SummaryThe year is 1981 and South Africa’s white minority government is embroiled in a conflict on the southern Angolan border. Like all white boys over the age of 16, Nicholas Van der Swart must complete two years of compulsory military service to defend the apartheid regime. The threat of communism and “die swart gevaar” (the so-called black danger) i... Read More
Directed By:Oliver Hermanus
Written By:Oliver Hermanus, Jack Sidey, André Carl van der Merwe
Moffie
Metascore
Generally Favorable
69
User score
Generally Favorable
6.9
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
83% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
17% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Apr 5, 2021
100
Set amid a group of freshly arrived white army conscripts who will be sent to fight communist guerrillas along the Angolan border in apartheid-era South Africa, it’s a riveting portrait of a particular time and place while also being a broader assault on the type of pressure-cooker masculinity where torture, cruelty, humiliation and racism are the coins of the realm.
Apr 9, 2021
91
The way the editing (by Alain Dessauvage and George Hanmer) so gracefully unfolds from present to past suggests a kind of cinematic Proustian madeleine, conjuring how involuntary memories can be jolted again by encounters in the present.
User score
Generally Favorable
67% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
33% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Apr 11, 2021
8
Painful coming of age film, being closeted and serving in the military in South Africa during apartheid. A society based on normalizing brutality and hatred.
Apr 10, 2021
6
When a closeted gay South African teen (a "moffie" in local derogatory lingo) is conscripted into the military in 1981 to fight encroaching Angolan communists and to enforce the nation's existing apartheid laws, he's not sure how to handle himself. And, unfortunately, neither is director Oliver Hermanus when it comes to telling his story. The film's seemingly solid and ironic premise -- that of someone in a persecuted community having to enforce legally sanctioned discriminatory policies against members of other persecuted constituencies -- should have been enough in itself to drive the narrative of this offering. However, Hermanus frequently goes off point (and, in turn, off the rails) in examining other less engaging tangents, drawing attention away from what should have easily made this picture work best. Odd editing, an inconsistent use of flashbacks, a patchwork of incompatible camera techniques and an almost-corny soundtrack don't help matters, either. To the director's credit, he does a credible job of presenting the extremes of emotion that men are capable of, from horrifically barbaric to eminently sensitive and caring, in large part through homages to movies like "Full Metal Jacket" (1987) and "Brokeback Mountain" (sans cowboys) (2005). But, these few strengths aside, "Moffie" is a major disappointment, and that's regrettable, as this BAFTA-nominated release was something I was truly looking forward to.
Sep 6, 2021
80
Kai Luke Brummer is a revelation in the central role, his introverted performance buoying the plot with nuance and charisma. We navigate through the horrors right alongside him, and we root for him, and in the end, despite a striking and sad realization, we gaze at the ocean and wonder if there’s hope for humanity yet.
Apr 8, 2021
80
Hermanus, as a Black, queer South African, isn’t about to paint Nicholas’ predicament as on a par with apartheid’s true victims. But the emotional intelligence he infuses Moffie with — all the way through its inevitable march to the front line — feels personal nonetheless, and empathetically inquisitive about the kind of masculine indoctrination that fuels oppression through rituals of violence and the criminalizing of identity.
Apr 6, 2021
75
At its worst, Hermanus’ forceful direction can land with this sort of thudding literality. But befitting its harrowing subject of young men hammered into rigid conformity, Moffie leaves a lasting mark all the same.
Apr 7, 2021
67
Although Moffie is competently executed, its genre-straddling will leave you vaguely unsatisfied if you decide too quickly the kind of movie it should be.
Apr 6, 2021
25
Oliver Hermanus’s film is a rumination on the consequences of apartheid on those who benefit from it most.
Apr 15, 2021
5
There have been movies depicting the brutal treatment of soldiers during training. There have been movies about a secret gay relationship in the military. This film covers both issues. It takes place in 80s South Africa, when the white minority government drafted all boys over 16 to join the fight to defend apartheid and diffuse the threat of communism. The protagonist (Kai Luke Brummer) watches cruelty on several fronts, while struggling with his own identity and the man he’s come to care about. The majority of the movie is spent showing various characters’ humiliation and fear, while some of the detours and developments seem aimless or abrupt. Brummer’s performance is appropriately subdued, but most of his emotional development comes from his changing haircuts. The heavy-handed ruthlessness that surrounds this story eventually becomes trying and the concluding moments seem abruptly unsatisfying. BTW, the title is South African slang for sissy. (In English and Dutch with subtitles)
Production Company:
- Portobello Productions
- Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa
Release Date:Apr 9, 2021
Duration:1 h 44 m
Tagline:From the Producer of the Oscar®-Winning IDA AND KOLYA
Awards
CinEuphoria Awards
• 5 Nominations
British Independent Film Awards
• 3 Nominations
Venice Film Festival
• 2 Nominations
