Highly Overrated But Still Good

A Brilliant Conflict

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

I don't think I can adequately put into words how enjoyable this movie was but I'll try because it's really worth your time and I want you to give it a try. This movie was a pleasant surprise. Within a few minutes of watching I realized I'd happened upon a gem. This movie is about Lucky Kunene, a smart young man who is so fun to watch as he figures out how to be a success in spite of being born in a dangerously stupid environment. I did not expect to enjoy watching a story that includes South African apartheid, but fortunately this movie entertains us with the characters story and doesn't weigh us down with the tragedy of racism and poverty.The main character Lucky is poor and smart and that's always an interesting mix. He is portrayed by actors who are so talented that we're spoiled as an audience. Jafta Mambolo is young Kunene and Rapulana Seiphemo plays the adult Lucky Kuene and they both are effortless. I really liked the way this movie moved quickly and yet spared nothing.I came away from this movie wanting to see more Soweto adventures because I knew there must be one,so I watched it twice.

JERUSALEMA investigates the spirit of the individual to assert himself against both the system ad poverty. This film explores concepts of law enforcement in a country whose people have suffered oppression at the hands of police. The film tells the story of a self made entrepreneur from the slums of Soweto, his motto, crime really pays in the new South Africa. Freedom is slavery now, revolutions bring new order and they also bring opportunity. Might is right and possession is none tenths of the law. Welcome to the promised land, a new Jerusalem! The film by Ralph Ziman is based on real events and goes against what has become predictable. Ziman offers us an unusual insight into what has often been called the crime capital of the world. Hillbrow, inner city Johannesburg, demonstrates the beauty and barbarity of a new paradise. The director gives an unbiased view of the contemporary landscape, which most South Africans are aware of, but turn a blind eye. The director remains neutral, impartial, without resorting to stereotypes or over simplifications. He describes a city as it is, without no attempt to gloss over the grit. This is a complex, multi layered view of South Africa post apartheid. It casts a fresh eye on the recent manifestations of xenophobia. Beautiful photography, haunting music and excellent acting by a cast of unknowns. Recommend.

This film was such a disappointment. It sensationalizes crime, celebrates materialism, denigrates Black Africans in general, debases Black women in particular, and glorifies Whites in the same subliminal ways that are so prevalent in Hollywood. As "entertainment" it merely serves to perpetuate all that is bad about South Africa today. I am totally bewildered by those who claim it is better than Tsotsie. No, it is a cheap, trashy, commercial, gangster movie with no morally redeeming value at all. That said, the acting was good, as were some of the technical aspects of the very violent scenes. But the violence was way too gratuitous, as was the excessive footage of half-naked Black women hanging out in the Nigerian drug dealers' den. Sadly, the fact that so many young South Africans seem drawn to the film says more about the present state of social and political consciousness of young South Africans than about the quality of the film.

If this movie were shot in America, I'd give it a 7/10 because too many things are simply formulaic and not done very well. The main guy turns to the criminal life a little too easily. What happens to sidekicks #1 and #2 could come from a McBain (Simpsons) movie. The woman's explanation for why her brother is there is embarrassingly simple - wouldn't it have been better for the brother to say, "hey, this sh*t is real" to convey the same idiot attraction? Most importantly, where did the lead's main criminal idea come from? I believe something like that really happened, but there's so little hint of it earlier in the movie that it's just confusing when it happens. How could anyone come up with such a complex scheme that relies on the actions and inactions of various government agencies simply by reading very general self-help books? I'll have it both ways - I did like this movie. The points above are nits, some bigger than others. I love the depiction of Johannesberg as this crime-ridden, divided city, like "the Wire" squared. I'll stick with the 7/10, though that's unfair given IMDb's general grade inflation.