Since we just mentioned Malin Akerman and the film, “The Bang Bang Club,” we figured we’d finally get around to this one which has been sitting in our queue for a few weeks. Especially since the Toronto International Film Festival starts today.
Why the comparison this morning, one reader asked? Because “The Bang Bang Club” unfortunately looks like a picture that is going to be incredibly overlooked at TIFF (have you heard one person even mention yet?). Here’s two photos from the film, plus the promo trailer below which prominently features The Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” and later, David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie.” The picture has a decent cast — Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman, Taylor Kitsch, Neels Van Jaarsveld, Frank Rautenbach — but so far we’ve heard zilch in terms of anticipation (obviously it hasn’t screened yet either). Here’s the synop:
South Africa, 1994: Nelson Mandela has just been released from prison and tensions are steadily rising in the final bloody months of apartheid. Tribal factions, backed by the white government, wage bloody war on each other and gunshots ring through the streets of Soweto. In the middle of this are the Bang Bang Club; four young white photojournalists who made sure the world saw the carnage ripping through the streets of their hometown. Based on true events, this film is a harrowing exploration of heroism in the face of violence.
The picture is directed by Steven Silver (the docs “Gerrie & Louise,” “The Dark Years”). It screens publicly for the first time Wednesday, September 15 at TIFF.