Catch a Fire Film Review

1. In general, what did you like and dislike about the film?

I think so far this movie has been my favorite because it feels a lot more real than the other two we watched before, maybe because the director wasn't trying to portray the protagonist as a perfect hero, but rather as a dynamic character who evolves throughout the movie and has his own struggles and flaws. Comparing it to Goodbye Bafana, we can clearly see how one exalted the main character way too much while the other let Patrick Chamusso's personality evolve naturally along the film.

One particular scene that I really liked was right after the military ambushed the ANC quarters and members from both organizations died, and the movie shows a parallel between the funerals. That part just made me so emotional, seeing all the people who were fighting to end the apartheid sing and mourn their losses that way was really moving and beautiful. Also, because the official funeral from the south african government was cold and impersonal, since their side of the fight didn't have an actual meaning aside from fulfilling their duties.

2. Who was the character you like the most and the character you liked the least in the film? Why?
The character I liked the most was probably Patrick Chamusso because of the reasons stated previously. He's shown as a man who wanted a normal and steady life, but as circumstances pushed him inside the apartheid struggle he gave his life to the cause. I think that is a very recurrent situation for people who have participated in a revolution or armed struggle: even when they don't want to be a part of the fight, they can't look away from what their own people are going through. At the beginning of the movie, one of the black men who work at the plant with Patrick tells another worker to be less provocative towards the white guards, and I think that represents the opinion Patrick had before he was unfairly imprisoned and tortured, but once he decides to fight back and join the AMC he says he's ready to die. In my opinion, he had an amazing character development.

Nic Vos was obviously the character I disliked the most, because he represented everything that's wrong not only on the south african context but on today's world as well. I don't think this needs a lot of explanation, since Vos was shown as a prick who had a God complex and didn't stop until he had Chamusso imprisoned. Luckily, although briefly, at the end of the film when Patrick sees him sitting down I interpreted his posture as someone who knows they've done wrong, so I hope before he died he at least regretted all his horrible acts and contributions to the apartheid.

3. What was the role of Samora Machel, the FRELIMO, and revolutionary Mozambique in the struggle against the South African apartheid? Use examples from the film and the biography of Samora Machel.

As shown in the movie, some of the ANC quarters where they trained members were in Mozambique, by receiving permission from the FRELIMO government. Without their help, it's probable that the fight to end the apartheid would have been a lor longer since the recruits would've had to find hidden places within their country's territoty. What's really impressive to me is how they worked with the ANC and helped them while creating a revolution in their own country, which only shows how tired the people were from being opressed and constantly getting their basic rights denied.

People like Samora Machel and Patrick Chamusso are really admirable and should always be respected, because even if some people don't condone violence or an armed fight, it's necessary to understand the political context they were living in, where the governments and militias were practicing state terrrism against their people. I also think it's very beautiful how the region helped each country's struggle, and kinda wish something like that could've happened more actively during Chile's military dictatorship as well.