A young, schoolboy stumbles upon a limping and visibly-shaken Superhero – complete with an outer-space cape, boots and costume with a huge letter P emblazoned on the chest - in one of many mine deserted dumps, somewhere in the City of Gold. The hero's cry for help draws the 11-year-old boy closer to the man from a place of his dreams where the good guys win against the baddies.
The saga of the Superhero and the innocence of childhood blend in a lesson of forgiveness and conciliation that will warm the cockles of even the sturdiest heart. How the pain and anger of an aggrieved young man against his tormentor (the Superhero) is set aside rather than shatter the faith of his kid brother in the hero from another galaxy; a hero who fell face first onto a mine dump in Jozi.
Writer and director, Hanneke Schutte and her collective: Willie Nel (Director of photography); editor (Karyn Bosch) and music by (Trevor Sacks and Jonathan Beggs) have produced a touching short film that boasts a simple storyline of hurt and forgiving without the blare and fanfare of public cries for vengeance.
It is a warm tale of a limping hero crying out for help and the compassion and caring of a young schoolboy that comes to his aid and unconsciously becomes the catalyst for human contrition, healing and hopefully, for transformation. There is excellent acting from the trio who anchor this lovely drama: Justin Strydom (the Superhero); Johannes de Bruyn (schoolboy Lebo) and his stern and stony-eyed elder brother, (Loyiso Gxwala).
Superhero is the kind of quiet and unassuming gesture that may help to heal hearts that still fear the poultice and balms of contrition and forgiveness. It is indeed a fitting award-winning effort.
http://nfvf.co.za/weblog/2009-12-07/short-film-contest-review
