Fiela se Kind

Yet when two film versions of the same novel are made, it's somehow impossible not to compare.

I'm in the habit of never reading reports or reviews on films or theatre shows before seeing it myself. The following is therefore my uninfluenced and undiluted opinion.

Let me start off by saying that I've seen various stage productions and synch translated the Chris Barnard (screenplay) Katinka Heyns (direction) 1987 version of Fiela se Kind from Afrikaans to English. Moreover, I met Dalene Matthee in 1978, became friends and read the novel on publication in 1985. I'm therefore more than acquainted with the plot/story and characters.

Brett Michael Innes's treatment both in scriptwriting and direction is laudably restrained and austere. In his retelling of this tale of fate, cruelty and tragedy, the central theme speaks crystal clear: love knows no boundaries, a mother's love least of all.

IMDb is not the place, neither has the space, to do a dissertation, Suffice it to say that I was not reduced to tears, but to sobs, owing to that exact honesty, sincerity and restraint.

Fiela se Kind the movie 1987 was a good movie and the character a performance. Even a good performance. With a great performance by Lida Botha as Berta van Rooyen, the forest mother. Fiela se Kind 2019 is an experience and the character by means of Zenobia Kloppers a human being. She ripped my heart out. So did the other characters. Not a trace of acting. Honesty, simplicity, sincerity. There is nothing ostentatious or showy.

The contrast between the whitewashed KleinKaroo farmstead and the forest hut speaks volumes in itself. Coloured people sitting at table eating with cutlery versus whites using their hands. Class is not confined to colour or race,

The original is much better in spite of aesthetics. This version feature a few great actors, but artistic license was taken to the extreme and it resulted in a movie that is very far removed from the original...losing the heart of "Fiela se kind".

Fiela se kind is based on the novel by Dalene Mathee and a real South African classic. The original screenplay needed to be updated for newer audiences and I think this version was great. Scenery is spectacular and the screenplay remains historically accurate. Great acting all round and a gentle reminder of our past.

Ten out of ten. I don't know how people can tate this movie less.

What a terrible representation of Fiela. She is portraid as a push over who just let people take her child. And the young Benjamin is supposed to be twelve. But he looks nine. Really not a good movie.