Mpho Lovinga Movies
An apolitical South African oil-refinery worker and soccer coach is forced into terrorism as a means of fighting back against the brutality of the apartheid regime in director Phillip Noyce's dramatic look at the life of one-time political prisoner and freedom fighter Patrick Chamusso. In the 1980s, Patrick (Derek Luke) and his wife Precious (Bonnie Henna) lived a peaceful life until one fateful day, when on an overnight trip with his team, Patrick is singled out as the prime suspect in a bombing at the refinery. Placed in solitary confinement, with his wife and family brutalized by government agent Nic Vos (Tim Robbins), the young family man is eventually cleared of charges, but his life is in shambles. Devastated and distraught, Patrick soon begins working as a rebel fighter and political operative for Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. As the oppressed country's powerful apartheid regime continues to torture and torment its citizens, the now-radicalized Patrick must disappear from his family without a trace and go undercover if he is to aid in toppling the system that destroyed his family, and forever changed his outlook on the world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Derek Luke, (more)
A bright young man from a remote South African farming village finds his quest to become a physician thrown into question in director Teddy Mattera's thoughtful African drama. Max (Mpho Lovinga) is a man who lives in a remote village and is respected by his friends and neighbors for his remarkable talent for mourning -- which he inherited from his beloved grandfather. Realizing that Max is meant for something more in life, the villagers all take up a collection in order to send the young man to medical school in Johannesburg. Though all seems well, as aspiring doctor Max sets out for the city in the company of a goat that he was to deliver for a wedding feast, events quickly take a turn for the worse when the villagers realize that they have mistakenly given Max a sacred animal. Later, after finding love in the arms of the beautiful Nozipho (Thumi Melamu), the aspiring medico misses the registration deadline and is left with no other choice than to seek out the aid of his notorious uncle Norman (Jerry Mofokeng). A constant schemer who plots to use Max's tuition money to get a local gangster named Razor off of his back, Norman eventually convinces Max that his unique ability to manufacture tears could earn the pair a steady paycheck in a city where people have forgotten how to cry. While Max reluctantly agrees to use his gift to turn a profit, he later finds that his well has run dry when the time comes for sincere mourning. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
