The Bang Bang Club - Blu-Ray

Movie: Young photographer Greg Marinovich (Ryan Phillippe) arrives in the turmoil of apartheid in the South African townships, where bloody fights are a daily occurrence, to document the events with his pictures. In the process, he meets a group of successful photojournalists, consisting of Kevin Carter (Taylor Kitsch), Ken Oosterbroeck (Frank Rautenbach) and the Portuguese João Silva (Neels van Joarsveld), who are initially critical of the newcomer. But when he manages to capture a whole new angle on the whole thing with a daring action, he not only gets the nod from photo editor Robin Comley (Malin Akerman) to use some of his images. He also commands the respect of the group, soon to make a worldwide splash as the Bang Bang Club. From then on, the four war photographers travel through the crisis area together, Greg and Kevin even receive a Pulitzer Prize for their work. But even if they only observe the suffering and horror through the lenses of their cameras, the war also leaves clear traces on the four men - and not all of them can cope with the heavy mental burden.

The Bang Bang Club is a gripping and moving account of the true story of the four war photographers. South African director and screenwriter Steven Silver, who has so far primarily made documentary films, has directed an absolutely authentic war drama with the help of the two still-living members of the Bang Bang Club, Greg Marinovich and João Silva. The reports of the two photographers primarily helped to recreate the battle scenes and the creation of some photographs as realistically as possible. Other dramaturgical elements, however, were altered for the film version in order to also provide the viewer with some entertainment value.

What Silver succeeds in doing very well is to show how much the wealthy white population in particular has distanced itself from the fighting in the townships. The bloody goings-on were ignored and completely left out of their consciousness. Barbecues were held together, relaxed swimming excursions were undertaken and the benefits of the beautiful countryside were enjoyed, while only a few kilometres away people were being slaughtered or burned alive. Silver, however, refrains from making moral judgments. He tries to show all sides of the conflict, both the two opposing camps and the society ignoring the whole thing.

In the end, though, the film is carried by its very good actors. Whether Ryan Phillippe, Taylor Kitsch, known from Wolverine, or Frank Rautenbach and Neels van Joarsveld, who are rather unknown in this country, they all deliver strong performances that make it understandable how the horror of apartheid eats up the men little by little. Pleasantly, Silver doesn't cannibalize the emotional moments towards the end of the film too much and let kitsch overrun the whole thing. These scenes are touching but not really manipulative, and that's more than conducive to the overall positive picture.

Although the romance between Greg and Robin perhaps takes up a bit too much space, it too is an important part of the story, as it is here that the changes in Greg's character become very clear. So The Bang Bang Club is apart from some small lengths and the sometimes somewhat exhausting use of blurred images a very moving, exciting and also harrowing drama, for which only one verdict can apply: absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: With authentic colors and its often somewhat dirty look, the overall clean and sharp image of the Blu-Ray is very atmospheric. Here and there there are minor deductions in the sharpness of detail, but overall the look of the disc can convince. The same goes for the sound. Here it can be noted that the dialogue in the German language version is a bit more front-heavy, but also more powerful mixed, than in the overall more atmospheric English version. Some very good surround effects provide again and again for plenty of movement in the tonal events. Good.

Extras: At first glance, the disc doesn't seem to offer a great deal of bonus material with a making of and the trailer. However, the look at the making of the film with about 45 minutes is not only pleasantly extensive, but also very interesting turned out, as here also two of the real photographers from the BANG BANG CLUB come to speak and is shown how they supported the shooting to make the film as realistic as possible. Worth watching!

Conclusion: The Bang Bang Club is a gripping drama that offers the best entertainment with ambition right up to the end due to the exciting production and the good actors. The Blu-Ray is technically on a good level, the bonus material is clear, but absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp