Indemnity

Well acted and executed local production shot in Cape Town, which is always a plus. A twist on myriad US based pharmeceutical company evil intent stories, the centre of action involves an Africa based plot so it is refreshing to see this continent producing films so watchable. Great job by all concerned and I think it represents an example of African talent on par with the rest of the world.

It just dragged on and on, with overdone melodramatics and a sappy score. Newb writer, producer and director Travis Taute still did a fairly decent job overall, but the overly long scenes needed editing down so the bloated 124 min runtime be at the most 90 mins. The action was ok, and the story although cliched, routine and predictable, still had some merits. Casting and performances were decent for the most part, with the lead Jarrid Geduld being the least convincing, perhaps due to Taute's inexperience in directing his cast effectively. It's a watchable South-African entry into the action film genre, as long as you have patience.

No pun intended - only we ourselves really know that. Sometimes even that isn't true. Now how can we know - maybe we do, but from the outside, how are others able to tell what person we are? And that is true for any character we see in the movie. We are thrown into a situtation and we experience it, the way our main character is.

So there are a few things that may be surprising ... maybe you could see most of it coming from a mile away ... but even if this is the case, you can have fun with the movie and its theme. It is low budget and it has some neat elements in it. Acting is good and the suspense is high enough for it to be thrilling until the end. Twists and turns included ... you may not like how this turns out ... but then again, the movie is consistent.

"Indemnity"

"Indemnity" follows Theo Abrams (Jarrid Geduld), an ex-Cape Town fireman. He used to be one hell of a firefighter. Today, he's forcibly retired, wracked with PTSD over the on-the-job deaths of friends. His world is rocked when he wakes up next to his wife's Angela (Nicole Fortuin) dead body with no recollection of what transpired and all evidence pointing to him as the killer. Soon, he will find himself the target of every cop in Cape Town, a wanted man denounced as a public danger over a horrific crime he has zero memory of committing. Labeled the prime suspect, Theo quickly finds himself hunted by sinister forces and Detective Rene Williamson (Gail Mabalane), a notoriously ruthless deputy chief of police, and embarks on a breakneck mission to uncover the truth behind his wife's death before a terrifying conspiracy changes the course of a nation forever. In his efforts to understand what happened, Theo will uncover a secret so terrible it will make the cops hunting him become the least of his worries. And all hell will break loose.

Protagonist Theo Abrams is a firefighter on the run after his wife is killed and he's accused of the murder. "Indemnity's" explosive opening sequence depicts the origin of Theo's PTSD, one of the film's central plot elements. As he and his fellow firefighters attempt a daring rescue, tragedy strikes and two of his colleagues are killed. The scene is filmed with actual fire, which required the character to go through specialized training. The compression and force inside the shack is immense. It's all in camera. There's no way you can cheat it because the firemen's visors are clear, so you can see their faces. Literally walking through flames. What a rush!

In the film's most spectacular stunt, Theo climbs out a 21st-story window, drops down one floor and crashes through the window below in order to evade his pursuers. Any film we've watched with stunts that have been performed for real has always given us more entertainment value and a more immersive experience. It feels like we captured a moment of pure desperation and survival on the part of Theo. It's a literal leap of faith. And that's what survival is, doing something without knowing if it's going to go right or wrong.

A nonstop thrill ride packed with stylishly choreographed fights, car crashes, explosions, daring fire rescues and a heart-stopping drop out of a 21st-story window, "Indemnity" is perhaps South Africa's most ambitious homegrown action film. Adding to the fun, lead actor Jarrid Geduld, a newcomer to the genre, performs all of his own spectacular stunts. The film wants the audience to go on a journey with this character and feel like they could be in a situation like that. The audience knows what's real and what's not, and the key point on everything, the flames, the house, the car stuff, the heights, it adds an element of green screen or blue screen. It's a bit too over-the-top and this character maybe wouldn't have done that.

Written by Gregory Mann.

South Africans are more likely to find this movie interesting, especially those living in Cape Town. Real thrill and action packed film which is based around an ex fireman who gets framed by elite government officials.