Faan se trein

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.

This is the result of what you get from an excellent script, matched with excellent cinematography, excellent actors and excellent directing. You get an excellent movie. I cannot find any error on any level in this film. It's just plain excellent. I am a white Afrikaans speaking person, who grew up surrounded by farmers, and coming from several generations of farmers, I can confirm that this is absolutely authentic. Sure, it's pretty depressing at some stages, but life such is life. It's got enough of all aspects, and keeps you wondering till the end, with the plot never blurting itself out or being too obvious. I was emotionally drawn into this film, and the characters were very real for me.

I aspire to make films like this one day, with this level of excellence. I highly recommend this film.

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.

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.

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...