Torn Allegiance

Those imperialist Brits get a trashing again in this otherwise well paced film about the Boer War in South Africa from 1899-1902. Seen from the viewpoint of the Dutch farmers (Boers) in the area and especially centered on the experiences of one "on the brink of womanhood" character, the story unfolds with both quiet, beautiful moments and unbelievable, senseless violence, committed by the British soldiers, who admittedly "are not Sandhurst or Aldershot boys", but rather from the low life side of England. There are protracted scenes spoken in Dutch (or something) which are not captioned and one plot device- a relationship between a British general who is a brother to the wife of a Boer farmer - that goes nowhere, but otherwise this movie has merits, mostly visual ones.