Catch a Fire (2006)
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 141
Fresh: 106 | Rotten: 35
No stranger to the political thriller, director Phillip Noyce tackles apartheid and terrorism with experienced gusto, while Derek Luke and Tim Robbins hand in nuanced performances.
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 41
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 10
No stranger to the political thriller, director Phillip Noyce tackles apartheid and terrorism with experienced gusto, while Derek Luke and Tim Robbins hand in nuanced performances.
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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 28,696
My Rating
Movie Info
An apolitical South African oil-refinery worker and soccer coach is forced into terrorism as a means of fighting back against the brutality of the apartheid regime in director Phillip Noyce's dramatic look at the life of one-time political prisoner and freedom fighter Patrick Chamusso. In the 1980s, Patrick (Derek Luke) and his wife Precious (Bonnie Henna) lived a peaceful life until one fateful day, when on an overnight trip with his team, Patrick is singled out as the prime suspect in a
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Cast
-
Tim Robbins
Nic Vos -
Derek Luke
Patrick Chamusso -
Bonnie Henna
Precious Chamusso -
Mncedisi Shabangu
Zuko September -
Tumisho K. Masha
Obadi -
Sithembiso Khumalo
Sixpence -
Terry Pheto
Miriam -
Michele Burgers
Anna Vos -
Mpho Lovinga
Johnny Piliso -
Mxo
Pete My Baby -
Jessica Anstey
Katie Vos -
Charlotte Savage
Marie Vos -
Nomhle Nkonyeni
Mama Dorothy -
Michael Mabizela
Shaven Head Bomber -
Eduan Van Jaarsveld
Special Branch Sergeant -
Robert Hobbs
Special Branch Lieutena... -
Onthatile Ramasodi
Chamusso Lindiwe -
Ziizi Mahlati
Albertina Chamusso -
Malcolm Purkey
Joe Slovo -
Robyn Slovo
Ruth First -
Bubu Mazibuko
Betsy -
Harriet Manamela
ANC Swaziland Operative -
Susan Danford
White Madam -
Justin Shaw
Young Roadblock Policem... -
Anthony Bishop
Roadblock Police Comman... -
Marius Weyers
Police Brigadier -
Richard Nwamba
Mozambican Solider -
Vanessa Cooke
Widow at Mine Shaft -
Martin LeMaitre
Border Official -
Carel Trichardt
South African Minister -
Brandon Auret
Army Commandant -
Sibusiso Mhlongo
Passport Photographer -
Lennox Mathabathe
Angola Military Instruc... -
Kgosi Mongake
Soccer Captain -
Eckard Rabe
Secunda Security Chief -
Dan Robbertse
Secunda Security Guard -
Ian Roussouw
Torture Policeman -
Anrich Herbst
Torture Policeman -
Jet Novuka
Black Security Branch P... -
Waldemar Schultz
Secunda Instructor -
Mathoto Matsetela
Pretty Girl at Phone Bo... -
Jabulani Ngwenya
Soccer Boy -
Kgaugelo Mpharala
Soccer Player -
David Tumahole
Mozambican Corporal -
Mantele Khomane
Dancer at Wedding -
Khutjo Mmola
Female Railway Bomber -
Dexter Nwanya
Male Railway Bomber -
Kholosa Tshandana
Female Cadre with AK47 -
Mpho Osei Tutu
Shanghai -
Makgano Mamabolo
ANC Woman Typist -
Jonathan Pienaar
Mechanic in Swaziland -
Grant Brett Swanby
Roadblock Policeman -
Thabo Bopape
Security Branch Policem... -
Erno Van Dyk
Security Branch Policem... -
Dirk Vermeulen
Security Branch Policem... -
Johan Van Der Merwe
Security Branch Policem... -
Bongani Manok
Security Branch Policem... -
Mahlubi Kraai
Security Branch Policem... -
Neels Classen
Blonde Policeman -
Onalenna Mokoboto
Patrick's Son -
Patrick Chamusso
Patrick Chamusso -
Thandiswa
ANC Funeral Singer -
Zamajobe Sithole
Wedding Singer -
Fiorha Ntshauba
Backup Vocals -
Siphokazi Maroqana
Backup Vocals -
Dolly Gaehler
Backup Vocals -
Erik Pilani
Guitarist -
Ezra Erasmus
Pianist -
Liaan Adriaan
Drummer -
Michael Phillip Simpson
Bass Guitarist -
David Mbatha
Song Leader at Secunda ... -
Sindi Nontshinya
Additonal Song Leader -
Mirriam "Angela" Doshane
Additonal Song Leader -
Bongani Dlamini
Freedom Singer -
Bongani Maseko
Freedom Singer -
James Zuma
Freedom Singer -
Joseph Ngobeni
Freedom Singer -
Khali Phithi
Freedom Singer -
Malibongwe Yawu
Freedom Singer -
Sibongiseni Phakathi
Freedom Singer -
Thabo Magaretsa
Freedom Singer -
Veli Mavuso
Freedom Singer -
Vusi Simelane
Freedom Singer -
Zakhele Mabaso
Freedom Singer -
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Catch a Fire Trailer & Photos
All Critics (145) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (109) | Rotten (36) | DVD (9)
At its best when making the most of the conflicts at the heart of apartheid.
Top CriticDespite Mr. Noyce's attempt to achieve a sense of balance and restraint, the material covers an overly familiar landscape with no special insight or sense of purpose.
Catch a Fire ignites, incites and informs as few other movies of the fall do.
Catch a Fire is confident enough to depict the battle from all sides.
[The film is] complex. It's rich. I think it's well-done.
Patrick Chamusso, the refinery foreman played by Derek Luke in Catch a Fire, brims with energy, whether he's dancing to a Donna Summer song or coaching the local youth soccer team.
It doesn't quite have the adrenaline to be a great thriller, but Catch a Fire makes up for it with compelling characters and a genuinely important theme, skillfully told. There's not much else you can ask from a film than that.
Gritty apartheid drama pushes PG-13 limits.
Movies like Catch a Fire are perhaps the most banal sort to write about.
Noyce is now the favorite filmmaker of your local Amnesty International
...as the credits rolled, I did hope for more.
(...) Además de su valor testimonial (...) vale la pena por su estupendo elenco.
Let us hope that Noyce's influence in Hollywood will help give this film the attention it deserves, and that his newfound activism will have some effect.
Sadly, it's all a bit of a Boer about 20 years past its sell-by date and tells us little we didn't know already.Catch a Fire's sluggishly paced plot refuses to come
Featuring excllent performances from Luke and Robbins, Catch A Fire is a mature, thought provoking film.
Revolutionary struggle in a film uniquely focused on an ordinary but remarkable man.
An intelligent thriller that effectively conveys the message that terrorism, even in apartheid-era South Africa, is rarely a black-and-white issue.
Noyce's blockbuster tour of duty has equipped him with the skills to bring some of the 20th century's most resonant stories to the masses, dressed in the lean gloss of satisfying thrillers.
Audience Reviews for Catch a Fire
Super Reviewer
This Movie was more than just a Movie. A great Friends recommendation and long review on her experience and the review on the movie made me watch this Movie twice.
Thank you Lilo
Super Reviewer
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