Movie Review: Catch a Fire

Michelle managed to score free tickets to the premiere of Catch a Fire, starring Tim Robbins and Derek Luke. In anticipationg of seeing it, I checked out Rotten Tomatoes. A few reviewers wondered aloud why anyone would bother to make yet another movie about apartheid and South Africa. This seemed like a valid question -- until I watched the film.

Without giving anything away, here's a brief synopsis.

A small group of people want to hold on to power in their country. In order to do so, they arrest and torture people. They even do some water-boarding. Anyone that opposes their control is labelled a "terrorist". These terrorists are trying to blow up buildings and trains. They're an obvious threat. So the oppressors are hyper paranoid and vigilant.

In the process of maintaining the status quo, the oppressors arrest an innocent man who has always been apolitical. His philosophy is keep your head down, work hard, don't rock the boat. Despite the fact that he is innocent of any crime, there are suspicious aspects to his story. So they torture him and his wife. Then the authorities realize their mistake -- he's innocent -- and they let him go.

In the end, the torture backfires -- the apolitical man becomes extremely political and joins an agency to fight back. He becomes a "terrorist". He joins a group, learns to use explosives and fire a gun.

While all this is going on, we get a close up view of one oppressor and torturerer -- he wants to protect his family. He teaches his young daughters to fire a gun. He explains that they have to maintain control in order to survive. Yes, it's unpleasant to learn to shoot -- but that's the price of survival. The man's evil is almost entirely accidental, but it's still obviously evil. After all, he does order people to be tortured.

That anyone can watch this movie and fail to see why it is relevant to modern times -- they must live in a cave.

And that's really why this movie is so interesting -- the storyline begs you to compare modern American foreign policy with the policies of apartheid. And yet the film doesn't bang you over the head with it -- if anything, it's barely even a whisper.

"We're just telling you about apartheid and the people that fought it. They're 'terrorists', but not evil. Tra la la! Wait a second -- doesn't this all feel a little familiar?"

Some reviewers appear angry because the film is so subtle. "It should be yelling its message!" Others seem angry because it's not subtle at all. "The film asks us to sympathise with 'terrorists' -- but you can't compare our terrorists and these South African freedom fighters!"

Of course you can make that comparison. There is always a desire to think of ourselves as "the good guys". Do you suppose the South African white oppressors thought of themselves as bad? And when America brings "freedom and democracy" to other countries -- isn't it very much like apartheid? Isn't it, really, about controlling other countries to get access to their oil?

I have to admit, "Catch a Fire" is not a great film. The movie is, strangely, almost an after-thought. A fluffy little action film -- a feel good flick about the triumph of good over evil. All the real matters of importance, that the movie is talking about, take place off screen. This movie is a finger pointing at the moon. I find it comical to see so many movie reviewers talking about the finger, and ignoring the sky.