critics consensus

Moffie uses one South African soldier's story to grapple against a series of thorny questions -- with rough yet rewarding results. Read critic reviews

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Moffie Videos

Moffie: Trailer 1

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Moffie Photos

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Movie Info

The year is 1981 and South Africa's white minority government is embroiled in a conflict on the southern Angolan border. Like all white boys over the age of 16, Nicholas Van der Swart must complete two years of compulsory military service to defend the apartheid regime. The threat of communism and "die swart gevaar" (the so-called black danger) is at an all-time high. But that's not the only danger Nicholas faces. He must survive the brutality of the army -- something that becomes even more difficult when a connection is sparked between him and a fellow recruit.

Genre:

war, drama
Original Language:

English (United Kingdom)
Director:

Oliver Hermanus
Producer:

Eric Abraham, Jack Sidey
Writer:

Oliver Hermanus, Jack Sidey
Release Date (Theaters):

Apr 9, 2021 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Apr 9, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA):

$15.0K
Runtime:

1h 44m
Production Co:

Portobello Pictures

Cast & Crew

Kai Luke Brummer
Nicholas van der Swart

Stefan Vermaak
Oscar Fourie

Ryan De Villiers
Dylan Stassen

Matthew Vey
Michael Sachs

Hilton Pelser
Sergeant Brand

Wynand Ferreira
Synman

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Critic Reviews for Moffie

All Critics (72) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (5)

The filmmaking is strong and confident throughout, while Mr. Brummer's performance is a constant revelation.

April 9, 2021 | Full Review…

Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
It's an usual perspective for an apartheid film, something the director - who is gay and mixed race - has acknowledged initially recoiling from. But that point-of-view only makes Hermanus' mission all the more laudable.

April 9, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Jake Coyle
Associated Press
Although Moffie is competently executed, its genre-straddling will leave you vaguely unsatisfied if you decide too quickly the kind of movie it should be.

April 9, 2021 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle
I was more interested in asking the director about his choices than watching them play out, reminding me of Gene Siskel's question about whether a documentary about the film would be more interesting than the film itself.

April 9, 2021 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

Odie Henderson
RogerEbert.com
This is a gentle beauty of a film with impressive work from a young cast.

April 9, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Randy Myers
San Jose Mercury News
But the emotional intelligence [Hermanus] infuses "Moffie" with... feels personal nonetheless, and empathetically inquisitive about the kind of masculine indoctrination that fuels oppression through rituals of violence and the criminalizing of identity.

April 8, 2021 | Full Review…

Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
"A masterful work of poetic beauty, intense power, and emotional potency."

April 11, 2021 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

James Kleinmann
The Queer Review
Ultimately Moffie's denial of closure, of simplicity, of outcomes that make audiences feel appeased, is reflective of the work that queer people must do in order to live our authentic lives

April 10, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5 | Full Review…

Joe Lipsett
Queer.Horror.Movies.
A dive into the underworld of chauvinism.

April 10, 2021 | Full Review…

Matthew St. Clair
Cinema Sentries
Moffie is a visceral portrait of internalised homophobia.

April 10, 2021 | Full Review…

Pat Mullen
That Shelf
'Moffie' is the first truly great film of 2021.

April 10, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5 | Full Review…

Preston Barta
Denton Record-Chronicle
Hermanus explores the meaning of manhood in South Africa's military culture in revealing ways, all the while reminding us that we're watching kids being asked to risk and possibly lose their lives or suffer the lingering consequences...

April 10, 2021 | Full Review…

Robert Denerstein
Denerstein Unleashed