172. Moffie; movie review

MOFFIE
Cert 18
104 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very strong language

I always thought life in the army would be tough but this is beyond my wildest fears.
Moffie, Oliver Hermanus's intense dramapiles high the intensity of bullying during training for the South African army during the apartheid period.
It also has it its heart, the terribly harsh treatment of the young soldiers who reveal themselves to be gay or Moffies, as the Afrikaans insult goes.
The dangers of persecution influence those such as Nicholas (Kai Luke Brummer) who tries to keep his sexuality suppressed.
Nicholas is the focus of Hermanus's movie which follows him through the gruelling training in preparation for a tour on the border with Angola - a country in conflict with South Africa's white minority government.
Being gay is forbidden but, despite the dangers in this testosterone-fuelled atmosphere, he sparks a connection with another recruit (Ryan de Villiers).
Meanwhile, we learn more about Nicholas through flashbacks to his home life and difficult past.
Both Brummer and De Villiers bring authenticity to their roles as does Hilton Pelser who plays the uncompromising unit leader.
The latter appears to be more concerned with out-and-out brutality than discrimination but is he being cruel to be kind? Clearcut views about him may be modified as the movie progresses.
Moffie is remorseless. It reflects appallingly on those who ran apartheid South Africa and who wallowed in its inequalities.
This is a society in which white manliness is seen as the ultimate status symbol and prejudices are slammed home via physical and mental torture.
It is hard to take for the viewer - we can only imagine what it was like to live through it.

Reasons to watch: Harsh but revealing take on life inside apartheid South Africa
Reasons to avoid: Violence and prejudice

Laughs: None
Jumps: One
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? The Aversion Project was a medical torture program in South Africa led by Dr Aubrey Levin during apartheid. The project identified gay soldiers as conscripts who used drugs in the South African Defence Forces and victims were forced to submit to "curing" their homosexuality.

The final word. Oliver Hermanus: “I realised that if you were gay and you were white in South Africa in the ’80s, as much as if you were black, you were also called an enemy of the state, because your sexuality was a crime, and so, therefore, you were a crime.” The Quietus

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