique. On his arrival in Maputo, the capital, Patrick joins his few happy but totally banned freedom fighting ANC brothers and sisters.Minutes later we see Patrick dancing smartly to the beat of 'Kill the Boer'. He even finds solace in the steely form of either an AK-47 rifle, a bazooka or in Russian made Limpet mines.At the terrorist training camp he meets Joe Slovo. The banned and exiled (still) leader of the South African Communist party then befriends Chamusso. Big Joe even gives him a nickname. Patrick is now 'Hot Stuff'!Start to finish, Aussie director Noyce's overarching message is to romanticize the terrorist ANC. He desires so much to legitimize the ANC's armed struggle as just. Probably with much of their audience, the Hollywood freedom loving liberal producers/directors succeeded. However that tact did not gain my sympathy. The total bias of the film's backers was clear to me. In my opinion, they are guilty of overreaching in their rush to judgment against the Boers in general.For starters, they neglected to mention that 'Father' Mandela as the real life Patrick Chamusso affectionately refers to him never renounced terror against the South African state or its peoples. In fact violence was the ANC's preferred method to enact political change in South Africa. And it still is, even now.To be fair, prisoner Nelson Mandela iterated that while incarcerated he could not guarantee the ANC at large would renounce violence against the state and its citizens. Fair enough...Had the film's brain trust provided even a snippet of context such as mentioning the Boer regime's well founded fear the ANC was equally a Marxist Leninist political party as it was an African Native Army, well, I could have easily upped the star count.As it was, three is as liberal as I get.

Diane and I watched this great film last night on CD after unfortunately missing it at the movies when it first appeared some years ago. We both enjoyed it hugely not only as a skilfully made movie but also as movie about a cinematically untouched period of contemporary history. Director Noyce is extremely apt at making movies about untouched aspects of history and because they are untouched it is probable that they are too politically sensitive or culturally sensitive to be examined. Catch a Fire is one such subject but I believe that he handled the material extremely well and with great sensitivity. After watching the film the viewer is left with a deep feeling of just what the struggle for an independent African South Africa entailed. People that were alive during that great struggle know that there was a struggle between Africans for control of the revolution that was massively violent. We must await another film that will perhaps shine a light on that dire subject.I have already said that Noyce directed the movie superbly; the camera shots and the editing brought a complicated story spread over a reasonable amount of time attest to his film vision and his ability to deliver the project so competently. The African actors rose to the occasion and delivered a mightily believable film. They were able to move through political, family emotions and revolutionary aspects of the story admirably well.

I find it rather amusing, that you are using a movie database sounding board to voice your frustration. Heres a little homework assignment for you. Open up your history books, hopefully they have been given revised since the 1800 edition you last had. One list should contain every single act of barbarism, violence, rape and injustice that the Europeans have committed against Africans, and the second should contain every act of violence against Europeans by Africans. You see maybe Im lucky because I have been educated in a country like the United States I have been granted a luxury. The country I live in gives me the up to date information on the true history of "your" country. I know you probably got most of your history lesson from your pro apartheid grandfather's arm chair built on the backs of the natives. How sad I truly feel for you, but continue to rant about the injustices of being white in a country thats not even yours. God bless America, where we believe in freedom and justice for all.

Vos says:"Between you and me Patrick,apartheid cannot last -25 million blacks, 3 million white people". In the time in which movie takes place there was 5 million whites in South Africa, 3 million remained today. Movie also does not depict in detail white civillains suffering from ANC. Movie portrays ANC actions against property-factories ,railways and similar. It does not mentions actions against white civilians for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Street_bombing Only in one place Vos's daughter mentions that her friends parents were killed at sleep. It also does not say anything about ANC detention camps where people were tortured and executed without trial: http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/TRC%20VOLUME%202.pdf Throughout the movie "they took our land" cry can be heard. It is worth remembering that blacks are not the oldest inhabitants of South Africa, the Bushmen are the oldest. They were displaced and massacred from South Africa by Bantu tribes.