Tertius Coetzee, un ancien policier blanc, se sent coupable de la violence qu’il a exercée dans le passé. Acquitté par la Commission de la vérité, Coetzee cherche à se faire pardonner le meurtre de l’activiste noir Daniel Grootboom. Il se rend au petit village de pêcheurs Paternoster, sur la côte occidentale sauvage et venteuse de l’Afrique du Sud. Il tente de se rapprocher de la famille de la victime, mais le père et la mère Grootboom, que la mort de leur fils a abasourdi, ne savent pas bien comment réagir à la visite de Coetzee. Le frère et la soeur de la victime sont furieux, sa soeur songe à se venger. Ce début dans le film de fiction est l’oeuvre d’un réalisateur publicitaire parmi les plus productifs en Afrique du Sud.

An unknown man arrives in the dilapidated and impoverished town of Paternoster on the west coast. Granted amnesty for crimes committed in the past, he is ex-cop Tertius Coetzee (Arnold Vosloo), still weighed down by his sins. He seeks out the family of the political activist he murdered and asks their forgiveness. Inclined at first to drive Coetzee away, the family becomes involved in a plot to keep him in the town to avenge the death of their son, triggering the road-trip of three friends intent on revenge. But as Coetzee’s murder draws near, there are unexpected moments of connection between killer and family. Perhaps his death will not bring them the closure they so desperately need.

Forgiveness is one of the most moving and complex films on the seminal theme of truth and reconciliation to have been produced in South Africa. It is filled with images of sand-swept roads, wind driven clouds and pounding surf, all symbolizing letting go of the past and surrendering to the forward motion of time. It is ultimately a film about time, about our unresolved relation to the past, not about forgetting it but forgiving it, so we can finally let go of it and move on into the future.

Ian Gabriel, South Africa, 2004, 118m., color.
In English & Afrikaans with English subtitles

Director: Ian Gabriel.
Producer: Cindy Gabriel.
Scriptwriter: Greg Latter.
Cinematographer: Giullio Biccari.

Cast: Arnold Vosloo, Quanita Adams, Zane Meas, Denis Newman, Christo Davids.

Executive Producers : Jeremy Nathan & Joel Phiri


DV8 FILMS
in association with
NATIONAL FILM & VIDEO FOUNDATION
RAND MERCHANT BANK
SABC 2
HUBERT BALS FUND (International Film Festival Rotterdam)
and GIANT FILMS
in co-production with Film I Väst

present

a GIANT FILMS production
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