SummaryDuring demonstrations in apartheid-era South Africa, the police arrest Panic (Thomas Mogotlane), a “mapantsula” or petty gangster, while rounding up activists. His interrogation reveals the motivation for his involvement in the township riots. Once only concerned with partying, alcohol and his own interests, Panic finds himself being irreversibly... Read More
Directed By:Oliver Schmitz
Written By:Oliver Schmitz, Thomas Mogotlane
Mapantsula
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
84
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
100% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Mixed
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0% Negative
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90
Like its black anti-hero, the mapantsula (Zulu for small-time crook ) of the title, the movie makers do their job with swiftness, guile and gall. It’s a moral drama in disguise.
80
Mapantsula is timely and relevant 35 years later.
80
It gets far closer to the sights, sounds, smells and rhythms of Soweto life than an entire Attenborough of white liberal movies. Needless to say, it's banned from SA cinema screens.
80
Mr. Mogotlane makes Panic much more than a symbol, treating him as a raffish, amusingly overconfident figure at first and a visibly shaken man as the film progresses, until at last he utters the single syllable that encapsulates the film's final point.
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Production Company:
- Haverbeam
- One Look Productions
- David Hannay Productions
- What the Hero Wants
Release Date:Dec 3, 1989
Duration:1 h 40 m
Awards
Munich Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Nomination




























