El asedio de Silverton

Silverton Siege is a South African film partially based on a true story that raises questions about freedom, slavery and injustice. Composed of a script that takes certain creative licenses when narrating the story, but that is far beyond being a film about the search for freedom.

Silverton Siege chronicles the events that accidentally triggered the "Nelson Mandela Freedom Movement. An emotional film full of feelings of justice and liberation. With outstanding performances and a fairly acceptable editing, the film is permeated by constant tension and by the unbridled rhythm of a group of people who find themselves involved in a spiral where everything seems to be getting worse. An unmissable and indispensable story.

"It always seems impossible until it's done, Silverton Siege uses certain licenses to tell a story that deserves to be told"

Interesting movie where you actually cared for the outcomes of the characters! With a little finer editing it could've been a better movie but still a solid seven from me!

When I first saw the ratings of this movie - I was shocked to see why such a good movie has gotten bad ratings.

Why are the people upset ?

I instantly understood what could be the problem.

It was the fact that the movie is based on actual events.

Upon research, using materials published by the media. I found that the movie had presented a different story than that which actually took place.

But it is also often said that, history is written by victors.

I do not know of the actual events that transpired.

The movie is actually good, with some great acting by Thabo Rametsi and Arnold Vosloo.

Seeing that this movie is a touchy subject to some people because of the event and the groups involved, and the difference of opinion on what actually took place that day. It is unfortunate, that this movie will suffer because of the negative ratings that it will receive.

But at the same time, being an outsider. Seeing this movie unbiased, I understand both the sides.

This film might have been better if it were made into a limited series instead of a film. Perhaps a 3 or 4 episode show. I say this because it needed more main character and situation development for those like myself who are not knowledgeable about the details of South Africa in this time period. Perhaps more time to dive into each character a little more? The film assumes the audience knows what is going on and perhaps this film was originally made for internal consumption in SA. But for a global audience, it makes our head scratch with some confusion.

The beginning of the film is pretty good. I liked the car chases and the fire fights. The acting was excellent. The actors that played Calvin and Terra were very good.

Once the trio reach the bank, the story slows down. So now the viewer has couch adrenaline and no way to dissipate it. The side characters were interesting, comical and cringy. I wonder if there really was an Afro-American boxing promotor with a suitcase with the letters USA written boldly on it like it was on the film or was that improvised? Probably doesn't matter in the overall context of the film.

It's not a bad film. It just needed some touch ups. It leaves global audiences with more questions than answers.

I am Afrikaans, I seriously think the director missed an opportunity to show South Africa. A panoramic view of the city. Nobody has a clue where this bank is located. More detail about the type of police vehicles. Even the special forces.... Is that the type of special forces South Africa used in the 1980s? I don't think so.

As far as the rest of the story is concerned, it is a little slow moving. Meaning these ANC fighters were fast moving. They killed people without hesitation. They strongly believed in their ideology. Some were nationalistic, while others put their ideological beliefs above the interests of their own country and everyone wanted a better life. They were against segregation but they wanted to gain political and economical control over the entire country above all else.

It's interesting, but I am sure people want to see more details about who the characters are.... it is difficult for a director and script-writers to tell more about characters, but that is what people expect. Where do they come from? Show their homes. Their home towns. Of everyone. The entire city. Don't just show units arriving and disappearing, show a little detail about these units.

People like to see more detail of everything. Close-ups of the money that was used. People are interested in those things. The telephones. Everything. The director doesn't realize people are interested in details.

The ANC fighters / terrorists were unbelievable. They were fanatics. Sorry to be so blunt. But it is the truth.

Their leaders were moderates, more than the Afrikaners, but their fighters were indoctrinated in Marxist re-education camps.

So I think the screen time is absolutely wasted on a few characters, while you have an entire city you can photograph and camera angles to bring various perspectives to the story.