Hansie: A True Story

I am kind of tired of watching films, because the quality is graded down with overly hyped storylines and cringe CGI, Platforms like Netflix, and Amazon enhance the quantity of the films but quality zeroed down.

I was perplexed and browsing the movies on Netflix until I came to the word Hansie Cronge, At first I was surprised there was a film about him as being a freak cricket fan, I never heard of it. Anyway, I clicked on the title and started watching it, Unfamiliar to the actors, I tend to feel attached to the narrative.

To clear the air, Hansie is not all about cricket, It covers some harsh facets of his life, I didn't know the man but heard a lot about him. He was a legend, praised by Icons like Imran Khan as he changed the dynamics of cricket in South Africa after the Apartheid era. He was alleged of thrown matches, a controversy which shook the highest tables of ICC as their favourite child India was involved in it. Hansie was dethroned, he tried to recompense his life and during all those struggles, he died in a plane crash, and left for the heavenly abode.

As soon as I finished the film, I read some reviews which tarnished the film, but contrary to them, I found a slice of life in it. A unique way of presenting Hansie with minimal resources, one reviewer mocked the cricket matches displayed in the movie, well Mate if you're reading this then Hansie was not about his cricket, it was about his attitude towards his dream, It's about the temptations which challenges his faith, it was about the traps which ended his career. It was about the betting world which destroyed the careers of talented men, I recounted 2 people, who lost to temptations one of them is Salman Butt, a young left-handed opener who destroyed his life after getting the bait.

Yes, I truly agree, the film was not a spectacle like other cricketing films, but it has the soul to hug you and show you the many emotions and tragedies of life. It's a film for those who celebrate sports, faith, love, friendships and life.

Normally I'm quite critical of movies. I knew "Hansie" wouldn't be amazing and expected it to be low-budget as I knew it was a Christian movie. I was drawn to watch it because as an Australian I love cricket and admired Cronje, and (like one of the other reviewers on this board) I was interested in the South African psyche at the time.

Firstly I was quite surprised to find that the cinematography was really good. I was impressed with the production and could see that a fair bit of money had been invested into the movie. The acting wasn't standout but I expected worse - and it was good enough not for me to notice it during the film.

I have to admit I couldn't figure out some of the accents - especially Bertha (I thought she must have been English, not Safi) and some of the older men portrayed seemed to have English accents as well (the pastor, Justice King, etc).

While I know there are heaps in India, there aren't that many English-language movies about cricket - so I enjoyed watching the portrayal of famous cricket stars and I especially enjoyed the re-enactment of the last over of the 1999 World Cup Semi-final in which Alan Donald was run out. I remember watching that on live TV with mates and expecting Australia to lose the match and then the unthinkable happened. Australia went on to win the World Cup and have also won the last two (2003 and 2007). It was a pivotal point for our team and it was refreshing to see the same event from a South African point of view.

I'm giving the movie 7 out of 10 because I actually enjoyed it - and when that happens I have to rate a movie. It was actually quite sad. Not being from South Africa myself, it was interesting to see aspects of South African life that's similar to things here in Oz (e.g. backyard cricket and BBQs, sport and outdoor lifestyle).

I was never a great Hansie fan, mainly because I am not that interested in sports. However, it is a intriguing story and I decided to watch the DVD to hopefully learn more of the story than what was generally published in the main stream media.

In short, except for some nice camera work, the movie was a serious disappointment in just about every other aspect.

Although Frank Rautenbach probably delivered the best performance so far of his career, I am not hopeful that he will ever be in the league of Marius Wyers or Gys de Villiers for example. I would say this is the very minimum that one can expect from a professional actor.

Why they decided to use the American actress, Sarah Thompson to play the role of Bertha, is not clear. We have more than enough pretty blond local actresses that could fill this position perfectly. She was insipid to say at the least and her accent was a major disturbance. I could not else but to wonder what the real Bertha is like.

The movie totally fails to keep one's attention and I spend a lot of time forwarding scenes. It would be torture to watch it in a cinema.

Probably the biggest disappointment, is the fact the movie did not add a single piece of information that was not available in main stream media. I would say one of the logical main objectives would be to try and answer at least some of the many questions people had about it all.

For a high budget film in any local terms, they should have done much better.

As an Indian kid growing up in 90's i have fague memories of this dominating South African cricket team consisting of some modern greats. Jonty, Donald, Zulu, Pollock, Cullinan, Gibbs, Gary, Mc millan brothers to name a few. But the person i really admired as a cricketer in those days was this smart, cool headed captain naming Hansie Cronje. When all this match fixing saga came up i was very upset and deep down in my heart i was praying that Hansie should deny all those allegations. But my worst fear came true when Hansie confessed everything in front of the whole world in the King's commission. Well coming to the film.. Franc did a wonderful job by letting the world know what had really happened with Hansie. The film was scene to scene enactment what must have really happened in Hansie's life. And to be honest it was difficult to sit through it coz Hansie did let down his fans, his colleagues and most importantly his nation. But are we the right person to judge him? There are some people in this world whom we want to hate, but just can't. Hansie was one of them. RIP bro. We'll always love you. 7 out of 10.

A movie about a subject very familiar to South Africans and cricket lovers. It is an attempt by the producer (Hansie's brother) to redeem the family honour but it falls short.

The story doesn't really get under the skin of Hansie Cronje and fails to really, honestly, examine his motives for taking the bribes and ultimately betraying his team, fans and country.

While one can accept that it is difficult for actors to portray very well known living people, most of them didn't really try very hard at all.

The religious theme is way too preachy, but about what one could expect from the team (producer, director, lead actor) that also made the bible-thumping "Faith like Potatoes". Hansie's "redemption" is unconvincing. It comes across as superficial and fails to convey any sense of sincerity.

Cricket fans will also be disappointed at the quality of cricket played by actors and extras supposedly portraying one of the best teams in the world, mercifully these scenes are few and far between.

The camera work is fairly good, locations are excellent but the acting and directing is well below par.

I was left with the impression that this film, just like Faith like Potatoes, was made for the "church hall" circuit rather than general audiences. It intentionally preaches to the choir.