Title: Movie Reviews: Dis Ek, Anna
Author: Desolation Morris
Recovered Author: Desolation Morris
Published Date: 2015-12-09
Original URL: https://geeknode.co.za/2015/12/movie-reviews-dis-ek-anna
Wayback URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20171018083023id_/http://www.geeknode.co.za:80/2015/12/movie-reviews-dis-ek-anna/
Recovery Confidence: high

- Genre Afrikaans
- Director Sara Blecher
- Producer Niel van Deventer
- Actors Charlene Brouwer, Hykie Berg, Morne Visser
- Where we got our copy Ster Kinekor
- Reviewed on Cinema (2D)
- Available on Cinema (2D)

- Desolation Morris

- 2 years ago

- 2 0

Based on the book Dis ek, Anna ( It’s me, Anna) comes a movie that took me a little by surprise to be honest. I expected another typical afrikaans film like ‘Knysna’ but instead got something more akin to ‘Tsotsi’ with some hard and honest truths where the corrupt secrets of ‘decent people’ are dragged into the light for all to see.

This review contains spoilers. Beware!

Story

The story follows the titular character, Anna Bruwer (Charlene Brouwer) who had a bit of a rough life. Okay well a little bit maybe an understatement.

Anna was a regular fun loving little girl up until her parents divorced and her dad left because he couldn’t stop drinking for some reason – most likely due to his experiences as a police officer. He eventually kills himself and right off the bat you’re exposed to a truth that mirrors so many South African families and the situation they face on a daily basis. In fact this entire film is a near 2 hour commercial for Childline if you think about it.

Anna’s dad leaves and her mom ends up dating a new guy she knows from work named Danie Du Toit (Morne Visser). The two of them get married and Anna finds contentment in the fact that her family is once again whole…or at least that’s what she thought. Danie turns out to be a pedophile and sets his sights on little Anna quite early on, raping her 2 or even 3 times a week. This continues well into her teenage years, Danie in the meantime has another daughter with Anna’s mother which he also sets his sights on until Anna eventually gets pregnant with Danie’s child and runs away to fend for herself after being shunned by pretty much everyone she knows as a whore.

Without giving too much away I can tell you that she returns home after quite some time and shoots Danie in the face. Most of the film focuses on Anna being on trial for murder.

There’s also a gripping side story going which concerns Windhond Weber (Marius Weyers) who’s the initial investigating police officer on Anna’s case.

All in all this story is a hard hitting tear jerker that even had me with a good old tear in the eye at some scenes.

Characters

The characters are stereotypical, but intentionally so – you have everything from the serious police officer, seasoned and on the verge of retirement to the typical Afrikaans ‘Dominee’ (Priest) (Dawid Minnaar) who only cares enough to look on the surface of the situation without being too bothered with anything else. The mother turning a blind eye, and everyone knowing exactly what’s happening yet not doing anything really strikes a nerve with the audience and I found this to be a very accurate reflection of what transpires in real life as well.

Anna Bruwer is very well portrayed and you can relate to her in a very real way. Her emotions flood the screen at the best of times and results in a real, almost personal connection with the character. You end up genuinely feeling what she feels and caring about her. Overall the characters are a lot like people you might even know in real life. It’s actually scary when you think how similar the on screen characters might be to someone you know.

The villain Danie Du Toit is surprisingly well played by Morne Visser and he manages to make your skin crawl without much effort on his part. He’s the typical sort of fellow you might find working in your office, he enjoys simple things like sports and swimming…and of course raping kids…so there’s that.

Overall

Director Sara Blecher outdid herself with this film and it is every bit as good as the book itself. Dis Ek, Anna is entirely deserving of every award and accolade it’s so far raked in. Dis Ek, Anna has won Best Director, Best Film and Best Actor without trying and I firmly believe, solely based on this film, that there is hope for the South African film industry. If this film is something to go by then we’re definitely in for a treat in the future.

Based on the book Dis ek, Anna ( It's me, Anna) comes a movie that took me a little by surprise to be honest. I expected another typical afrikaans film like 'Knysna' but instead got something more akin to 'Tsotsi' with some hard and honest truths where the corrupt secrets of 'decent people' are dragged into the light for all to see. This review contains spoilers. Beware! Story The story follows the titular character, Anna Bruwer (Charlene Brouwer) who had a bit of a rough life. Okay well a little bit maybe an understatement. Anna was a regular fun loving little girl up until her parents divorced and her dad left because he couldn't stop drinking for some reason - most likely due to his experiences as a police officer. He eventually kills himself and right off the bat you're exposed to a truth that mirrors so many South African families and the situation they face on a daily basis. In fact this entire film is a near 2 hour commercial for Childline if you think about it. Anna's dad leaves and her mom ends up dating a new guy she knows from work named Danie Du Toit (Morne Visser). The two of them get married and Anna finds contentment in the fact that her family is once again whole...or at least that's what she thought. Danie turns out to be a pedophile and sets his sights on little Anna quite early on, raping her 2 or even 3 times a week. This continues well into her teenage years, Danie in the meantime has another daughter with Anna's mother which he also sets his sights on until Anna eventually gets pregnant with Danie's child and runs away to fend for herself after being shunned by pretty much everyone she knows as a whore. Without giving too much away I can tell you that she returns home after quite some time and shoots Danie in the face. Most of the film focuses on Anna being on trial for murder. There's also a gripping side story going which concerns Windhond Weber (Marius Weyers) who's the initial investigating police officer on Anna's case. All in all this story is a hard hitting tear jerker that even had me with a good old tear in the eye at some scenes. Characters The characters are stereotypical, but intentionally so - you have everything from the serious police officer, seasoned and on the verge of retirement to the typical Afrikaans 'Dominee' (Priest) (Dawid Minnaar) who only cares enough to look on the surface of the situation without being too bothered with anything else. The mother turning a blind eye, and everyone knowing exactly what's happening yet not doing anything really strikes a nerve with the audience and I found this to be a very accurate reflection of what transpires in real life as well. Anna Bruwer is very well portrayed and you can relate to her in a very real way. Her emotions flood the screen at…

Movie Reviews: Dis Ek, Anna

Movie Reviews: Dis Ek, Anna

2015-12-09

Desolation Morris

One to watch!

Total - 9.5

95
9.5

Dis Ek, Anna digs right to the core of the rotten underbelly of South Africa and comes eerily close to the truth of the reality some face on a daily basis. If you're up for a serious tear jerker that's not only brilliantly presented but enormously well acted - this is for you.

User Rating: 4.7 ( 1 votes)

10

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Desolation Morris

Guest Contributor - Entertainment

Werner is a strange one...he quotes a lot of things...incoherently I might add, also he reviews stuff from time to time. We still don't truly understand what he is or where he came from.

To quote him verbatim:

Make sure they see my twitter handle so I can get hookers and drugs.

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Article Tags:
Afrikaans · Afrikaans Films · Afrikaans Movies · Anna · Dis Ek Anna · featured · Geek Node · South Africa · South African Film

Article Categories:
Movie Review · Movies
