Ferguson Films

Film Review: The Gift

Thembi Seete as Bontle Shona Ferguson as Thabiso in The Gift. Image source, http://citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2014/11/Page1A_2-599x400.jpg

Thembi Seete as Bontle Shona Ferguson as Thabiso in The Gift. Image source, http://citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2014/11/Page1A_2-599×400.jpg

FOR the most part, our society, through the family as its nucleus, pretends that everything is ok while secretly suppressing the nature of reality as is. The family is caught up by a yearning for opulence as a mark of prestige and progress or the wish itself to have more, by far and large the in-escapable feature of modernity. Often awesomely this situation, the acquisition of material comfort that is, is erected to the ire of those closer to home, our family members. If it does not breed jealousy that drives a wedge between siblings it draws us together artificially due to the material benefit boons it heralds

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dEF’Rating: The Gift

Thembi Seete as Bontle Shona Ferguson as Thabiso in The Gift. Image source, http://citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2014/11/Page1A_2-599x400.jpg

Thembi Seete as Bontle Shona Ferguson as Thabiso in The Gift. Image source, http://citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2014/11/Page1A_2-599×400.jpg

The Gift continues the Ferguson’s crusade on their close scrutiny of our contemporary South African family when it is pitted against the demands and expectations of the world’s prying eyes. We’ve seen this concern in their telle novella, The Wild and their consistent drama series’ offering Rockville. The present work is shot with the same camera work intimacy characteristic of Rockville and the invasion of privacy approach or allow me to refine an expression I have used just now – ‘prying eyes perspective’ that has become characteristic of their work signature. There are moments you feel like you’re eaves dropping on what is being said or spying on what is happening when you view their work. While this film’s narrative is unoriginal, it is the flair with which perspective is given to the cracks of Motaung’s family as an organism that propels the film to stand its own ground in the annals of South African films; the work is freshen up in the way the cracks themselves are revealed and teased out from unexplored perspective. This perspective is the very deep seated conviction on how one sees and locate themselves within the family nucleus. The Ferguson’s The Gift delivers an interesting 4dEF’Points out of Five: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ /

Autumn

 

26 April

© Mmutle Arthur Kgokong 2015

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