Who doesn’t like a good hostage situation/siege/bank robbery movie? I know I do and I hope you do too because this one is much more than that. As you can notice, we already have a rather complex situation but things are about to get even more complicated. Silverton Siege is a tense thriller based on true events about a group of resistance fighters in South African apartheid holing up in a bank. On the run from the police and without many options, they storm the bank and the siege begins. While there won’t be a lot of action here, we’ll get to see a couple of good chase scenes and shootouts.
The focus is squarely on the much broader situation and atmosphere in South Africa during the early 1980s. Of course, our protagonists, who are not bank robbers but are keeping the people in the bank hostage, are the focal point. And this single event presents us with the perfect opportunity to examine all of this. Life writes the best stories. Too bad they’re as horrifying as this one. I still find it difficult to comprehend that the Apartheid, an openly racist system of governing, was functional up until 1994. That’s not that long ago and how this was allowed to go on for that many decades is beyond me.
I mean, one of the demands our resistance fighters made was the release of Nelson Mandela. At that point in time, he spent 18 years in prison. Mandela would go on to spend another ten until his release in 1990. Silverton Siege features solid production values and stellar cinematography. So, don’t think this is some sort of a cheap and shabby-looking movie. I guess it’s enough to say that this is a Netflix production so you’ll know exactly what to expect. That being said, considering the sheer potential of the story, I might be inclined to say that this was a missed opportunity.
The script feels a bit contrived at times and overly melodramatic trying to hammer in the points that are quite obvious. However, our talented cast, good direction, and the sad reality concerning this siege covered that up nicely. While I get why you might want to deviate from the actual events, I think what really happened is much more powerful than what we see in the movie. To avoid spoilers you should wait until the movie is over to check out what those deviations are. There aren’t many sources about this but I did find this South African History Online article about the Silverton Siege.
One of the elements of Silverton Siege that fascinated me the most was the resistance movement. Calvin, Terra, and Aldo are members of the group trying to force the captured state to give up its power. They’re trying to achieve this by targeting infrastructure and avoiding civilian casualties. Young guys and girls putting their lives on the line for the greater good of the people, it doesn’t get any braver than that. Or more righteous. Especially when you consider what they’re fighting against. On the opposite side, we have the full government apparatus trying to shut them down. I’m already getting riled up so I better move on to the cast.
Thabo Rametsi was an excellent choice for the lead role along with Stefan Erasmus. However, Noxolo Dlamini, who plays the feisty Mbali Terra Mabunda, stole the show here in my opinion. It was great to see South Afrikaans playing South Afrikaans as I’m sure their movie industry needs a bit of a boost. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Arnold Vosloo. You might remember from a little-known nineties movie The Mummy. Finally, if you’re looking for more good South Afrikaans movies Escape From Pretoria is a good choice. And I’ll throw in a couple of old-school comedies, The Gods Must Be Crazy, which was filmed during Apartheid, and Yankee Zulu.
Director: Mandla Dube
Writer: Sabelo Mgidi
Cast: Thabo Rametsi, Noxolo Dlamini, Stefan Erasmus, Arnold Vosloo, Elani Dekker, Craig Jackson
Fun Facts: Michelle Mosalakae, who plays Rachel Paige, is an albino and because the color of her skin, just as her character, she had problems in her life. Director Mandla Dube and writer Sabelo Mgidi wrote the character of Rachel specifically for her.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18563148/
