The Bang Bang Club (2010) User Reviews

Internal conflict between observation and action

[napierslogs · 7/10 · 23 May 2011]

The war rages on in the final days of apartheid in South Africa. "The Bang Bang Club" is a group of four, young, fearless photographers who drove in head first into the racial fighting. Why they did such a thing is certainly in question. At first, I would chalk it up to the male-driven need for action. Other reasons will be there, but even they question it after awhile.

Writer and director Steven Silver is an established documentarian and this marks his transition into something a little more accessible. This certainly is. It's the type of recent historical story that I want to know more about. We only see the conflicts that are going on in South Africa through the lenses of these young men. The conflicts that take center stage are the internal ones between the good of documenting the violence versus doing something about it. Interestingly, it's when two of them win the Pulitzer Prize that their moral fibre is called into question.

As fearless as the protagonists are, the filmmakers seemed to be a bit more timid. Although the violence is there in full view, it lacked most of the emotional impact it should have had. Unfortunately, this is the reason for the low critics' rating. By the end you will be moved by the story, but you could have been moved all along.

I found that it was a great point of view to an interesting time. It was shot on location and achieved a great look for an independent film with the fraction of a Hollywood budget. "The Bang Bang Club" is a good movie, a great story, and it's worth experiencing.

Good film about dangerous photographer's working

[OJT · 8/10 · 2 June 2013]

I'm afraid I had this in my shelf for 2 years before I saw it, and that us a travesty in it's self. This is the best photographer-film I ever saw, and it's even a true story. Journalism is of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and photographers have to be even closer to the horrific events which occur around in the world. They are obliged to refer and make proof of what's happening.

Directed by the South African Steven Silver, this Canadian/South African film is based in a book, "The bang-bang club", a true story about four journalists working in South Africa, photographing civilian war there, during Apartheid. It's a film which tells a story, gives out the dilemmas, and moral issues in a well played movie. Biggest star, Ryan Phillippe, does once again a great main role. He has no problems carrying this on his shoulders.

This film deserves a bigger audience than it's had. Casting Ryan Phillippe is a smart thing her, giving the film some of it's international audience. And I hope it'll continue. Because this is a very good a realistically told movie. Way better than a Hollywood production would have told it, though I would have been seen of tenfolds more.

As a teacher in media, I would recommend this as a fine media film. Not only about photographing and journalism in dangerous situations around the world, but also as a film showing the dilemma, moral questions involved as well as a good told filmed story. It basically tells that this kind of journalism and photographing is not for everyone.

Photo technically th film learns you some, but it tells more about editing and the media's use of photographers and pictures, even when they don't dare to tell the truth, and when they compete, and try to take credit, even when they where too afraid to use the material early on. Also the very difficult dilemma if a journalist should interfere in a situation or not when able to do so.

The film overall works well. It loses a little tension from time to time, seen as a thriller, but then it is a drama. Maybe a tiny little too much focus on a love story, but for some this will add to the story what they need to enjoy the film fully. It's sometime brutal, but it tells the truth. Brutally honest.

Th rating here on IMDb is too low. In my opinion this should have has a rating of 7,2-7,5 compared to other films in this landscape. I, go myself, think it's a clear 8/10. Recommended!

A beautifully shot film for the amateur photographer or historian

[Gobobo · 8/10 · 7 September 2011]

This film was a nice surprise; I'd not heard of it before I saw it. The set up is a group of intrepid South African photographers who want to go out and document the troubles surrounding the end of apartheid - a story of incomparable significance at that time. These fours guys each have their own unique personality and reactions to the events but share a desire to get the facts on film (and not just report on the contrived political goings on). They risk life and limb in riots and battles that were fought, very graphically here, within the townships - traditionally no go areas for white people.

The fact that the director (Steven Silver) managed to fit into the running time enough detail on each photographer for sufficient back story, plus was able to project the historical concept but tread lightly enough to not offend those that were caught up in it, was impressive. You could imagine, with a sufficient budget, the book morphing into a mini-series. The performances of the actors (in particular the one playing the black South African who'd recently lost his family) were believable, engaging and consistent.

There is included a romantic story - one which is based on real facts and thus one which must be included in any film which has hopes of scoring successfully at the box office. The story was true and therefor wasn't unnecessary, and added to the sympathy for some South Africans who were obviously against the mistreatment of their countrymen.

The overall feel of the film was one which was not overly 'Hollywood', yet still will be accessible to those who prefer western-style production. As a film about photography the images - still and moving - were beautiful and emotionally very captivating.

Anyone who has an interest in photography and/or social history should not miss this.

Amazing cinematography, a good movie that should have been great

[juneebuggy · 6/10 · 8 November 2014]

This was a pretty good movie that should have been great. Somehow though it just missed capturing the real spirit of the combat photographers, so that I was left feeling kind of meh about the whole experience. Its been based on the true story of four photojournalists who put their lives on the line to capture the fall of apartheid in the late 1990's.

I think the true character of the men just got overshadowed here by the horrors they were shooting and some random, thrown in love scenes. Ryan Phillippe's accent left something to be desired too.

The cinematography is amazing though, violent and vibrant and really made me wonder how they got some of the shots they did. Carter's (Taylor Kitsch) photo of the vulture and the starving child ...Wow! That's not something I'm going to forget anytime soon. 07.13

Shallow drama that shortchanges good material

[rparham · 6/10 · 13 February 2013]

The "Bang-Bang Club" was a moniker given to a group of primarily four South African photographers who gained notoriety for consistently putting themselves in harm's way to obtain photographs of the "silent war" between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha that raged from 1990 to 1994, leading up to the first free elections in South Africa that resulted in Nelson Mandela becoming President. The Bang Bang Club is a film version of those years, focusing on the primary members of this group, Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and Joao Silva. Unfortunately, after watching The Bang Bang Club, the viewer will walk away from the film with a small degree of empathy for some of the people caught in the conflict, but mostly boredom and apathy towards the photographers as The Bang Bang Club fails to tell a compelling and involving story.

As the film opens, we are introduced to Greg (Ryan Phillippe), a freelance photographer who shows up at a skirmish between the ANC and Inkatha where Kevin (Taylor Kitsch), Ken (Frank Rautenbach) and Joao (Neels Van Jaarsveld) are already in the midst of the action. Greg enters a nearby village, considered a foolhardy move by the other photographers, and manages to get some good photos and talks with the Inkatha warriors. Visiting the local newspaper, The Star, Greg impresses the others with this feat of daring and also manages to catch the eye of the photo editor of the paper, Robin (Malin Akerman). Greg starts joining the others as they go out each day, hoping to find action to photograph, constantly embroiling themselves in harrowing circumstances, surrounded by gunfire and potential bodily harm as the two warring sides face off. In the evenings, the members of the "Bang- Bang Club" drown their adrenaline in drink and engage in trysts with women. However, as the conflict carries on over the years, the members of the Club are finding themselves becoming more detached and desensitized to the ongoing stream of violence and this also leads to breakdowns in their relationships with others who aren't there to witness the acts that they face daily.

The Bang Bang Club deals in some heady material: the waning days of apartheid in South Africa, and how one side, the Inkatha, had a different, more complicated point of view of the situation in the country than the simple argument of wrong vs right. When The Bang Bang Club addresses these issues, it manages to provide some stimulating moments. However, the problem is that, for the most part, The Bang Bang Club doesn't direct its attention on those aspects of the story. Instead, it largely focuses on the photographers who make up the Bang Bang Club and that proves to be very shallow, conventional material too often. There is the potential of a terrific movie in the story of these men jumping into the fight to documenting it, but what is on display here falls short of delivering a powerful story.

The Bang Bang Club puts Marinovich and Carter at the forefront of the narrative, with Oosterbroek and Silva largely in the background as supporting characters, but the film fails to make any of these men tremendously interesting. We see them dodging bullets on the battlefield, but there isn't any significant depth to them. They shoot photos, they drink, they sleep with women, and for much of the running time, that is about it. The only romantic relationship that gets any significant screen time is the one between Marinovich and Robin, but it is lacking in any interest or passion. There is no chemistry between the two, they get together because the screenplay wants them to, not because we feel any attraction between the two. An element of the plot that is given some exploration is the idea that these men are losing their humanity to the constant chase of the next great shot, and in one scene, in which Marinovich is called to a man's home after his wife and son have been killed by police officials to document the events does give a strong emotional undercurrent to how Marinovich has put aside his involvement in the events around him to make sure the photos are good. However, another scene in which Carter is confronted by journalists after a photo he took of a vulture stalking a small child outside a feeding station wins a Pulitzer Prize comes across as forced and obvious. Carter tries to answer questions about why he only took the photo and not help the child, and it is a considerable issue to confront, but it is handled in such a manipulative way that the scene loses its power.

Phillipe and Kitsch, in the roles of Marinovich and Carter, are both OK in their parts, but neither are delivering stellar work. Of the two, Kitsch receives a juicier role as Carter, who is the more psychologically unstable of them, and at times manages to tap into some of the mental anguish that Carter experiences, but still, he proves a limited character. Phillipe does a good job of showing us how detached Marinovich is from the basic human emotions being stirred by those around him as he focuses on getting the right framing or lighting, but Marinovich is still often a blank slate. Akerman gets the thankless role of love interest, as the film doesn't give her much depth beyond that. She's easy on the eyes, but there isn't a lot for her to do.

The Bang Bang Club was directed by Steven Silver, who has a background in documentary filmmaking, and it shows at times. Many of the scenes are filmed in a hand-held "you are there" style which can make the audience feel it is part of the proceedings, but style isn't really The Bang Bang Club's problems. It's inability to make these men's situation involving and to not give the greater conflict its due at times is ultimately The Bang Bang Club's undoing.

Convincing reenactment of the last days of apartheid

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 29 March 2016]

Released in 2010, "The Bang Bang Club" is based on the real-life "Bang Bang Club" from South Africa, the bold photojournalists who covered the end of apartheid in 1994. The movie shows how the apartheid government essentially encouraged the active hostilities between the Zulus and Mandela's ANC "rebels" in an attempt to maintain power. Ryan Phillippe, Taylor Kitsch, Neels Van Jaarsveld and Frank Rautenbach star as the four main photojournalists while Malin Akerman, Nina Milner, Lika Berning and Jessica Haines are on hand as babes.

The word 'apartheid' literally means "apart-hood" and refers to the system of racial separation in South Africa legally enforced by the National Party that governed the nation from 1948-1994. Under apartheid, the rights of the majority black populace and other non-white groups were limited while the ruling of the white minority was perpetuated. Being shot in 2009, the movie enlisted South Africans to reenact events from a mere fifteen years earlier; surely, the wound was still too fresh. In any event, the mob/fighting scenes in the black districts are thoroughly convincing, like you're watching news footage.

The first 25 minutes establish the four main protagonists and their mission to document the last days of apartheid (not that they knew it was the last days), as well as some intense scenes in the black districts. With a set-up like this and a full hour and fifteen minutes to go, I was curious where the movie would go and how it could maintain the viewer's interest. Thankfully, the rest of the picture fleshes out the protagonists & their various babes and adds interesting peripheral material, like the famous shot of the starving Sudanese child with a vulture waiting to feed. In addition, the film throws in some interesting commentary on the nature of photojournalism, exploring the morality of the gig. For instance, is it moral or justifiable to stand back and take pictures of people getting killed or intensely suffering without doing anything to assist?

It may not be great, but if you're into realistic historical dramas/thrillers "The Bang Bang Club" is well worth checking out. It's similar in tone to 2003's "Stander," another South African film, and 2004's "Hotel Rwanda."

The film runs 108 minutes and was shot in South Africa.

GRADE: B

The Book is Brilliant, The Film is even Superior

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 23 April 2011]

THE BANG BANG CLUB, A MOVIE TIE-IN is as fine an introduction to the quality of the film just released, a film based on this book. The political history surrounding South Africa into which the four photographer journalists involve themselves is confusing at best and should be required reading before the audience steps into the grim realities of the cinematic format. Another aspect that makes both the book and the film of utmost importance is this past week's report of the deaths of two brilliant photographer journalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros in a very similar situation in Libya.

South African writer/director Steven Silver adapted this book by Greg Marinovich and João Silva for the screen and using some of the images from the original book and enhanced by reenactment of the horrors by cinematographer Miroslaw Baszak has successfully preserved all of the brutality and gore of the situation in South Africa in 1994 - before the country was joined into a nation by Nelson Mandela. Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe) is a free lance photographer in and around Soweto and follows his instincts for a good story by wandering into dangerous territory. He meets the three photographers who produce footage for Star picture editor Robin Comley (Malin Akerman) whose crew consists of pothead Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch, in a fine, sensitive performance), Ken Oosterbroek (Frank Rautenbach, a very promising young actor), and João Silva (Neels Van Jaarsveld). After proving his worth with a Pulitzer prize photograph of a burning man the four young men bond closely as the Bang Bang Gang and proceed to capture all of the fighting and incomparably cruel hostilities as the three fighting forces in the struggle for power in South Africa create the chaos of 1994. In a particularly touching scene Kevin photographs a starving child being stalked by a hungry vulture and his photograph wins a second Pulitzer Prize for the group. But war is war and takes is mental and physical tolls on the Bang Bang Gang and only two survive to write the book whose journal like content provides the story for the film.

This is a difficult book to read and the resulting cinematic version is equally as difficult to watch. The cast of characters is excellent down to the smallest cameo appearances by the South African people describing the atrocities that till their existence. An excellent book has been transformed in to an excellent film, albeit a film that is harrowing to watch unfold.

Grady Harp

Interesting, Violent, and Well Scripted.

[kdavies-69347 · 7/10 · 5 April 2016]

Kevin Carter's Pulitzer prize winning photograph is one of those images that gets burned into the back of your mind. It haunts you long after you see it. I saw this photo of the young Sudanese girl, about 10 years after it was taken, and it still fills me with sorrow. It makes you wonder what happened to the poor girl. It makes you question how the world can have both a massive obesity epidemic, and massive global starvation at the same time. It isn't something you can easily forget, and it's the type of image photo journalists spend an entire career searching for.

In this multi-biography, director Steven Silver tells the story of four friends, all combat photographers in the mid 1990's before the fall of the Apartheid. They tell the story of the Zulu and their tribal warfare all the while photographing the constant death, starvation, and violence that surrounds them, all the while building their camaraderie and forming the Bang Bang Club.

It's a very well written film and it brings up many issues. Most notably the hypocrisy of the situation, is that these journalists are living a life of comparative wealth and debauchery in this time of strife, and at the same time trying to make a name for themselves by taking photos focused on the very visceral suffering of others. Where the film really shines is in the background and the violence therein. I was quite impressed with the sheer number of extras for most of the fighting scenes. There are a lot of graphic sequences of course, but it's not the violence that makes the film. It's the exploitation of that violence that makes the film so interesting.

There were a couple of issues I had with the movie. For example, 4 white guys with cameras strapped to their bodies standing in the middle of battles while dodging bullets is certainly unbelievable at times. Yelling "PRESS! PRESS!" doesn't keep you safe in a war-zone. The dialogue is believable for the most part, except when they are joking around in the middle of the battle scenes. I did enjoy Taylor Kitsch's torn and dark portrayal of his character Kevin Carter. Ryan Phillippe does well as prize winning photographer Greg Marinovich, but I thought he was perhaps too good looking to be believable. Compare him to the real Greg Marionovich during the end credits and you'll see what I mean.

That being said, it's an excellent film and Steven Silver certainly has an eye for very personal story telling.

7/10

A moving and emotional memoir.

[heidrbnsn3 · 9/10 · 15 August 2011]

I am many things; a critic is not one of them. Nevertheless, I just wanted to say how moved I was by this story. I had seen all the pictures through the 1980's and early 1990's, but knowing the hell these photographers went through for a photo, was tremendously emotional. Taylor Kitsch as Kevin Carter was the heart of this movie. I was not sure how "Tim Riggins" would pull this off, but he did it beautifully. If you are looking for an emotional movie that shows what war, friendships, and the sacrifice of loss can change the world, then I believe this is the movie. I would definitely recommend it, but watch it with an open heart.

A film about combat photographers, not politics

[siderite · 7/10 · 16 January 2016]

I avoided this film for a long time because it was set in South Africa and I thought it was going to be political. Instead it is more about the combat photographers that live and work in these zones, witnesses to all kinds of nasty things, but tasked with observing and taking pictures only.

The film has a good cast, but considering it is based on a book written by two of the photographers - one played by Ryan Phillippe, it is strange that the most visible character is Taylor Kitsch's, who steals the show with his acting.

The direction and writing of the film were a little bland, though, less ambitious than the subject of the movie. I wonder if it was intentional, as to show more of the perspective of the original book. Even so, we start with these musketeers of the camera, but we never understand why they got to doing what they're doing and so most of the time we couldn't care less what happens to them.

The change comes at the end, when two of the group die and we are faced with the pain of their friends and loved ones, but it comes too late and on the background of Black people finding their children murdered and having to let photographers in to take account. It felt artificial and condescending, so that is why I rated this film merely average. Otherwise, an interesting story and word watching.

One thing intrigued me: from the few IMDb comments for this film, there is none from South Africa, so they must have done something wrong with the movie.

Visceral and realistic tribute

[paul-453-556238 · 10/10 · 18 August 2012]

I lived in Johannesburg, working for the Independent Electoral Commission during this period, on a leave of absence from the print media. This is a true-to-life (if slightly glamorized) depiction of a group of fearless and dedicated photographers who probably ultimately defused a potential civil war by their heroic reporting.

Glamorized in that they were a grungier bunch (see the photos in the credits at the end), who took far greater risks than portrayed in the movie. I dare say that the public would not have believed a more accurate story.

Anyone who is interested in the history of Southern Africa should watch this. Nearly 20 years later, it still leaves me shaken.

Also good to see South African actors in the movie, even if most of the leads were imports.

graphic and yet insipid re-creation of the book

[btodorov · 6/10 · 5 August 2012]

The really successful thing about the movie is that the director apparently (I wasn't there to know how truthfully) managed to reproduce in a convincing, graphic manner the real atmosphere of combat photograph shooting. What Marinovich (and Silva) wrote down as separate accounts of the events, tensions and dangers of taking the most striking and memorable photographs, Silver just develops in well-organized scenes. Greg's crazy visit to the hostel - the step that brought him into the "club" and turned him into a world-renowned photographer - was particularly dramatic and colorful. Otherwise, the movie has not created any story of its own - it just has just patched up the highlights in Marinovich and Silva's book and bound them together within the loose frames of a dull and uninspiring story of the four "bang bang club" photographers meeting, working together and coping with the existential and ethical issues of their vocation. Perhaps Silver did not want to manipulate Marinovich's text; the outcome, however, is rather insipid and people who have just watched the movie and never read the book may very well miss the point.

A very emotional and good but slow moving true story about photographers in South Africa. Very good, but slow. I say B-

[cosmo_tiger · 3 August 2011]

"Everybody, at the end of the day wants to come back with the best shot." A true story about four combat photographers (even filmed in the actual area) documenting the end of apartheid in South Africa. This movie shows us a side of war we rarely ever see, the side of the photographer shooting a camera instead of a gun. This is a very good movie that deserves to be watched, but it is very slow moving through out most of the movie. This movie seemed to be constantly evolving, much like the characters. Taking the pictures starts as a way to make money, win awards and become famous. Next, it becomes a movie in which the photographers defend their work, and finally it becomes much more then just taking pictures. Their work becomes a way to educate the rest of the world about what is happening in that part of the world. Overall, a very good but slow moving movie. I recommend it, but you must be in the mood to watch it. I give it a B-.

Would I watch again? - I don't think I would.

Hullo, it's the Pullitzer! - Damnit, didn't I tell you not to call after 10?

[Karl Self · 5/10 · 6 December 2013]

In this movie, the background action of the almost forgotten bloody conflicts between Zulu and Xhosa prior to the abolition of Apartheid is far more interesting the the primary story of a group of white photographers with film star attitudes covering it. To sum it up, they look gorgeous, they dodge bullets, they make love to their foxy photo editor and they drink. Judging from the portraits of the actual photographers of the original Bang Bang Club, this might have even been surprisingly truthful. We seem to have a movie where stroppy young Hollywood actors (Ryan Philippe!) play real-life guys pretending to be Hollywood badasses.

As a (former) photojournalist, this was partially a movie about my former dreams. Taking the picture that summarizes a conflict so well that it can bring it to the world's attention-kinda thing.

On the other hand, I had a stack of issues with the movie. Driving into an angry and armed crowd shouting "We're press!" -- really bad idea at any place and any time. Same for a group of photojournalists staying closely together so that they can exchange witty banter (good for the film) but will end up bringing nearly identical photographs (bad for the photographer). And if you're planning to photograph a dead child during a wake in the middle of the night, you might consider bringing a flash to go with your F4 in order to spare your coy photoeditor girlfriend having to shove a lightbulb right up the dead boy's nose. When you the unknown rookie photographer brings your first great photograph to a newspaper, you won't be handed an envelope stuffed with money. Stuff like that.

Visceral and non-pc

[badajoz-1 · 7/10 · 14 August 2012]

A brave film to make about an horrendous period of history - the end of apartheid in South Africa 1990-94. But it is obvious why the USA rejected it - it is about Africa and black Africans murdering each other rather violently, while white men in the leads take photos ( and Nelson Mandela does not appear as saint/messiah - in fact, his supporters kill as violently as the 'bad' Zulus and are referred to as 'comrades' a euphemism for communists!). It is a true story taken from a book written by two surviving photographers from a group of four who earned the soubriquet of 'The Bang Bang Club.' They went into the SA townships to chronicle the violence - some organised by the dying white government - and won two Pulitzer prizes in the course of the time covered. Yes, it is told by the white men and women, but it also tells in full frontal what the black population were doing to each other, and why and how it felt. There is even one black character who harangues the lead character, Greg Marinovitch, at every opportunity about white men taking photos for a white audience. But like Zimou's latest film about the Rape of Nanking, telling the story from a white westerner's perspective is apparently totally taboo to US film critics. They forget that South Africa is the so-called rainbow nation - black, white, Asian, and mixed race (Coloured as referred to in the film - oh, dear!).

The direction of the re-staged violence is dramatic and extremely potent - and not cinematic for some (got to have the goodies and the baddies not a melee!). The writing is jagged and in not too much depth of character (that would need many hours on a psychiatrist's couch!), but the acting is brave and bravura. Ryan Phillippe as Marinovitch carries on regardless but is caught short at the end - the deaths of friends finally bringing home what he has been hiding from - while Tyler Kitsch grabs hold of the flashy junkie role as Kevin, who cannot eventually face the world in the face of guilt over what he has witnessed. the rest of the acting, especially the black cameos of victims of the is wretchingly painful, and almost realist TV by actual victims. A film that should have a much wider audience - as much as Eastwood's feel-good movie of the 1995 Rugby World Cup!

Good, important, well-made movie on the last years of apartheid in South Africa.

[TxMike · 16 October 2011]

It was the early 1990s and Mandella was nearing his freedom from prison and eventual President of South Africa in its free election.

There still was rampant fighting and killing between different tribes. So bad was the hate that even if a lone man was suspected of being of the wrong tribe he was beaten and killed, with the same sense that one might kill a rabbit and bring it home for dinner. Except the dead were left in the streets.

Strife like this draws professional photographers, every day hoping to get a unique picture that will enhance their reputation and pad their wallet. This movie and its title are about the photographers, in particular 4 of them who became members of what then was called "the bang bang club", the men who every day went among the fighting and shooting, the "bang bangs" of ammunition. Not all of them survived.

Main focus is on Ryan Phillippe as Greg Marinovich, a South African photographer who was awarded the Pulitzer for some of his photos. His romantic interest is pretty Malin Akerman as Robin Comley.

The movie also treats the question, "are photographers just innocent bystanders who record the events without interfering?" In one scene we see Marinovich at first just photographing, but then trying to intercede as a man is beaten and eventually set on fire. You cannot do that job, and see what you see, without being changed.

thrilling township scenes

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 5 November 2016]

It's a period between 1990 to 1994 in South Africa. The Inkatha Movement comprising of Zulu warriors helped by elements of the white Apartheid security forces are fighting a civil war with the ANC. Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe) is a freelance photographer new to the scene. He faces high risks to go inside a Zulu work camp to take pictures and sells them to the newspaper The Star. He begins a relationship with photo editor Robin Comley (Malin Akerman). With other photographers Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch), João Silva, and Ken Oosterbroek, the group becomes known as the Bang-Bang Club.

The photographing inside the townships is thrilling. Those scenes have the intensity of the unknown. The story of the four photographers is a muddle. There are compelling sections but the overall flow is lacking. Phillippe and Kitsch have the bravado of youthful exuberance. The love story is perfunctory. Kitsch has nice character arch with that Sudan picture. Overall, this movie has great sections but the total is not as great as its individual parts.

Well that was disappointing

[shoobe01-1 · 6/10 · 6 November 2019]

Production design really did their part. Mostly great locations, clothes, cars, equipment. They got more or less proper police armored cars even, which many of these films don't bother with.

And then they hired a third rate cinematographer who filmed it like much of his recent work, junky network TV. Static shots with too much depth of field. Every subject centered, even if it means rather clunky tracking or dollying. The most thrilling things are tilting the camera like Batman '66, or shakeycam when inappropriate. Sometimes, there's smoke, I guess because they couldn't get atmospheric shots without adding smoke.

And this in a film about photography!

Also problems with the entire concept of the script, the editing, and a lot of the acting. Oh, and captions all over, an intro to explain the concept, and then an interview wraparound, I guess? Why? And, apparently Ryan Phillipe gets all the girls because of who he is, and I have no idea why that added anything to the story.

But all in all, it's hard to get over the movie-of-the-week photography.

Why the current low rating?!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 3 February 2012]

It is possible that my score of 9 might be a bit inflated because I am headed to South Africa in a few weeks and the timeliness of this film made me more inclined to like it. However, despite my enjoyment at learning about recent South African history, I still can't see this film being rated any lower than 8--it's THAT good.

"The Bang Bang Club" is a movie that you might assume is mostly fictional. After all, the characters seem so incredibly brave as well as foolhardy. However, to my surprise, all of these folks are based on real people! It's the story about a small group of insane photojournalists--guys who frequently brave death by going into the battle zone of Soweto, South Africa during the very tumultuous time as apartheid was ending (the early 1990s). Within this township, folks from the Inkatha Freedom Party (made up of Zulus) waged battle with members of the African National Congress--as well as anyone who happened to get trapped in the middle. Apart from killing thousands, the battles also tended to strengthen the notion by many white South Africans that mob rule would occur if these blacks were given the right to vote and become full citizens. Fortunately, time has proved this to be wrong.

Now these fights were NOT simple affairs involving spears or knives. While these were sometimes used, automatic weapons and the like were also employed--making the idea of folks going into the township to document the violence seem crazy. And, as the film progresses, you wonder how long these guys will be able to do this work until some of them start to die. But in spite of this danger, Pulitzer Prizes and great fame came to these men--as well as the moniker 'Bang Bang Club' due to their exploits.

The film is very tense, well-paced, interesting and, in an odd way, quite enjoyable. My only complaint is that at times (especially at the beginning) the film tries too hard to 'sex up' the group--using way too many cover model sorts to make this seem very realistic. They are simply too hip and too beautiful to be believable. This is especially apparent if you watch the excellent 'making of' documentary on the DVD, as you see two of these folks in real life and they do NOT look like GQ models. You don't see their girlfriends and wives, but I cannot imagine they looked as sexy as the ladies in this one! But, underneath it all, the film still is quite compelling--and unnerving. Well worth seeing--even if you aren't planning on going to South Africa or Soweto (where I will go--but in a heavily sanitized tour bus!!).

Heartwrenching movie about responsibility and friendship

[clayface-422-1100 · 7/10 · 14 July 2012]

I watched this movie by chance because it was on the TV so I didn't have high expectations. I've never read the book and I hadn't heard of the Bang Bang Club so this was all new to me. A very interesting movie which leaves you wondering. Are those photographers brave men who show the public what it needs to see? Or are they adrenaline driven mavericks who do nothing when they see horrible crimes overwhelmed by the possibility of a good shot?

I'm not a big fan of Ryan Phillippe and this movie didn't change my opinion. Somehow I found his character lifeless which is odd because he seems to be the main character in this movie. The love story is unnecessary and gave the impression that the filmmakers desperately were looking for a reason to have woman in the main cast. However the rest of the cast is brilliant especially Taylor Kitsch who I hope will have a big career in the years to come.

This is a fine movie and I highly recommend it. However be informed that it is not a feel-good movie and sometimes hard to take because of the amount of violence and tragedy.

Raises good points about the ethics of photography

[jens-wegar · 8/10 · 28 August 2011]

What I liked most about this movie is how well it presents the internal conflict that must go on inside war correspondents (unless they're completely emotionally detached).

On one hand, war photographers do an important job in showing outsiders what's going on in a conflict. On the other hand, is it really OK for someone to take pictures of another person getting burned to death in the hopes that one of those pictures is going to land them their dream job? The film does not try to push a correct answer down your throat. It does not try to justify the actions of any characters by making them local heroes later in the film (although it almost goes down that road at one point). Instead, it leaves the viewers to decide for themselves whether or not the actions of the characters are OK.

The one thing I would have liked being left out and for which I pulled points for was the romantic story line between one of the photographers and the picture editor of the magazine he ends up working for. You could spot that story line the second the two characters in question meet for the first time. It gave the film a pinch of typical Hollywood taste and it took away a bit of focus from the actual issue at hand. On the other hand, the film managed to not make this romantic connection the main focus at any point. It just happened and then it tagged along for the rest of the film, which I guess is why it bothered me so much. Why not just leave it out completely?

A lot of the imagery in this movie is horrible to watch, so it's definitely not for people with a weak stomach. But it's still worth watching, simply because it tells the story from a side that you usually don't get to see a conflict from and because it raises some very interesting questions about ethics.

IS THE PAINTER PART OF THE CANVAS?

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 9 June 2019]

The plot has Nelson Mandela's blacks fighting against the poor Zulu blacks. The Zulus are too poor to join Mandela's boycott of work so they fight on the side of the white power structure against the group that is attempting to empower them. Meanwhile four white photographers are out taking photos of the clashes and killings so we can have something to look at when we eat our Rice Krispies.

The film is designed to ask the question, "Are photographers vultures or leeches?" and "When do you put down the camera and help?" I didn't like the fact you didn't have to think about the theme of the film...it was too overt. I like to dig for it. I didn't get attached to the privileged characters shooting pain and suffering. I had a hard time getting involved in the conflict of poor oppressed people fighting poor oppressed people. I really need a David vs. Goliath type story. The movie had some good scenes and a lot of scenes that simply replayed the theme. Okay, we get it.

F-bomb, brief sex and nudity

Very worthwhile movie

[knitpicker2k · 8/10 · 19 May 2012]

Just a Grandmother in the suburbs, but so glad I found this excellent movie offered free by my cable company. From what some of the other reviewers have said, it would be well worth my time to get the DVD (and a new TV)for some details I missed and the extras on the DVD. I'll be looking up the book too.

And the music is awesome.

I do agree the sex/romance content detracted somewhat from the credibility of the film: 2 of the women did not appear to have any other life or function than fawning over their men. But isn't that always the way?

Working with grey morality

[minbariage · 7/10 · 24 March 2024]

There are films that leave the viewer in some kind of limbo and do not allow one to easily draw conclusions and outline an idea in just a few words. "The Bang Bang Club" is one of them. Stories of people obsessed with their profession or hobby always captivate and inspire admiration. The heroes of this film are four real photographers working in the dangerous spots of South Africa during the civil war, who are ready to expose themselves to bullets for the sake of a valuable shot, and thanks to whom the whole world can see the cruelty of war. Of course, such personalities will evoke both gratitude and admiration, because attracting public attention to the truth is no small matter. On the other hand, they are vultures, literally flocking to corpses, death and blood, and the more brutal the frame is, the more pleasure they will experience. They are inactive, do not come to the aid of the wounded, do not take sides, have almost no sympathy and oppress everything human in themselves, everything that could interfere with their work. And yet sometimes they break down and don't know if they are doing the right thing.

The film doesn't give you the opportunity to take sides or say "well, you can't do that!" Heroes cannot be condemned or justified. This is simply a story of four people, based on real events. Good acting, excellent editing, high-quality camera work - everything was done on a very high lebel. I recommend this film to everyone who likes ambiguity and eternal moral questions of this world, which will always remain without a single correct answer.

Hmmm

[damianphelps · 4/10 · 31 December 2020]

This is a critique of the movie NOT the people it portrays.

This movie makes the photographers look like a soul-less pack of money grabbing ars*&holes who are taking photos for the rush, the glory and the pay check. Now as I mentioned I don't know the full reality but this is how the movie presents the characters. This movie could have really explored the moral dilemma the photographers have when taking the photos, when to be human, when to be compassionate, when is the story more important. However it skims over this topic via a few more drinks at the bar. Missed opportunity.