Workshoped with inmates from the Windhoek Correctional Facility. All All. Sign In. Director Philippe Talavera. Philippe Talavera. See production info at IMDbPro. Photos 3. Top cast 11 Edit. Adriano Visagie Carlito Kado. Monray Garoeb. Dawie Engelbrecht. Mara Baumgartner. Bruno Caldeira. Odile Gertze. Jeremiah Jeremiah. Desmond Kamericka. Sakanombo Kasoma. Dennis Kharuchab. David Ndjavera. More like this. Storyline Edit.
User reviews 1 Review. Featured review. Good effort. From the same director who did the far more polished Kapana three years later, this film uses some of the same actors as in the subsequent film. However, what is original here is that there are major guest appearances by inmates from the Windhoek correctional facility who play large parts in the story.
Moreover, these inmates also devised the storyline and improvised much of the dialogue. The film is set in a tough world where everyone acts to their own advantage. Poor, innocent Kado arrives there and falls prey to the "28" gang whose reputation is for sodomy. The film portrays, as far as it dare in conservative Namibian society, the realities of power and strength in an underworld criminal milieu where men are confined for years without meaningful companionship as far as relationships go.
Over two years Kado's and the General's fling deepens into affection. There's real tenderness upon Kado's release. However, themes that are dealt with in more depth in Kapana are also touched on here, especially HIV and the illegality of same-sex relationships. I don't want to add spoilers, but the final ten minutes of the film are pretty devastating and are certainly not a "happy ever after".
I wasn't expecting what happened, although I should have been forewarned by some of the themes in the director's later film.
