Film Review of Catch a Fire

1. In general, what did you like and dislike about the film?

Like I said in class, this is my favorite film about the struggle against the South African apartheid. I honestly don't know where to begin about why I love this film haha. I love how raw it is and this is because it was made from interviews with Patrick Chamusso himself with Shawn Slovo, the writer of the film. Shawn Slovo is daughter of two of the greatest revolutionaries of South Africa: Joe Slovo and Ruth First. One aspect that I especially love about this film is that it is not whitewashed at all, it's real, truthful, and yes painful. For me it's painful to see black South Africans fighting in the racist apartheid police force and armed forces, but it was a reality. I loved how the film showed the participation of men and women, black and white, in the armed struggle against the white racist apartheid regime.

One of my favorite parts is when he is listening to the radio with Mama Dorothy and goes to Mozambique to get trained by the ANC and when he says to Nic Voss that his daughter's will know he was a good man, but Voss's children won't be able to say the same.

The only thing that I didn't like about the film was that I think that it was too short, but that's it.


2. Who was the character you like the most and the character you liked the least in the film? Why?

I have various favorite characters in the film, but I will start with the main characters.

My favorite main character was Patrick Chamusso. Although he was a horrible husband for cheating on Precious, I think the film did a good job of showing how he evolved from an apolitical middle-class man to a dedicated revolutionary who was willing to give his life for the revolutionary struggle. I don't think he was a bad father because he did what he did to make his daughters live in a free and democratic South Africa. I think he was extremely brave to try to blow up the plant all by himself.

The other characters that I liked that were secondary were Joe Slovo, who was the General Secretary of the South African Communist Party,  leader of the ANC, and commander of the armed wing (Umkhonto we Sizwe), he showed Patrick trust and was a great leader in the training camp. In real life, Joe Slovo said the Shawn Slovo that if she were going to to a film about the struggle against apartheid, that she should do one about Patrick Chamusso. I also really liked Betsy, because she showed how women can participate in the armed struggle just like men. I also really liked Obadi, who was also a good leader in the training camp and was a good friend and leader towards Patrick and the other comrades.




3. What was the role of Samora Machel, the FRELIMO, and revolutionary Mozambique in the struggle against the South African apartheid? Use examples from the film and the biography of Samora Machel

In the film, the FRELIMO government let the ANC have military training camps in their territory to train combats to return to South Africa and do acts of sabotage and fight against the apartheid army. This was party of the internationalist policies of the FRELIMO and Samora Machel. Not only did they help the ANC, they also helped other revolutionary groups like the ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) that fought against British colonialism Rhodesia.  His international solidarity brought him enemies such as the South African apartheid regime and anti-communist Mozambiquen organizations such as the RENAMO. I really admire Machel and the FRELIMO for not only what they did for South Africa, but also for what they did in Mozambique with their own revolution that improved the lives of their people.