Four Corners

RELEASE DATE:  August 2014
RATING:  13 LVD
GENRE: Drama
STARRING: Brendon Daniels, Lindiwe Matshikiza, Irshaad Ally, Abduragman Adams, Jerziel Skei
RUNNING TIME: 114 Minutes
DIRECTOR: Ian Gabriel
WRITERS: Hofmeyr Scholtz
PRODUCERS: Cindy Gabriel, Genevieve Gabriel
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.fourcornerthemovie.com

FIRST THOUGHTS

A fresh original portrayal of the gangsterism plagued Cape Town flats

WHY OWN IT?

Four corners, four characters, four stories, that is the theme that runs through the South African gangster inspired drama. If you are like me and you’ve noticed the recent sudden fascination of South African filmmakers with gangsterism, with movies like “iNumber Number” and “Hard to Get” you might be immediately put off craving some sort of originality in subject matter.

There is nothing off putting about Ian Gabriel’s “Four Corners”, it carves it’s own voice in the South African gangsterism  “sub-genre”.

The film tells the story of a fatherless thirteen-year-old boy, Ricardo Galam who lives in the South African Cape Flats and is caught in the middle of a 100 year long rife between two gangs, the 26 and the 28. A beautiful character trait written in by Ian Gabriel is Ricardo’s passion for chess and his aspirations to compete at the world championships. The main character not only sums up his passion for chess but the themes of the movie when he says “chess is like life’. Like chess pieces on the board the leaser of the 26 threatens Ricardo’s future by trying to lure him into the gang, on the other end, his estranged father and former general of the 28 has just been released from prison and is back reformed to reclaim his old neighborhood which is now 26 turf.

This is not a perfect film by any means, it has period when it drags, characters who aren’t developed and it ultimately has a predictable safe ending, but this does not detour from the beautiful acting, cinematography, and film direction.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is a great addition to your South African DVD collection; it’s violent, raw and gripping

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Official Trailer
• Behind the Scenes