Better Tagline: I am in a world of shit.
Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: In the early 1980s, all South African males age 16-60 were conscripted into the South African Defence Force to defend their country s apartheid regime against Soviet-backed Angola. One new recruit, Nicholas van der Swart (Kai Luke Brummer), has to contend not only with the brutal training, but hiding the fact he s gay (derogatorily referred to as a moffie in Afrikaans) from both military command and his brothers-in-arms. Critical Analysis: There s an adage that says the best time in history to live as a woman (or person of color, or LGBTQ) is right now. The next best time is tomorrow. Those fond of pining for the good old days tend not to fall into those categories, for reasons that should be obvious.
Moffie review: The hell of being gay in apartheid-era army latimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from latimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
From a South African Slur to a Scathing Drama About Toxic Masculinity
The new film “Moffie” examines the brainwashing of a generation of white men in the twilight of the apartheid regime.
Oliver Hermanus, the “Moffie” director, said the drama is “really about shame and indoctrination.”Credit.Alexander Coggin for The New York Times
April 7, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ET
“Mo-FFIES!” chant the soldiers, precisely lined up under a baking sun, as a screaming sergeant reviles two men reported to be lovers. “Mo-ffies! Mo-ffies! Mo-ffies!”
The word is a homophobic slur in Afrikaans, and the scene comes about 30 minutes into Oliver Hermanus’s new film, “Moffie.” It depicts South Africa in the early 1980s, when the country’s white government saw threats from the communists at the border, terrorists at home and the anti-apartheid movement worldwide. Every white man over 16 had to do two years of military service, and “Moffie” suggests the story of a generation through