Movie Review

Thesis Statement

Usually movies too often use an undemanding and esay cliché and forced screen writing to maintain the tidiness of story but nevertheless, Drum manages to both educate and entertain.

Positive Arguments

Although the movie Drum was generally well received critically but no doubt the movie manages both educate and entertain. Most of the negative reviews were based on the quality of Maseko's directing and Jason Filardi's screenwriting. And one of its positive sign is that the movie was awarded as the best South African Film at the Durban International Film Festival, and director Maseko gained the top prize at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) Drum was mostly met with favorable reappraisal. Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 86% percent of seven critics gave the film positive write-ups, a rating that it considered "Fresh". The critics in its "Cream of the Crop" subset were even more positive; the two that revieved the film reached a 100% consensus. Sura Wood of The Hollywood Reporter called it "an intelligent, moving film steeped in an authentic sense of time and place." Her sentiments were echoed by Joe Leydon of Variety, who thought Drum was "an intelligent and affecting take on political radicalization in 1950s Johannesburg." (http://www. shadowsonthewall.co.uk) According to Film Threat's Jeremy Matthews, Drum was "a solid work of classical storytelling. It has been observed that it was heartbreaking in its portrayal of Johannesburg at a time when its rulers had convinced many people that whites were born to command and blacks were born to obey and serve. (http://www.shadowsonthewall .co.uk)

One could argue that the movie too often uses an easy cliché and forced screen writing to keep the story tidy. But nevertheless, Drum manages to both educate and entertain. Those of us not intimately familiar with apartheid will find our eyes opened by the parallels to the civil rights struggles of our own country. At the same time, the story of Henry Nxumalo makes for a compelling narrative, and Moseka tells it with honesty and compassion. Drum premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2004. (www.shadowsonthewall.co.uk) It was the lead film in the festival's Spotlight on South Africa program. The Sundance Film Festival picked up the film, airing it on 20 January 2005, as did the Cannes Film Festival in May. On 21 June, Drum was screened at the Boston International Film Festival during its first session. (http://bongo-www.thefullwiki.org) The film opened the 2005 Munich Filmfest on 25 June. For his work with Drum, Maseko received the top prize at FESPACO, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, in addition to a cash prize of 10 million CFA francs (US$20,000) at its closing ceremony in March 2005. He was the first South African to do such. In addition, Drum is only the second English language film to have won the Golden Stallion at FESPACO, the first being Kwaw Ansah's Heritage Africa in 1989. (http://www.highbeam.com) The film premiered in South Africa at the 26th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) on ...