This little South African film takes a different approach -- putting politics in the background and ordinary people front and center. Overall, it's a heartwarming effort.
This little South African film takes a different approach -- putting politics in the background and ordinary people front and center. Overall, it's a heartwarming effort.
Filmmaker Mark Bamford explores issues of race, class, and faith in contemporary South Africa against a witty backdrop in this comedy drama. Kate (Debbie Brown) runs an animal shelter that seems to attract as many human misfits and cast-offs as dogs and cats; still dealing with the emotional fallout of being abandoned by her father as a girl, Kate welcomes both two- and four-legged friends into her shelter, but isn't quite so open with her heart, and is looking for true love after a series of
busted marriages. Jean-Claude (Eriq Ebouaney) is a scientist exiled from West Africa who works at the shelter to make ends meet; while his political and economic fortunes have hit the bricks, his spirit has not, and he has a knack for charming kids, women, and vicious dogs. Lindiwe (Nthati Moshesh) is a single mother attempting to support her son and finish her education after the death of her husband, both against steep odds. Dr. Morne (Morne Visser) is a veterinarian who has also lost his spouse, and seems to carry a torch for Kate. And Habib (David Isaacs) and Sharifa (Quanita Adams) are a couple whose marriage of eight years is on the verge of collapse due to her inability to conceive, testing both their patience and their faith. Cape of Good Hope received its North American premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The stories are interlinked effectively, and the film strikes an upbeat note yet does not address racism and discrimination. For all its affection toward its characters, however, the film is too long and too slack.
The film's strengths are offset by flaws including an excessiveness cutesiness (there are far too many shots of adorable puppies), a tendency toward sentimental cliches and too many jarring shifts in tone.
It's hopeful but not saccharine, ambitious but only occasionally broad. And the fact that it's set in a country still grappling with the legacy of apartheid makes its good will all the more relevant.
A South African movie that departs from the political strife of Apartheid - there are still issues of race and class, but they're approached in a more roundabout, accessible way that isn't so in your face.
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