Os Deuses Devem Estar Loucos

A lovely little simple film with a shoestring budget. This film proves Hollywood is crazy for spending so much money when all it needs to do is hire one clever person like (writer/director) Jamie Uys. This film is everything that Hollywood isn't. Simple, silly, fun, genuine, not slick, NOT contrived, real...etc... This movie also proves people don't care about big name actors and exploding cars (though if you are a bushman this has both those things). What they want is a good story told in a clever manner.

Crazy, goofy, and silly are the three most operative words to describe "The Gods Must Be Crazy". But the movie is also very original. It's appropriate that the word crazy is in the title because this is the craziest movie I've ever seen. "The Gods Must Be Crazy" is a South African made comedy that was made back in the early 1980s but didn't get released until 3-4 years after shooting was completed. It became a surprise hit in the U.S. after it was released in 1984, and it did very well in other countries too. "The Gods Must Be Crazy" features three separate stories that get tied together towards the end. One story is about a bushman who goes on a journey to return a Coke bottle that he found to the Gods after the bottle starts causing harm to some of his family members. Another story revolves around a war that breaks out in Central Africa. And the other story centers around a clumsy scientist who tries to take a pretty South African woman to her new job as a schoolteacher in a small African village, and does everything wrong. This is my favorite part of the movie. The scientist is played by Marius Weyers, and he gives an inspired slapstick comedy performance. Some of the things that he does in the film had me exploding in laughter. The scenes with the jeep that he drives are priceless. Sandra Prinsloo is a good foil as the schoolteacher who unfortuneitly has no choice but to put up with his clumsiness. When Weyers and Prinsloo are on screen, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" is at its funniest. The other two stories are good, but not great. Nevertheless, there are some unusual scenes in these parts of the movie too. But the scenes involving the scientist and the schoolteacher are the best parts of "The Gods Must Be Crazy". It's too bad that they didn't turn up in the dull sequel. I think these parts of the movie alone is enough for me to recommend "The Gods Must Be Crazy".

*** (out of four)

What starts out as a simple tale of the bush turns into a wild adventure with a coke bottle, revolutionaries, a dis-enchanted office worker turned teacher, and a scientist who studies animal dung with no skills around women. Add a smart-tongued mechanic and a 4x4 called the antichrist, and you have one of the funniest movies ever to come out of South Africa. You laugh as much at the ludicrous nature of some of the situations as much as what they want you to laugh at. You may never look at Africa the same again.

Don't be put off by the talk of poor production values, bad dubbing, goofy Benny Hill-esque slapstick, and questionable acting. Once you get a look at the enormous smile on Xi's face, you'll forget all of that. This is one of the most gentle, pleasant, and likable movies I've seen in a long time (all of that in a good way).

I'd always heard about it, but somehow managed to miss it over the years. Finally saw it this weekend, and it's a real gem.

For you DVD viewers, there's a documentary with interview footage of Xi. The only problem--no subtitles! Some bozo obviously blew it on the transfer, making it possibly the most frustrating doc ever produced...Be warned!

A unique film with a brilliant combination of slapstick, subtle humour, wonderful music, brilliant wildlife and scenic shots, all beautifully woven into a piece in an almost "road-style" movie around the adventures of a bushman.

Like any story, there are some aspects which are slightly unbelievable if you stop to think - but the skill of the film is that it is sufficiently convincing to suspend such unbelief whilst you watch.

The message of the film is brilliantly presented, subtly challenging the belief that white civilization has all the answers, gently poking fun at many of our western assumptions (no idea why anyone thinks it's racist - it may be the opposite)!

Some of the high points for me personally were the scenery, the wildlife, and the African huts, children and music. Having lived in Africa for 3 years it was absolutely true to life, and brought back fond memories. This is a classic that will bear watching time and time again, and so different from the run of the mill films generally churned out.

A classic - 9/10.