Faan se trein

Willie Esterhuizen, known for slapstick comedy, is brilliant in a serious role. The entire cast is great and very convincing, but special mention has to go to Willie Esterhuizen and Nicola Hanekom. This is an all-round top notch production and also one of the most awarded Afrikaans films of all time.

Sadly this movie will never have the rating it deserves because so much is lost if you watch it in another culture with subtitles. One complained about the overuse of the Christian faith, yet that was the context of the culture especially so around that time. The subtitles would never do the original language justice so it's understandable that it would be perceived by the less perceptive as trite. All considered, when you end your dribble by saying 'cuz' instead of 'because' you end up only aging yourself as a modern day teen and rating your own review 4/10, if that. The movie is true to South African historic culture, the language, nuance, etc. Normally when we review foreign movies we attempt to compensate for our own ignorance about that specific culture. I hope people will see it from that point of view. It's really a beautiful movie from story, acting, sound, cinematography, directing.

The producers of this film casted well-known South African actors to star in the film, resulting in perfect portrayal of the characters. The script nostalgically supports the characters with charming Afrikaans expressions. Detail especially shines in this film: props, costumes, make-up and sets were carefully chosen to support a Cape village set in 1959. The music was well composed and supported dramatic moments in the film.

Unfortunately, some of the humour will be lost in translation: some idioms and expressions will only be understood by native speakers. A traditional folk-song "Al lê die berge nog so blou" was played on a violin, furthering the feeling of nostalgia. Perhaps the composer could have incorporated song fragments into the film to unify the music. The only "thematic transformation" of "Al lê die berge nog so blou" was a representation of the song in the dorian mode.

Outstanding direction and attention to visual detail made Faan se Trein a joy to watch: strongly recommended for all members of the family.

This film for me and wife was a little masterpiece and am surprised that it has not received more international attention or more local acclaim.

One reviewer said that the portrayal of a simple minded person in a small Afrikaans community would cause offence, they could not be more wrong since the portrayal was superbly executed (An extremely difficult role that deserved an award), ably backed up by an excellent cast that capture this small drought ridden Afrikaans town with complete aplomb.

I will not reveal the story, other than to say that that it is a little gem brilliantly directed, superb cinematography and the use of the music (Excellent) is so well done that it enhances the quality of the film. So many films the use of music is excessive and detracts from the film but not here, congratulations to all involved.

My wife and i thoroughly enjoyed 'Die Wonderweker,based on the life of Eugene Marais, but this film is even better. There is no doubt in my mind that Afrikaans films can be up their with the best international ones. Yes, there is a lot of mediocre to bad ones made, but that also applies to overseas ones as served up in copious quantities on television, this one being an extremely welcome exception.

This film tells the story of a small community in a drought stricken area. Not too uncommon for South Africa. Its an inspirational story about survival, reaching your dreams and not giving up no matter what!

Faan might offend some folks, but he is so true to character and so honest about himself it doesn't matter.

The cinematography and music in this film contributes to the feeling and mood of the film, creates the same expectation as the tanks in Saving Private Ryan.

If you see one foreign film (to the folks outside South Africa) make sure you watch this spellbinding story. Oh and don't forget your tissues...