The Bang Bang Club (2011)

To me, this movie is perfection.

As Good As It Gets

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

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.

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!

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.

This is super-duper spoilery, but it's "based on real events," so suck it if you didn't want to know!-- Groupie: I know you! -- Carter: That's funny...my own mother doesn't know me. -- Groupie: You're one of those photographers, who takes the pictures.-- Robin: Maybe you have to be like that to do what you do.Those little exchanges pretty much sum up the movie--it's about rock star photographers and the rocket scientists who sex them up. It's well meaning, but feels very hollow. There are some disturbing scenes which feel so staged, that it's like the offenders are performing Kabuki theater for the photographers rather than committing actual atrocities. In one scene, there are two groups fighting in the streets with a good 100 feet between them, with the four photogs positioned to get comfortable shots of both sides. When snipers begin attacking, few people run, no one acknowledges the fallen, it's not even apparent which side is shooting which.Once they've been christened "The Bang Bang Club" (after rejecting "The Bang Bang Paparazzi"), a Colored guy (yes, still a racial descriptor in SA) asks to join the group, to which Greg reluctantly says yes, lest they be deemed "The White Boy Club." Of course, he is shot and killed within minutes. THIS, of course, pushes Greg over the edge. Greg...the guy who fairly calmly photographed a Black man get stabbed four times with machetes BEFORE suggesting the attackers stop, then continued to photograph the man as he was set aflame and running around until he was finally stabbed to death. Fortunately, throughout these ordeals Greg's editor is willing to ease his pain with her naked body.When two members of the BBC are inevitably shot during one harrowing standoff between the military and some snipers, the immediate and dramatic response of those around them was in stark contrast to their reaction to the felling of just about everyone else, ever. They are swiftly dragged out and taken to the hospital. And of course, the one who dies is also the one given the least attention, although his model girlfriend is given lots of crying scenes afterward.Taylor Kitsch's performance has been given a lot of attention, both because of his commendable transformation into a crazy South African and because of his character's real-life tragic ending. That said, I got a better sense of his drug addiction and how he was affected by his Pulitzer-winning photo from the Time Magazine article on his death than from this movie. They paid enough attention to Carter inviting a nameless groupie/teacher to a party, that I have to assume she's the mother of the child he mentions in his suicide note. Who knows, because this guy just popped in and out of the story like a bipolar ghost.