Silverton: Cerco Fechado

When I first saw the ratings of this movie - I was shocked to see why such a good movie has gotten bad ratings.

Why are the people upset ?

I instantly understood what could be the problem.

It was the fact that the movie is based on actual events.

Upon research, using materials published by the media. I found that the movie had presented a different story than that which actually took place.

But it is also often said that, history is written by victors.

I do not know of the actual events that transpired.

The movie is actually good, with some great acting by Thabo Rametsi and Arnold Vosloo.

Seeing that this movie is a touchy subject to some people because of the event and the groups involved, and the difference of opinion on what actually took place that day. It is unfortunate, that this movie will suffer because of the negative ratings that it will receive.

But at the same time, being an outsider. Seeing this movie unbiased, I understand both the sides.

This film might have been better if it were made into a limited series instead of a film. Perhaps a 3 or 4 episode show. I say this because it needed more main character and situation development for those like myself who are not knowledgeable about the details of South Africa in this time period. Perhaps more time to dive into each character a little more? The film assumes the audience knows what is going on and perhaps this film was originally made for internal consumption in SA. But for a global audience, it makes our head scratch with some confusion.

The beginning of the film is pretty good. I liked the car chases and the fire fights. The acting was excellent. The actors that played Calvin and Terra were very good.

Once the trio reach the bank, the story slows down. So now the viewer has couch adrenaline and no way to dissipate it. The side characters were interesting, comical and cringy. I wonder if there really was an Afro-American boxing promotor with a suitcase with the letters USA written boldly on it like it was on the film or was that improvised? Probably doesn't matter in the overall context of the film.

It's not a bad film. It just needed some touch ups. It leaves global audiences with more questions than answers.

Set in 1980s Apartheid South Africa, three members of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Calvin Khumalo (Thabo Rametsi), Mbali Terra Mabunda (Noxolo Dlamini), Aldo Erasmus (Stefan Erasmus) carry out non-lethal operations of sabotage against the White Supremacist Afrikaaner government. When the teams latest operation is stopped due to an informant within their team, the trio are forced to flee and take refuge in a bank with hostages. Captain Langerman (Arnold Vosloo) of the police tries to negotiate with the trio whilst also keeping the overzealous army from exacerbating the situation. With no hope for escape, the trio stage a standoff in the bank with the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of imprisoned MK leader Nelson Mandela.

Silverton Siege is based on the real life bank siege in the Silverton suburb of Pretoria, South Africa orchestrated by the Silverton Trio of Wilfred Madela, Humprhey Makhubu, Stephen Mafoko as well as George Molebatsi are credited with starting the Free Nelson Mandela campaign. The movie is the softmore feature of Mandla Dube who previously directed Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu and the debut feature writing credit for Sabelo Mgidi. The movie works as both an engaging standoff movie as well as a character piece of how far one will go to attain freedom when it is cruelly denied.

While this may only be Mandla Dube's second feature film, you wouldn't know from watching it because with it's tight pacing and gritty aesthetic that harkens to crime films of the 1970s, it's a movie that is filled with style and tension to spare. The movie is sort of an "anti-heist" film in that it takes many of the tropes and trappings we've seen in these kind of standoff stories in American or European productions and reframes that setup in a uniquely South African story. Arnold Vosloo who most people know as Imhotep from Universal's Mummy movies gives a solid performance as Captain Langerman who's trying to resolve the situation peacefully and has no agenda other than making sure everyone (even the MK trio) end the situation peacefully and without casualties. The three MK members are also really good with Thabo Rametsi a strong lead who wants to make a difference whilst also avoiding casualties as he and his team make it a point only to destroy property and infrastructure and never people. Noxolo Dlamini and Stefan Erasmus are equally good as Rametsi's team, with Dlamini in particular giving some solid intensity to her role that keeps you on edge.

The movie does have some hiccups to it however, the movie has one of those cold opens that's a mere 20 minutes into the movie and it really didn't need to have it. I also feel like the movie takes for granted its viewers' knowledge of South Africa's history with the MK's full name never actually mentioned in movie, we do get the general idea of the era but it's the sort of thing that could've benefitted from a prologue with some archival footage. The movie also has a character Supervisor Christine played by Elani Dekker, and while her performance is fine, there's something about the way the character is positioned that makes her come off as something of a "savior" in the context of this story, but it's not egregiously so or anything and it is in service of looking at the spectrum of everyone in the context of South African Apartheid with those on the black side who either submit, rebel, or in one character's case "pass", and on the white side you have those who are egregiously supremacist, those who are doing it because of maintaining a status quo, or those who are sympathetic but impotent. Like any movie there are flaws, but for me personally the flaws were far outweighed by the emotional resonance of the characters on display and I was glued to my seat for the entire running time.

Silverton Siege is a well-directed feature by Mandla Dube that incorporates the well worn tropes of bank heist/standoff films to build an exciting and thematically rich story that doesn't let up till the very end. With engaging performances from Thabo Rametsi, Noxolo Dlamini, and Arnold Vosloo, movie is as well acted as it is directed and you grow to care about this situation and its ultimate outcome. The movie is maybe a little too confident in assuming viewers' knowledge of Apartheid and some of the characters do feel a little heavy handed in certain respects, but despite these minor points Silverton Siege is an engaging historical thriller and I look forward to seeing more from Mandla Dube, Thabo Rametsi, and Noxolo Dlamini.

Considering it's a low budget, This movie it's amazing, in the way of creation with intriguing camera directing and acting was pretty good.

Don't watch if you except something extraordinary, just try to enjoy the movie the way it is.

In the film was mentioned the name of Nelsom Mandela, Rest in Peace..

The movie was doing was pretty good, but after I read what really happened, I was disappointed. They could have followed the actual events and the movie would have been even better.