Wild Is the Wind

Comes out of nowhere this South African drama with great actors which are not very well known in the US. Filmed in the traditional South African dialect, English viewers will need closed captions to understand the dialogues.

The engrossing crime drama is about searching for the responsible person(s) for the rape and murder of an18 years old white girl in a town, woven with racial distrust, inequality, injustice, and corruption.

The film starts with two police officers stopping a car for speeding. Unbeknownst to the police, the driver has a ducked-up woman in the trunk. They accept a cash bribe instead of searching the car. They later learn that a woman was burnt to death in the same car. This event changes the officer's played Mothusi Mogano's life. He occasionally sees her, directing him toward the clues.

It is solid entertainment and a great performance. A Must watch!

African crime/narc/thriller movies that includes corrupt cop or maybe they say kopjes, spinning around in the transvaal region i guess, usually brings you into quite some realistic stuff, harsh and tough they act in this movie, that have the racial balance as a meter of issuance.

They are usually wellmade and thourough in their making, but this one slips a bit on, maybe not the main cast, the support and extras that fills the frame. It feels instructive behind the camera, and the lack of heartfelt acting shines through. It maybe amateur issues or just directional fits of action.

But youll get thrill for your money even if they come in a rand-omized order, so a small recommend from the grumpy old man.

The action scenes are stealthy, but the anticipation slowly fades into the background as the script gets a bit dense in highlighting other social issues. The racially fuelled opening fades into the background as the script explores other dire needs of the community who have fallen into poverty and are desperate to get themselves out of it. Medea wants to highlight the endless cycle that occurs in the area and how corruption is perceived. It is more so character-driven, as the police officers are polar opposites of one another. One is more level-headed, and the other is a hothead with a short fuse, which ends up being quite problematic.

*didn't show too much racial tension as opposed to other problems.

As this South African film opens we see police officer Vusi Matsoso accepting a bribe from a speeding motorist. Afterwards he splits the money with his partner, John Smit. As the driver pulls away we see he has a young woman trussed up in the boot of his car. Three years later Matsoso and Smit are more corrupt; they raid a drug den, killing the criminals and taking their drugs to sell to local criminals. Meanwhile there is the murder of another young woman, this time she is an Afrikaner. Racial tensions flare when suspicions fall on her black boyfriend. The events that follow will test Matsoso and Smit's friendship; will they do the right thing or take the easy options?

I thought this was a really solid crime drama. It started really well. We know from the opening scene that our protagonists are corrupt, the only question is whether their corruption is taking bribes for minor offences and robbing drug dealers or whether they will be willing to ruin innocent lives for their own benefit. The story deals with the racial tensions that are inevitably still present in South Africa without feeling as if it is a lecture. The main strength of the film is its acting and direction. Mothusi Magano and Frank Rautenbach really impress as Matsoso and Smit and even those in secondary roles are good. Fabian Medea does a great job directing. The South African landscape adds a lot to the atmosphere of the film; the rugged veldt gives the film the feel of a western at times. While the identity of the man who killed the Afrikaner girl is unlikely to surprise anybody there are a few other moments that do come as a surprise, one time tragically so. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of crime drama looking for something set outside North America or Europe. It would be nice to see more great drama coming out of Africa.

It must be noted that although Netflix suggests this is an English language film most of the dialogue is in subtitled Afrikaans; I didn't find that to be a problem but others might want to be aware before watching.

Netflix does a good job and suggesting movies to watch based on your rating. Sometimes they hit it, sometimes not. This one was killer.

The story was total allegory, based on a true or not, but the allegory is true.

Corruption and envy, and "keep the man down". It is presented in a subtle and measured story (good writing and directing), the actors are spot on, particularly the one who plays the black detective, there is a scene when he is in a car lamenting, wow.

The soundtrack is interesting, the words to the selected songs are appropriate, but sometimes the mood the music sets doesn't match the scene, but overall, the soundtrack is wonderful, especially "Oh My Lord".

This movie has a lot of heart, and I am glad I watched it.