An overwrought, chest-thumping score is surplus to requirements in a film that already feels as though everything, from the characters to the walls of the cells, is sodden with panic sweats. Daniel Radcliffe plays a real-life ANC activist in this fast-paced prison breakout movie. These bombs, however, aren’t intended to kill humans in order to make a point, but simply bursts out leaflets containing anti-apartheid literature. Arun Kumar / April 1, 2020 / 0 / 1.2k. The cinematographic technique may not be as inventive as the escape itself even though the tension and suspense does not let up for the majority of the running time. Through an individual’s single-minded quest for freedom, we understand the meaning of diligence, hope, persistence, precision, and patience. })(); (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright; High on Films. Maybe, the narrative nimbly summarizes each of the greater efforts from Jenkin to surmount a single obstacle into one scene. The two young white men, working on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC), are quickly rounded up and sent to trial. In 1978, Tim Jenkin (Daniel Radcliffe) and Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber) were white South Africans who joined the revolutionary African National Congress (ANC). The film initially delves into the brutal, racist separation doctrine; then focuses fully on the intricate getaway. The much-needed emotional dimension to the proceedings, however, doesn’t come from Jenkin or Goldberg, but from another high-strung, volatile inmate named Leonard Fontaine (Mark Leonard Winter; isn’t Fontaine is the name of the central character in Bresson’s masterpiece ‘A Man Escaped’?). Jenkin is said to have worked in a university and his middle-class parents are devastated over the prison sentence. Denis Goldberg (Ian Hart delivering a robust performance), a key and older member of the anti-apartheid movement, represents a counter viewpoint who believes in enduring the institutional brutality for the sake of future generations (a ‘prisoner of conscience’). So through an ingenious system of fake keys and levers, the men engineer a breakout. Overall, Escape from Pretoria (106 minutes) though lacks depth happens to be an intriguing escapist brio driven by solid performances and slow-burn dramatic tension. All Images Property of their Respective Owners. All rights reserved. Escape from Pretoria opens with Tim Jenkin and his pal Stephen Lee (Daniel Webber) setting off bombs at a crowded shopping street. Leonard is determined to reunite with his little son (whom he sees for only thirty minutes after a year) and approves the duo’s escape plan. Tim Jenkin, after observing the guards, and the locks on their cells; devises an ingenious plan to escape. Escape from Pretoria could have explored their backgrounds further, and why they chose to risk everything for the subjugated. Available for everyone, funded by readers. First and foremost, there's an over-reliance on voice over narration. A pacy screenplay, co-written by director Francis Annan and adapted from a book by Jenkin, rarely flags, but it’s the nervy camera, hugging the characters at hip height, the better to scrutinise each locked barrier to freedom, that most successfully builds the tension. (function() { But they are touted to be symbols of resistance right from the opening frames. Prison escape dramas possess something more than entertainment value. These scenes will make your blood boil. Immediately upon entering the Pretoria prison (in 1978), known as ‘the white Robben Island’, Jenkin makes it his mission to break out of the allegedly impregnable prison facility. A Creepshow Animated Special Trailer Brings Big Scares to Shudder This Halloween, The Meg 2 Is Happening with Rebecca Director Ben Wheatley, No Time to Die Rumored to Skip Theaters as Streamers Engage in James Bond Bidding War. The opening primer on apartheid violence, social injustice, and repression needed to elaborate further. But shows why men of conscience, who were born in the ruling race and upper-class; swore to fight against it. Jenkin and Lee receive twelve and eight-year jail sentence respectively. Escape from Pretoria is the true story of an apartheid era, South African prison break. Director Annan and co-writer L.H. Escape from Pretoria [2020] Review – A Relentlessly Engaging Jailbreak Thriller Arun Kumar 2020-04-01. © Watchr Media • All rights reserved. They were cut off from the outside world, but saw daily how the guards beat and cruelly mistreated the black servant prisoners. Escape from Pretoria is the true story of an apartheid era, South African prison break. Prison escape dramas possess something more than entertainment value. Francis Annan’s taut apartheid-era thriller, Escape from Pretoria (2020) is one such prison escape drama, where the brute force attack of an inhuman regime is answered through a tenacious commitment to freedom. The guards, as expected, are thinly characterized and remain as the simple personification of nasty, racist apartheid South African government. Jenkin and Lee are looked after by Denis Goldberg (Ian Hart), a political prisoner and ally of Mandela serving a life sentence. Escape from Pretoria review – ingenious apartheid-era thriller 3 / 5 stars 3 out of 5 stars. Daniel Radcliffe continues to be daring in his acting choices. Yes, Escape from Pretoria is basically a two hour movie about a beardy Daniel Radcliffe crafting wooden keys and unlocking doors with those keys. "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=82730'; Based on South African political prisoner Tim Jenkin’s real-life account of prison-break (chronicled in a book first published in 1987), it’s a film of nervy camera movements and panic sweats. It's an unnecessary crutch, the acting and story don't need the assistance. Jenkin and Lee had beliefs worth fighting for and getting imprisoned. While other prisoners accept their fate, a belligerent Frenchman, Leonard Fontaine (Mark Leonard Winter), refuses to be broken. They shared their beliefs, especially Denis Goldberg, and contributed to their plan. We can discern the undying human spirit, a significant part of the human condition. znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr); The website's critics consensus reads: "Escape from Pretoria doesn't quite do justice to the fact-based story it's dramatizing, but that lack of depth is offset by suitably gripping jailbreak action." Share 109; Tweet 0; 109 shares. Kindly Share it! Jenkin uses his access to the workshop in an ingenious way by producing different sorts of wooden keys after getting the key dimensions from the locks itself . It builds tension as the prisoners execute their plan. The nuts and bolts of the escape dominate the runtime. They were dubbed "Leaflet Bombers" and sentenced to the political prison for whites in Pretoria. They had sold out their sacred white heritage to fight for the inferior blacks. The Afrikaner guards, fueled by their racial animosity and superiority beliefs, despised Jenkin and Lee. Yet the man who made the escape itself says that apart from the condensed depiction of the actions, all the details are so accurate; particularly that heart-stopping denouement when for an instant it seems the freedom is a distant dream in spite of opening 14 prison steel doors.
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