Proteus (2003)

Proteus (2003)

Smješten u 18. vijeku u Južnoj Africi, ovaj film nam predstavlja istinitu priču o ljubavi izmeđju Holandskog mornara Jacobza i Hotentota Class Blakea. Obadvojica su pogubljeni zbog sodomije 1735. godine.
Njihov odnos takođe ima i rasnu komponentu, što je za ono vrijeme imalo pogubnu poslijedicu.

Ovaj izvanredni film, posjeduje odličnu priču, glumu, dobro urađen sa tehničkog aspekta ,obiluje prelijepa fotografija sa pejzažima snimljenim na Ostrvu Robben, na kojem je svoje zatvoreničke dane provodio Nelson Mendela.

Film prikazuje rasizam i homofobiju onog vremena, koje se mogu prepoznati i danas u mnogim državama. Sa jedne strane licemjerno pogubljenje ova dva ljubavnika , a sa druge razvrat koji je u to doba prikazan u Amstrdamu nastavlja svoji priču i dan danas! U filmu se koriste tri jezika: Engleski, Holandski i Africans.
Uživao sam gledajući ovaj nevjerovatno dobar film i zaista ga preporučujem svima.

Director: John Greyson

Writers: John Greyson (script),Jack Lewis (script)
Genre: Drama / Romance
Plot Outline: An interracial gay love story set in early 18th century South Africa about two men -- a black prisoner living in a Cape Town penal colony and a Dutch sailor -- who weather injustices as a result of their affair

Plot Keywords: Anachronistic / Amsterdam Netherlands / Gay Interest / 18th Century / Anal Sex

Awards: 1 nomination
User Comments: A handsome, challenging and classy gem of a movie

Uloge:

Rouxnet Brown ... Claas Blank
Shaun Smyth ... Virgil Niven
Neil Sandilands ... Rijkhaart Jacobz
Kristen Thomson ... Kate
Tessa Jubber ... Elize
Terry Norton ... Betsy
Adrienne Pierce ... Tinnie (as Adrienne Pearce)
Grant Swanby ... Willer
Brett Goldin ... Lourens
A.J. van der Merwe ... Settler
Dean Lotz ... Governor
Jeroen Kranenburg ... Scholz
Johan Jacobs ... Nama Prisoner
Katrina Kaffer ... Kaness
Kwanda Malunga ... Claas (age 10)

Runtime: Canada:100 min (Toronto International Film Festival) / USA:97 min
Country: Canada / South Africa
Language: English / Afrikaans / Dutch

English:

Proteus is a film by Canadian director John Greyson. Although the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2003, it did not have a general theatrical release until 2005.

Set in 18th century South Africa, the film dramatizes the true story of Claas Blank (Rouxnet Brown) and Rijkhaart Jacobsz (Neil Sandilands), two prisoners on Robben Island who were executed for sodomy in 1735. Their relationship also had a racial component, as Jacobsz was a white Dutchman, while Blank was a black Khoi. The film also stars Shaun Smyth as Virgil Niven, a Scottish botanist who befriends Blank for his knowledge of South African flora, but may in fact have his own sexual interest in Blank.

The film also attempts to explore unanswered questions, such as why prison officials tolerated the relationship for a full decade before Blank and Jacobsz were executed. Intentional anachronisms, such as the use of radios, typewriters and jeeps, are also used in the film to illustrate Greyson's larger theme that homophobia and racism of the type that led to Blank's and Jacobsz' executions are still very much present in today's world. A speech by Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned at Robben Island in 1964, is also used at the end of the film.

Trailer