Review by Kelly Burkhardt
By: Kelly Burkhardt
In-House Review - Jun 28 2012
Set in the beautiful backdrop of South Africa, Beauty is an intimately intense portrait of Francois (the amazing Deon Lotz) who is a dutiful, middle-aged husband and father. He fumes with resentment longing for the past, his loveless marriage and har...
Read More
Set in the beautiful backdrop of South Africa, Beauty is an intimately intense portrait of Francois (the amazing Deon Lotz) who is a dutiful, middle-aged husband and father. He fumes with resentment longing for the past, his loveless marriage and harboring a secret of being attracted to other men. However, that does not stop the family man from sneaking off to an isolated farmhouse to partake in an orgy with other white, married men. While hosting his daughter's wedding, charming, young and studly Christian (Charlie Keegan) approaches the proud father and something snaps inside Francois. He embarks on a dark, unwavering journey of obsession that leads to a shocking and graphic conclusion. Lotz is utterly amazing as Francois who subtly fills with bitter jealousy and tragically unravels in front of our eyes. Winner of the Queer Palm D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Beauty exposes the ugliness within a homophobic society by challenging us to feel the struggle and self-loathing of a vastly complex character.
Review by barry
By: barry
The beauty was the young guy, this is why I picked it. The film maker did not use him will. It must had been true story , and why he name this movie. Being he the boy is why this movie fell. Think he would get caught. Where is a good cop when y...
Read More
The beauty was the young guy, this is why I picked it. The film maker did not use him will. It must had been true story , and why he name this movie. Being he the boy is why this movie fell. Think he would get caught. Where is a good cop when you need one. At least put the film maker in jail for a bad movie. I am still looking for him to give me my money back. Guest good luck wih that. Now tla do your part, at lease watch it. So than you can pull it from your list. Save your customers.
Review by russell
By: russell
I did not enjoy this. Sure, a slice of realism, older closeted man, I'm no fag, and a very cute guy playing his "nephew". His lifeless marriage. There are long shots of him unpacking his suitcase in an empty hotel room. Two stars I think.
Review by just a reviewer
By: just a reviewer
.....film. But, there is another 6-letter "B-word" which exactly describes its story: "Brutal". And now, for your edification, let's take that ugly word apart, one letter at a time:
-- B: - As in Old "BOYS" Club. As in a bunch of older...
Read More
.....film. But, there is another 6-letter "B-word" which exactly describes its story: "Brutal". And now, for your edification, let's take that ugly word apart, one letter at a time:
-- B: - As in Old "BOYS" Club. As in a bunch of older, emotionally unfulfilled, married men, who secretly meet to screw each other over (in every sense of that word).
-- R: - As in "". As in the unmercifully cruel and taking of a radiantly handsome, young man. As in...the viewer gets to be the camera. As in you are there, and it's happening...to you.
-- U: - As in "USED". As in the way many paying viewers of this often static, S-L-O-W moving and deceitful story will feel after watching it.
-- T: - As in "TAKEN". As in...Being Taken (See "USED", above).
-- A: - As in "AFRIKANERS". As in the Germanic ethnic group in Southern Africa, who populate this story and speak in more harsh (to English-hearing ears) Dutch/German tones.
-- L: - As in "LUCKY". As in what you should consider yourself to be...if you heed this forewarning.
PS -- Here's yet another "L": As in "LEARNED" my lesson the hard way. As in this is a non-keeper...a throwaway DVD.
(( 1-STAR is awarded ))
Review by TrojanKnight
By: TrojanKnight
Truly a character study on a repressed gay man. Yes, some scenes are deliberately slow but that actually enhanced my own viewing from how boring this man's life was to the predator nature of his actions. I couldn't for the longest time watch the ...
Read More
Truly a character study on a repressed gay man. Yes, some scenes are deliberately slow but that actually enhanced my own viewing from how boring this man's life was to the predator nature of his actions. I couldn't for the longest time watch the scene because how real it appeared for me. I had to pause it many times to get thru. I applaud the actors for such courage to film that. I then realized that this is a 'thriller'. We don't need to see monsters or people killing people for a film to be a 'thriller'. The scariest part is him snapping from his repression and that these repressed gay men are real. That could have been any queer if society repressed us queers. Knowing that makes this film to scary to watch.
Review by Darren
By: Darren
This could have been so much better, if the thing wasnt so slow in places, and pauses in the photography on dead scenes just sitting there for 45 seconds before moving on.
Review by Amos Lassen
By: Amos Lassen
The news is out that TLA has acquired the U.S. rights to "Beauty" from South Africa. The film is directed by Oliver Hernanus and is the story of a married man who has to deal with the attraction that he has for other men. Francois van Heerden (Deon L...
Read More
The news is out that TLA has acquired the U.S. rights to "Beauty" from South Africa. The film is directed by Oliver Hernanus and is the story of a married man who has to deal with the attraction that he has for other men. Francois van Heerden (Deon Lotz) who is in his mid 40's is a family man who no longer seems to care about anything including himself and when a coincidental meeting happens between him and another mean, his life that has been controlled, begins to move in a new direction.
The film is an intense and tense look into the lives of middle-aged Afrikaans homosexuals who are trapped in their small town existence and whose prime has passed them by. We really do not see anything that is new about closeted gay men in this somewhat dark look at being gay at middle age. The tension is so thick that at times it makes the viewer uncomfortable but that could also be because many of us may see ourselves in the characters. Visually, the film is deliberately slow so as to make us feel what our main character feels and yet even with explicit scenes, the film is somewhat gentle.
An advertisement in the newspaper was the impetus for the movie. The ad was written very specifically and the advertiser was looking for white, married Afrikaner men to take part in an orgy. This actually becomes one of the scenes in the film. There is also a very disturbing scene and I understand that the actors also found the film disturbing as they acted.
The film has been awarded many prizes and specifically the Golden Queer Award at Cannes which goes to the outstanding film that features some aspect of the LGBT community. The original title, "Skoonheid" means "beauty" in Afrikaans and also connotes cleanliness which then refers to godliness and this is very present in the film. Francois realizes that he feels very strongly for a young family friend, Christian. The film is designed to give a look at the life of a repressed gay man and we are certainly made aware that homosexuality carries a stigma in South Africa.
Francois admires Christian from afar but then he becomes bold and eventually he the young man. However, after the nothing much happens. I see Francois as a representative of the dangers of shame and repression and the film warns us that the experience will probably be repeated. The film really just touches the topic and even though we do get a look at repressed men in repressed society, we feel like we need to know more.