The Bang Bang Club by Steven Silver, 2010 (R)

with Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman, Taylor Kitsch, Neels Van Jaarsveld, Frank Rautenbach, Nina Milner, Jessica Haines, Russel Savadier, Lika Van Den Bergh, Kgosi Mongake

Four combat photojournalists document the end of apartheid in South Africa, a turbulent period marked by brutality and anger. This real-life drama is based on a memoir by Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe) and Joao Silva (Neels Van Jaarsveld), who won Pulitzer Prizes for their work. Along with Ken Oosterbroek (Frank Rautenbach) and Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch), the group exposes the tragic violence that spawned a new regime in the country.

The story is so good that it can take away all the defects that the movie has, such as stereotypes to explain the obvious situation of inequality in the apartheid, or the difficulty to actually understand the context of South Africa's apartheid within the communities. The journey of the photographers is an interesting one with the ethical conflict of being an eye, but not able to take part, and therefor somehow the question of indifference to the subject matter. Interesting.

Watch Trailer:

Disgrace by Steve Jacobs, 2008 (R)

with John Malkovich, Natalie Becker, Antoinette Engel, Antonio Fisher, Isabella De Villiers, Cindy Mkaza, Liezel De Kock, Charles Tertiens, Jessica Haines, Eriq Ebouaney, Fiona Press, Paula Arundell, Scott Cooper, Monroe Reimers

After an imprudent affair with a student, Cape Town professor David Lurie (John Malkovich) flees to his daughter's remote farm to escape the scandal, only to find tragedy when a trio of black youths brutally assaults them. But Lurie is forced to face apartheid's lasting repercussions when he discovers that one of the attackers is related to a trusted employee (Eriq Ebouaney) in this pensive drama based on J.M. Coetzee's novel.

It is a very difficult to understand and not judge what we see in the movie too fast. It is painful to watch considering how far we've gone away from it, and yet still not. And especially for a woman. But considering the history, it is also challenging not to experience guilt. And sadness, and hopelessness, and in that, the movie reaches another level.

Watch Trailer: