Cinema
Mapantsula
Oliver Schmitz · 1988
Synopsis
Johannes Themba Mzolo, known as Panic, a petty thief from Soweto, is arrested during a demonstration with activists he despised, then interrogated by the officer Stander. Flashbacks retrace his thefts with Dingaan, his stormy affair with Pat, his run-ins with his landlady, Ma Mobise, and his encounters with the activist Duma, through whom the struggle against apartheid catches up with him, while the police put pressure on his family and his neighbourhood. He has to choose between his freedom and the struggle.
Context
The film was shot in Soweto and Johannesburg in guerrilla fashion, with a fake script meant to deceive the police; Thomas Mogotlane, who plays Panic, co-wrote the screenplay. Presented at Cannes in 1988 in the Un certain regard section, it was banned by the censors, who judged it “communist”, after a single public screening. A 4K restoration, made from the original negative, was presented at the Berlinale in 2023.
Who it is for
A 104-minute film driven by township music, dry in its realism; the 2023 restoration makes it visible again.
Prizes and reception
One Future Prize at the Munich festival; voted film of the decade at the South African Film and Television Awards in 2006.