Faan se trein

Not a bad movie for a small town in South Africa, trying to show there different ways in the country.

The cast of the movie is really portrayed very well in each character and the cast had been outstanding.

The film is very well made, which makes it a very pleasant film to watch. The film has a mental side of it showing the lively hood of the Africaner struggle.

As the movie goes on, some of the funny bits and expressions will only be understood by the native language speakers.

This movie is well made for a South African movie, very good performances from each character and explores the inner beauty.

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.

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.

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.

If you enjoy art-house films that explore the darker side of the human psyche and if you enjoyed a film like "Die Wonderwerker", then you'll enjoy this film. If you are looking to be entertained, though, you might need to look a bit further.

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...

This film is very well made. It has excellent cinematography and has very good performances by some of the most talented South African actors. I believe the story is true to its time and setting with typical characters for a small South African town at the time.

It is a deep story about honest innocence opposed to people wearing masks. It is about loyalty, stereotypes, prejudice, community, acceptance, priorities and redemption.

All of this does not make it a pleasant film to watch, though. The film explores the beauty and the dark side in people and raises difficult questions about what we base our decisions on.

Overall I found this a very depressing film that wallows in an "Afrikaner struggle" mentality. The only emotional appeal that the film has is that it tries very hard to evoke pity from the viewer - pity for the prejudices that Faan faces as a handicapped person and pity for his father who, as a struggling manual laborer is up against the threat of mechanization. Unfortunately I believe that pity serves rather badly as the sole golden thread that's supposed to keep me glued to a movie screen.

If you enjoy art-house films that explore the darker side of the human psyche and if you enjoyed a film like "Die Wonderwerker", then you'll enjoy this film. If you are looking to be entertained, though, you might need to look a bit further.