Lack of good storyline.

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

For no apparent reason it has taken me 3 years to get around to watching this film. I wish I had waited 3 years more. After reading about all the acclaim this film received as an "art film" I cannot help but wonder if I had just finished watching the same movie.More so, I am amazed that none of the critics that reviewed this film could just have said that in fact it was a really badly written movie to which a single person might be able to memorize all the lines of the entire script. There is nothing memorable about this film except for the consistent bleakness from start to the literally downward spiraling end. You don't need to be an intellectual to understand obsession, or the need to dominate and hurt without cause. We have all crossed paths with angry and regretful people. Yet as a viewer it is hard to understand why no effort was made to project this struggle with more credit to the intelligence of the viewer. I hate that this film falls in the gay and lesbian genre. It is more about violence and bigotry than homosexuality. I can't help feeling like this film was written somewhere between the opening of a cheap bottle of whiskey, someone's last fifty rand and passing out on the floor.

Right down to its title, this film is designed to be little more than sensationalism of the most repugnant type. 'Ugliness' would be a more apt title. Why the South African government, film industry, or any industry, would want to be connected with subject matter so repulsive, beggars belief. To send this lowly work out into the world, tells us perhaps we've lost our sense of reality. Between the young director, his editor, and cinematographer, they have created a movie looking more like un-edited 'rushes' for a TV commercial. The script would probably be very brief, as there's maybe 40mins of story, but the film labors for almost 2 hrs under endless long scenes to pad out the emptiness. Ultimately, many of these extended shots are used to set up very ordinary situations (this alone may leave you tempted to watch much of it at 1 1/2 times speed) It all leads up to an inexplicably violent homosexual rape that's nothing short of unforgivable. The film makers are inexcusably 'getting off' on the ugly brutality...to the point of leaving any discerning viewer wanting to walk out, or dump the disc.This horrific action (along with several other dismal character traits) are then left unexamined, so this hideous psychopathic bi-sexual, can now go home to infect* his mostly neglected wife...until his next 'infatuation' (*Historicaly, A.I.D.S. is recorded as originating from the African continent, and often proliferates within overactive bi- sexual circles ~ and while media doesn't report on aids as it used to, it's unfortunately alive and murderously well...in all fact, it's reported increase is at a 20year high) The film offers almost no believable character development, no convincing motive, no resolve, just excess (and lots of it). Equally disturbing is that South Africa entered this into Cannes film festival, as their offering for best foreign film! But, maybe there's still hope, for eventually it was voted out. Some viewers (and 'critics') have attempted to look for meaning and metaphor, but it's easy to read depth into any film, even where there is none. I tend to side with other reviewers who have expressed concern --that basically, what amounts to little more than pornographic films-- are even considered for, let alone allowed, to run on cable (shame on SBS/WM) - free to air - then sold on DVD by unscrupulous distributors who would sell their souls for a profit. Trash remains trash, no matter how expensive, polished, well performed, or so claimed as 'Art' it may be. Doe's a world already drowning in nastiness need it? Do we in the world gain a better understanding of ourselves from it?. If these works offer no positive benefit to society, then they should be seriously considered for a re-edit (so easy with today's technology) or as we used to, return it to the country of origin. Let them further corrupt their own lands ~ OK, so these suggestions will upset the selfish, 'freedom to over-indulge' crowd! But hey, what's more important?

I agree largely with ottoman-umpire's comments. Each scene lingered 10-15 seconds longer than necessary. Sometimes less is more, and certainly in this case I felt that throughout the film. Had it been better edited, it could have built the tension more effectively in a decent 60-minute film.That would also have allowed the addition of a more satisfactory ending. When I saw it, you could almost hear every member of the audience saying to themselves "Is that it?" when the film ended - no resolution, no punishment of Francois for what he had done, no indication of what Francois was thinking/feeling as he watched the gay couple at the end, and whether he learned or grew as a result of what happened (i.e. character development). The movie didn't show him to have any redeeming qualities (in my opinion) so in the end I was hoping he would either be punished for the rape or at least come to grips with his homo- or bi-sexuality and do something positive about it.Also, as Christian was a law student, I thought it likely he wouldn't let things rest and would either go to the police or try to blackmail Francois to get the money he wanted (he may have done, but the purpose of the money in the last scene is not stated).All in all, an interesting but frustrating experience.

What an astonishing, sophisticated, insightful movie this is. Superbly written, superbly acted, it's a film that explores with devastating detail one man's experience of the closet and sexual obsession. For Francois van Heerden, the closet was a comfortable place of control and secrecy. The problems started arising when he became obsessed with Christian, his friend's much younger, sublimely beautiful son.Yes, there have been movies about the closet before, but it's still a story worth telling, especially when it's told in this way with such finesse. It's a shame that the real people out there leading desperate, overly controlled lives like Francois will probably never see films like this. In the end, the closet is a desperate horrible place, despite what Francois will tell you.The climax of this movie is an act of brutal rape. Yes, sexual violence occurs in the gay community as well. However, I didn't come away from this movie thinking the director was conflating the closet with sexual violence, or even Afrikaner culture with excessive violence. This is just an account of one man's obsession and act of rape. It's an interesting twist that the man just happens to be a closeted Afrikaner. The movie has a very strong sense of place. To watch this movie is to spend two hours exploring the soul and landscape of modern Afrikaner South Africa. However, at the same time, the movie is quite universal in the themes it explores. This is a hallmark of a fine movie: fascinatingly local and yet telling universal truths.The realism of the movie is striking. This is a movie that shines a laser-like spotlight on an ordinary man, his psychological constructs, and the people hurt by him because of this.The pace of the movie was deliberately slow. At times, we focus on the minutiae of this man's life. This slow-pace technique forces the viewer to wonder what the character was doing and thinking. At times this style worked so well for me that I was shaken (eg the scene near the end when Francois is looking at the happy gay couple). I would dearly love to have known what he was thinking at this point. I desperately wanted this man to see the light, to experience a little redemption. And of course to face justice. But Hermanus and Lotz don't help us with this. In the end we are alone in this inner struggle, as is Francois.There were other times, however, when I found the slow pace, well, a little on the overly slow side. Particularly, the scene where he checked into the hotel. This was the part of the film that worked for me the least. If you enjoy movies with this theme, don't miss this one. It is under-rated on IMDb.com.