Powerful gay military drama ‘Moffie’ tackles homophobia in Apartheid South Africa
In partnership with Curzon Artificial Eye.
By Will Stroude
Ever since it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival last year, Moffie has been high on the must-watch lists for 2020.
Oliver Hermanus’ powerful gay military drama about a young conscript dealing with the brutal hardships of army life as he grapples with his repressed sexuality has been billed as a thorough and vital dissection of masculinity.
Moffie – named after the South African slang tern for an effeminate man – was originally set for a traditional cinema release before the coronavirus pandemic hit, but the film has thankfully found a way to viewers after being released exclusively on Curzon Home Cinema today (24 April).
Rising star Kai Luke Brummer plays Nicholas Van der Swart, the aforementioned teen conscript who must learn to survive in a psychologically toxic envirvonment as he deals with his growing feelings for a fellow recruit.
Based on an autobiographical novel by South African writer André Carl van der Merwe, Moffie is set in 1981 as South Africa’s white minority government is embroiled in a conflict on the southern Angolan border.
In an era when South African society bristled with internal fears over the threat of communism and “die swart gevaar” (the so-called ‘black danger’), Hermanus expertly weaves the tense social atmosphere of the time with Nicholas’s own turbulent state of mind.
A captivating reflection on the interwoven nature of bigotry and social repression, Moffie serves as a gripping and timely reminder of the power that personal truth can wield in the face of seemingly overwhelming oppresion.
‘Moffie’ is available to stream exclusively now on Curzon Home Cinema.