A PERSONAL REVIEW ON PHELETSO (Showmax Original)

 

Argh! Man! came back from one of those night were one is dragged by friends who drink like it’s a sport, normally I just hit the sack into deep sleep the moment I jump onto bed but tonight I have been struggling to fall asleep, just staring at the ceiling  for about  an hour. Ok! I know, the right English is I should have wrote “a” because “An” is used before words that start with a vowel. Anyways! This is my film review so shut up. I eventually decided on watching a local film in hopes it helps me to fall asleep.

Alright! Let’s Go!

“PHELETSO” tells the compelling story of KB Maponyane who is the golden boy of Johannesburg’s nightlife young, magnetic, and riding high on success with his older brother Mandla as co-owners of the city’s hottest nightclub. He has money, influence, and a love story with Nolwazi Bhengu, the club’s star dancer, that seems straight out of a dream. But dreams shatter fast.

KB wakes up in a hospital, bruised, disoriented, and blank on how he got there. The truth hits harder than the airbags ever could, he was behind the wheel in a fatal head-on collision. The victims? Nolwazi’s younger brother and their mother. Her mother didn’t make it.

As KB pieces together fragments of that lost night, the guilt begins to unravel him. Nolwazi is drowning in grief. Mandla is hiding something. And KB is forced to confront not only what happened on that road, As fog of memory begins to clear, KB must confront the hard truth, not just the accident but the choices that led to it and the people he’s hurt. Let me stop before I give out the whole story, I’m a sucker for an interesting ending and this story gives us exactly that. It’s definitely worth  a watch.

This showmax Original, Produced by Urban Brew Studios, Created & Co-Produced by Third Law, the new kids on the block. Directed by Zack Mtombeni, who is not only a professional actor but also a writer, producer and now director. A multi-talent brother if you ask me. Under the  Supervision of Director Nthabi Tau, who is a true definition of beauty with brains.

Screenplay by Lara Lourens and Zack Mtombeni, while the award winning Ntobeko Dlamini (SASC) held it down as the director of photography. It’s not shocking at all that the film has a high level of visual quality. Trust! The brother breaths when he operates, I mean “Father” of course he is old enough to be my father. What is a DOP without his technical team, high respect to Key Grips Patrick Tlhalepe  and Gaffer, Patrick Mashaba. Honourable mention is the blackberry , 1^st AC Khethiwe Ndaba. Pheletso has notable cinematography. It being part of this year Joburg Film Festival means that it has been well-received by audiences and critics. So don’t judge a book by its cover.

Direction is pretty much simple throughout the film, which I find boring coming from a young filmmaker like Zack Mtombeni. Who I would have expected to take more risks in his directorial choices. In some scenes it felt like another episode of a Telenovela, he could have explored more in his blocking so that it doesn’t feel too staged, especially the  main climax scene of the film. The plot jumps timeless, between the night of the incident and the present. Zack you played it too safe.

The acting in the film is fairly acceptable, but I do wish the cast would have played more with it. Characters had a lot of layers and some were well developed, which gave the actors opportunity to explore in depth detail while some needed the actors to work harder in portraying. What I know is Acting is spiritual and takes time, some scenes felt rushed, while some had effective  pacing and beats were hit just right which made it enjoyable to watch. Shout out to Emmanuel Nkosinathi Gwevu, (Sifiso Bhengu) I now understand why you’re an SAFTA best Actor nominee. Zazi Kunene (Nolwazi Bhengu) it’s beautiful to watch you breath life onto a character.

 Ooh! It’s true when they say background actors make or break a scene, extras in some of the scenes exaggerated and it made the scenes weak, makes me wounder if that was the case in all the takes.

All in all, PHELETSO evokes strong emotions, as the story unfolds. it’s entertaining to watch, relatable characters. It’s amazing to watch a story that resonates with it audiences. Zack Mtombeni has an eye for story and definitely a filmmaker to be on the look-out for his future project, thank you for this wonderful offering.

Pheletso is available on Showmax.

Cast: Mpho Sibeko, Zazi Kunene, Sekoati Tsubane, Paul Maila, Kay Bikitsha, Emmanuel Nkosinathi Gweva, Sibongile Phakathi, Ngwedi Ramphele, Keitu Kasonkala, Elicia Shirinda, Macebo Twalo.

7.5/10