Majuba: Heuwel van Duiwe

It is wonderful to see a South African, Afrikaans, film about the events of the First Anglo-Boer War. The film had a really good production value with good attention given to the appearance of the British and the Afrikaners. Great battle scenes were interestingly enacted at a large scale. The frame of reference during the battle scenes was not very clear during a fight which could be confusing to the viewer. The dialogue of the film was mediocre, the acting from the cast felt dull at times with the best acting coming from the older women in the film. The character drama throughout the film clearly wanted to put an emphasis on the role of the Afrikaner women as well as feelings towards the British, although this generates emotion it falls flat at times. The reason for the conflict and the politics concerning the conflict are mentioned very quickly and does not paint a clear picture of why the Afrikaners were willing to take up arms and fight for freedom. Recommend the film to any South African that wants to see an older Afrikaans film or a film regarding the country's history.

Most people have heard of the Boer War, or the Second Boer War, which went on from 1899-1902. But what most people don't know is that there had been another one two decades before it. That one lasted a few months. Best known as the Anglo-Boer War of 1881, the Dutch settlers, known as Boers, brought the British Empire to the negotiating table after a series of victories, the finally one being at Majuba Hill. This film brilliantly recreates the important events of that war, from both sides.

The runtime is incorrectly listed as being over three hours long. The original cut was indeed this long but the studio had it cut and apparently did not bother saving it, so the original cut is lost forever. A shame, really because the film is somewhat inhibited by this fact as it appears choppy in places. There are no subtitles for the Boers, so this is off-putting but the drama is not difficult to follow.

Where the film triumphs is in its cinematography and battle scenes. Filmed in South Africa, this gives the film the necessary authenticity to make a fine war film. The kit and costumes all appears correct, but this film scores highly probably due to its novelty as there is very little movie portrayals of the better known Second Boer War, let alone the first one in question here.

This is well worth checking out for the history and war kit enthusiasts. The missing subtitles did not restrict my enjoyment of it at all.