The Bang Bang Club
Movie Review
Duration: 1hr 46mins
IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
Released: 2010
short and dense and the ending is subpar. There are very few scenes
that contain the heart of the story and they are so overwhelming
that the audience is unable to grasp them. The rest of the scenes are
excessive and unnecessary in the telling of the story.
While the telling of the story is not one that can be appreciated, the
technicalities of the movie can be. The cinematography is done in a
graceful manner, a sort of delicacy guiding it. As it is said, the editing
should not be noticed if done well; this movie holds up to this. It
transitions smoothly and cuts cleanly.
T
his movie is not one that can be appreciated in the modern era.
While it tells a story that needs to be heard, a story which has
already gone down in history, it fails to portray the characters in a
sense the audience can appreciate and admire. The movie begins a bit
slowly, as introductions tend to do. It takes a bit too long to establish
the personalities of the photographers. Rather than depicting them as
brave heroes from the beginning it shows the photographers goofing
around and making decisions that are not necessarily bad, but not
necessarily beneficial to themselves. This is an interesting take on
introducing the characters to the audience, as they cannot be very
sympathetic towards them.
The story escalates when the photography truly begins. The audience
witness a poor telling of the four original photographers in their
element and their need to be part of history in the making. Their
passion to capture moments with a global effect is unable to appease
the audience and does not allow them to understand who these
photographers are and how strong their will is. For those unfamiliar
with the photographers, the introduction sticks with them leading
them to believe these men are just privileged white individuals who
got bored of their daily lives. The introduction to these men does not
provide any support to turn these members of the audience in support
of the photographers. It does not go deeper and doesn’t depict their
frame of mind and the psychological state they were in. This is a very
large part of the downfall of this movie and the reason why it cannot
be appreciated in the modern era.
The individuals of today are all hard working who understand what
struggles people of different races face, they understand the struggle
of becoming- something. Seeing four privileged white kids act as if
they’re changing the world does not bode well with the audience. The
perception of these four men could have been changed if who they
were would have been revealed in a better light. Maybe if this had
been intentional the viewer would have been able to ignore the poor
character development, but it clearly was meant to shape the men as
heroes.
The audience, already with a sour taste in their mouth is also a bit
peeved by the poor spread of the story. It begins slowly, the climax is
The story is one that is to be recommended but the movie did not do
any justice to it. It took a tale that needed to be told and botched it.
Most people are unable to understand what apartheid was and how
it affected many people, and this was a chance to change that. Rather
than being a teaching experience, it becomes one filled with distaste
for too many reasons. It is a story much better told by the individuals
who suffered through it. As in many cases, the book again is better
than the movie.
Karishma Rana
[email protected]
Karishma Rana is a 15 year old high school student with too many
passions and too little time to decide what to settle on. She enjoys
capturing moments around the world and has way too many photos of
her dog. She is attempting to dip her toes into the world of photography
and writing.
Vol 5
47