Scenes from South Africa’s past

1960: 3 August on Showmax

A charming fictional film capturing the musical and political atmosphere of Sharpeville that premiered at the Durban International Film Festival in 2022. It chronicles the life of a retired singer (clearly modelled after and inspired by South African icon Miriam Makeba) who breaks the isolation of her retirement to shed light on the murder of an apartheid-era police officer, Constable Kobus Bernard, when his remains turn up in Sharpeville after 60 years. Full review here.

Sarafina!: 11 August in cinemas

More than three decades after its premier, the classic struggle film Sarafina! was selected for the 2023 Cannes Classics category, and has been digitally remastered with new scenes added for a re-release in cinemas. The film pays homage to the remarkable women who shaped the struggle, with performances from Miriam Makeba, Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo, who was married to Mbongeni Ngema who wrote the original musical and screenplay. Sarafina! was the last jewel of Ngema’s career before his scandals became too numerous for anyone to want anything to do with him. In 1996, Sarafina 2, an inept, exorbitant flop about the Aids crisis, was cancelled due to corruption allegations, in 2019, he sexually harassed a Daily Maverick reporter, and four months later he was kicked off the set of a theatre production of Sarafina!, also for allegations of sexual assault. Suffice it to say, his name has been all but airbrushed from the remarketing of his classic.

Documentaries and stories based on true events

Moonage Daydream: 4 August on Showmax

A trippy, laboriously edited celebration of David Bowie’s creative, spiritual and musical odyssey, made with the full support of Bowie’s estate by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Brett Morgen. While merely a snapshot of a wilder and more divergent life than most could imagine, it captures (with an only slightly deifying affection) an essence of his adventurous and eccentric brilliance.

Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn: 25 August on Apple TV+

A four-part true crime series on the extraordinary rise and fall of Carlos Ghosn, the Nissan CEO who turned fugitive. Accused of misusing corporate funds, Ghosn fled Japan while in home detention to his home in Lebanon by hiding in a large box on a private jet. The series features interviews with Ghosn himself as well as those involved in the case against him.

Painkiller: 10 August on Netflix

A miniseries starring Matthew Broderick giving a fictionalised retelling of the origins of the opioid crisis in America. Based on Barry Meier’s book of the same name and the New Yorker magazine article The Family That Built an Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, it tells the stories of the perpetrators, victims and truth-seekers whose lives are forever altered by the invention of OxyContin.

To make you laugh… or scream

Red, White & Royal Blue: 11 August on Prime Video

A high-concept romantic dramedy series based on the novel of the same name about the childish rivalry between a British prince and the son of the US president. It’s a classic enemies-to-friends arc with a political setting and charged cultural humour. It’s frivolous, full of banter and chemistry, and isn’t too nervous to let its gay protagonists be horny and human.

Vengeance: 24 August on Showmax

The feature directorial debut of writer and star BJ Novak, who wrote and directed for the US version of The Office, and also starred as Ryan Howard. Novak plays a journalist podcaster who travels from New York City to West Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was hooking up with who was a little more into him than he realised. The film has its fingers in a few too many topical cookie jars, but Novak’s writing is always sharp and will leave you wishing it were a series.

7 DAYS: 31 August on Showmax

A match-making romantic comedy about two young people set up by their Indian parents, who discover just what polar opposites they are just as the Covid-19 lockdown traps them together for a week. It’s light and quirky, and an excellent example of how actors can have excellent chemistry even when inhabiting characters who despise one another.

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On: 31 August on Showmax

About a decade ago, an adorably stupid stop-frame animation about a one-inch-tall not-so-well-spoken shell went viral on YouTube. A24 has somehow made a full feature out of it (with much higher production value). When a documentary maker discovers Marcel, his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan, living in his cluttered Airbnb, he begins investigating the mysterious tragedy that wiped out the rest of their sprawling community of shells. It’s an odd sort of film and if the dry cutesie humour doesn’t grab you immediately, you’re going to struggle. If it does, you may be gasping for air between non-stop gags and surprisingly profound Marcel-sized nuggets of heart-melting wisdom.

The Black Phone: 14 August on Showmax

This standout horror movie of 2022 is a potent thrillfest about a child abduction. It comes across as a lean, gritty true-crime tale with a touch of the supernatural. While it misses some opportunities to dial up the tension further, its excellent performances, tight focus and all-too-real horror premise make for an engaging experience that even non-genre fans should appreciate. Full review here.

BODIES BODIES BODIES  17 August on Showmax

A visceral, sensual R-rated zoomer whodunnit about a group of rich 20-somethings whose party in a remote family mansion goes horrifyingly wrong. The film was not released in South African cinemas, but was praised highly by critics. With a distinctly Gen Z gaggle of characters, figuring out who the murderer was involves untangling a web of issues around gender, age and classism.

To make you laugh and scream simultaneously

Cocaine Bear: 15 August on Prime Video

This ridiculous B-rate blockbuster is based on the wild true story of Pablo Eskobear, but with a lot of extra death mixed in. Writer Jimmy Warden must have taken a hefty sniff of creative licence before working on this absolutely bizarre film, which became an instant pop-culture sensation in 2022, despite its obvious silliness, because it’s just so fun… and gory. In December 1985 a notorious drug smuggler tried to lighten his overloaded plane by dropping a duffel bag full of $15-million worth of cocaine. The drugs were found by an American black bear and… eaten. Now the real story essentially ends there, but in the cinematic version, Eskobear, having consumed enough cocaine to fuel a busy night in Cape Town, goes on a frantic killing spree. Full review here.

M3GAN: 21 August on Showmax

This sci-fi horror about an AI doll designed to be a child’s best friend was the first big box office hit of the year. The trope of the rogue robot is paired with the horror symbology of Chucky and other nightmare dolls as a comedic Black Mirror-esque fable of the dangers of tech. It’s a predictable ride, but you’ll stay for the increasingly ridiculous entertainment. Full review here.

Mysteries

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart: 4 August on Prime Video

A mysterious family drama spanning decades, based on Holly Ringland’s best-selling debut novel about a nine-year-old girl who is taken to live with her grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) at a flower field after being tragically orphaned by an unexplained fire. The narrative is slow and stretched, but the serene landscapes of Australian wildflowers and Weaver’s powerful, albeit too occasional scenes make it worth it. 

Shelter: 18 August on Prime Video

A high school thriller about a boy who relocates to suburban New Jersey after witnessing the death of his father in a car accident. When a stranger who seems to know him says that his father is still alive, his pursuit of the truth finds him involved in the mysterious disappearance of students in the area. DM

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