Ballade vir 'n Enkeling (2015) Reviews

• Uitstekend

  lmbester2015-04-17

  Ballade Vir 'n Enkeling is proof of the remarkable abilities of a new generation of Afrikaans filmmakers. For years the Afrikaner community has been overloaded with very mediocre movies. Ballade is a fresh breeze in an otherwise artistically defunct industry. Veiled in mystery, we follow the complicated life of protagonist Jacques, a writer. His character is an exploration of the tragedy of loneliness. Once said of Ingrid Jonker, I echo this of Jacques: 'The artist, on his own, searches for reason in the tumultuous, ever-changing spiritual chaos of this world.' The characters are written with sufficient depth (albeit that in certain personalities some overused stereotypes persist). As such, all that may be found wanting is resorting of the scriptwriter to some lines (fleeting luckily but still somewhat lazy) hallowed in cheap cliché's - undeserving of such an otherwise well-rounded film. The writer, it seems, sometimes forgot that he was the creator of real human beings (an essential trait for the gifted writer). Nevertheless, the actors and director cloud these trivialities with terrific performances. Never before have I been so astounded by a local production. The director, cinematographer, actors, writer and the rest of the cast have created a true gem. Compared with international productions this film wouldn't stand out, but it'll hold its own weight none the less. Something that I cannot say of any other Afrikaans film. Well done to the film-makers (especially the cinematographer). This is worth the watch.

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• 'Ballade vir 'n Enkeling' is an embarrassing melting pot of bad ideas

  Alan_L_2016-12-23

  I love my home country, South Africa, from which this film spawned. I think it's great that local films are being produced in a more professional way than ever before, but that does not make this a good film. It's being hailed as a great movie, simply for being better made than most Afrikaans films. I know I sound cynical, but this film was recommended to me by a friend, who claimed that it was a thrilling, gorgeous looking movie that I would surely enjoy. It really wasn't. I have many problems with the film. I think the director and screen-writer worked together to toss as many clichés in as possible, with the hope that it might remind some viewers of what terrible Hollywood dramas feel like. This is probably because, when you watch an average Afrikaans film, it doesn't feel like a movie. It's just not right. The best aspect of the film was the cinematography, which actually was pretty bland. There isn't focus on composition or meaning in the images, it just feels slightly more professional, because it moves smoothly. This was already accomplished with 'I-number number', a pretty surface level S.A. action movie, that was ignored because it didn't pretend to be amazing. It knew it was simple action, which is good. But with 'Ballade', they think making things look more professional will keep the audiences believing that it is actually of quality. Apparently, it worked. The clichés and stereotypes continue throughout the film, with needless plot elements shoved in because the director or writer thought; "This is the kind of stuff that happens in real movies, right?". Needless fight scenes, needless romantic scenes, needless plot twists, etc., all just happen with no motivation. They don't develop characters, they just happen. It should perhaps come as a surprise that the screen-play is written by one of South Africa's most respected film critics. Some performances are okay, particularly the lead journalist, but her friend is unbearable. Her character is unnecessary, and similar to a lot of other aspects is there because 'movie'. Some of the performances however, are laughable. The teen friends in particular make for a lot of embarrassment. There are a number of motto's the characters have, that they repeat so many times. It doesn't help that these motto's are extremely generic. There are many scenes and choices by characters that make little to no sense. No emotional connection is formed with any characters, because they're all just cookie-cutter people. They're like the terrible and generic picture that comes with your new frame. To top it all off, 'Ballade vir 'n Enkeling' has one of the worst endings to a film I've seen in a long time, mostly because of how lazy it is. This is a terrible and in-excusable film, do not see it. Watch 'Noem My Skollie' instead. I'd give that film a 6/10. It isn't particularly good, but it isn't bad either. Either way it'll make for a much better watch than 'Ballade vir 'n Enkeling'. I'm giving the film one extra point for caring ever so slightly about it's production. 2/10.

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• Not convincing enough

  jlroodt2015-06-06

  This film has good production values and takes the modern Afrikaans film to a new height of quality of direction and acting. It is a compelling story and the events are revealed in flashbacks from different perspectives. Unfortunately, this film suffers from a number of unnecessary and perhaps detracting plot events, and some visual effects are not really appropriate to this genre (the typical effect being computer screens being superimposed over the background). For example, the meeting of the three main characters at the pool seems contrived, even impossible. The subsequent obvious sexual tension is understandable, but the deliberate avoidance of this by the characters of this is unbelievable. Then the shooting of the father is set up rather ridiculously with the father hiding behind the earth mound on which the targets are place. This is rather stupid and no person with some knowledge of guns would do that. Also the disturbance of the birds by Lena is rather contrived. Then the events in the correctional facility for boys seem to be written for a movie, rather than from the perspective of a person who has to endure three years of that environment. I don't know that such facilities would be permitted in an environment where parents are visiting their children in the facility. To summarize, it is an enjoyable film, and worth watching, but leaves one a bit unconvinced at the end of it.

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• The Poet, the Painter, and the Architect

  lavatch2019-05-19

  "Looking for Jacques" is a film that struggles to make up its mind about whether it is thriller, a sentimental, "feel-good" movie, a coming-of-age film, or a domestic tragedy. In its sprawling storyline, it ultimately is a blend of all four genres. The structure of the film is a detective story told from the perspective of a tabloid journalist named Carina Human, who has pretensions of writing more substantial articles. Miss Human lands an assignment to dig up dirt on a famous writer named Jacques, who has suddenly gone missing. She then pieces together his bizarre life story that involves lust, murder, and mayhem. The narrative is a meandering saga involving a triangulated relationship with Jacques and two cherished friends from his youth, a charismatic female painter named Lena and his closest school chum, Jan-Paul, who dreams of becoming an architect. The drama that unfolds is a tawdry saga of intense passion, a melodramatic death, and a fateful series of lies. Jacques is in the middle of a perfect storm of drama, yet it is odd that he does not write about it autobiographically in his best-selling novels. Instead, it is left to Miss Human, working for a sadistic editor, to uncover the truth about Jacques. At the heart of the story was the "bullseye" target at the shooting range, where Jacques's father, the "train driver of the year," is unfortunately shot through the noggin, leading to Jacques' "dark years" from 1997-99. The dim-witted father decided to stand behind the target on a mound of dirt exactly as Jacques and his architect friend Jan-Paul were shooting. As Jacques had no experience in shooting, it was truly odd the father would place himself in the line of fire, calling into question how it was possible for him to become "train driver of the year"! A key moment of distraction with pigeons flying led to mechanical error on the part of the shooters. The irony was that Jacques was to learn how to shoot in order to protect his beloved Lena. While "Looking for Jacques" was too long and especially dragged in the first half, it nonetheless reflected good production values, interesting location footage, and an intriguing set of characters. There is a nice touch with a completely unexpected plot twist at the end that ties together the time Jacques spent in the "Lord of the Flies"-style Danneberg reform school with the profession of tabloid journalism. A tagline that emerges in the film is "Don't think! Just do it!" Both the Miss Human and Jacques seem to live by that creed, and it leads them both to a destiny of forgiveness and redemption.

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