South African coming-of-age film The Wound premiered to rave reviews at the internationally acclaimed Sundance Film Festival over the weekend.
Serving as director John Trengove’s first feature and written by Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana as well as Malusi Bengu the film stars Nakhane Toure, Bongile Mantsai and Niza Jay Ncoyini.
The premise of the film puts the spotlight on the initiation ritual of Xhosa adolescent boys in rural Eastern Cape, while also zooming in on repressed homosexuality.
Early reviews of the film that screened on Saturday have praised it for its acting, directing, writing, camerawork and cinematography.
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter writes:
“Nakhane Touré, an openly gay South African singer, makes an impressive screen debut as Xolani.
“As Paul Ozgur’s alert camerawork captures the dangerously shifting dynamics, the strong performances are fueled by the wild beauty of the rural setting.”
Guy Lodge of Variety writes:
“Cinematographer Paul Özgür’s widescreen lens negotiates a tricky balance of representation, lingering over the unfamiliar symbols and textures of Xhosa tradition — ghostly body paint applied to young black skin, the stark white and red lines of their ceremonial loincloths, the incongruous interruption of Kwanda’s nose piercing amid his traditional garb — without exoticizing them for art’s sake.
“Still, this is a film of many indelible images, not all of them unusual: One exquisitely lit scene sees Xolani and Vija roughly horsing around in the yellowed, waving grass of the Eastern Cape veld, a rural tableau rudely invaded by the vast steel skeletons of electricity pylons. In “The Wound,” modernity and tradition each yield scars of their own.”
Nick Allen writes in his review on rogerebert.com:
“The three leads all give solid performances… Trengove proves to be a capable filmmaker, as when he provides energy to the quickness of the circumcision ceremony, covering the frantic event in one take with slice sounds painting enough of a picture.”
The film will next showcase at the 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival.
The Wound Promo from Urucu Media on Vimeo.
SA film 'The Wound' premieres to rave international reviews
South African coming-of-age film The Wound premiered to rave reviews at the internationally acclaimed Sundance Film Festival over the weekend.
Serving as director John Trengove’s first feature and written by Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana as well as Malusi Bengu the film stars Nakhane Toure, Bongile Mantsai and Niza Jay Ncoyini.
The premise of the film puts the spotlight on the initiation ritual of Xhosa adolescent boys in rural Eastern Cape, while also zooming in on repressed homosexuality.
Early reviews of the film that screened on Saturday have praised it for its acting, directing, writing, camerawork and cinematography.
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter writes:
“Nakhane Touré, an openly gay South African singer, makes an impressive screen debut as Xolani.
“As Paul Ozgur’s alert camerawork captures the dangerously shifting dynamics, the strong performances are fueled by the wild beauty of the rural setting.”
Guy Lodge of Variety writes:
“Cinematographer Paul Özgür’s widescreen lens negotiates a tricky balance of representation, lingering over the unfamiliar symbols and textures of Xhosa tradition — ghostly body paint applied to young black skin, the stark white and red lines of their ceremonial loincloths, the incongruous interruption of Kwanda’s nose piercing amid his traditional garb — without exoticizing them for art’s sake.
“Still, this is a film of many indelible images, not all of them unusual: One exquisitely lit scene sees Xolani and Vija roughly horsing around in the yellowed, waving grass of the Eastern Cape veld, a rural tableau rudely invaded by the vast steel skeletons of electricity pylons. In “The Wound,” modernity and tradition each yield scars of their own.”
Nick Allen writes in his review on rogerebert.com:
“The three leads all give solid performances… Trengove proves to be a capable filmmaker, as when he provides energy to the quickness of the circumcision ceremony, covering the frantic event in one take with slice sounds painting enough of a picture.”
The film will next showcase at the 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival.
The Wound Promo from Urucu Media on Vimeo.
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