Jerusalema DVD, 2008

Inspired by a true story, Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema is an unflinching look into the lives of those looking to survive in the most crime infested district of Johannesburg. Starting off with simple smash and grabs and petty crime, Lucky Kunene quickly graduates to more aggressive heists such as armed robbery and carjacking. Soon, Lucky realizes he needs a much-bigger score to fulfill his goal of escaping from the slums to a dream house by the sea. He hatches an elaborate, violent plan to make his fortune hijacking building from landlords of Johannesburg tenements by winning the favour of the tenants and then holding their rent hostage from the landowners. His high profile real estate acquisitions attract the attention of the local police force who have no qualms about using unprovoked brutality to bring him down. His trouble with the law, coupled with an escalating war between a local drug lord, creates a tense standoff: both sides are closing in, and Lucky must stay one step ahead, or his empire will come crashing down.

Saw this at Africa in Motion Film festival 2009 and I m very pleased to see its getting a DVD release.
Ultra violent, witty and intelligent it offers a jaundiced l... more >

Saw this at Africa in Motion Film festival 2009 and I m very pleased to see its getting a DVD release.
Ultra violent, witty and intelligent it offers a jaundiced look at South Africa, post apartheid, using the rise of a gangster to comment on a deeply divided society. One which traded the injustices of aprtheid for those of neo liberalism. Apparently it was a bit too close to the mark for a lot of South Africans, who hated it.
I enjoyed it greatly, its a worthy addition to the genre of gangster epic, a thinking persons Scarface and I highly recommend it. < less

View all 4 of Tom Pointon’s reviews