Stander (2004)

Sadly Over-hyped

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Released in 2003, "Stander" is based on the true story of Andre Stander, a police captain in South Africa turned bank robber in the late 70s/early 80's, dubbed a modern-day Robin Hood by the media. Thomas Jane stars in the title role while Dexter Fletcher and David O'Hara play his partners. Deborah Kara Unger is on hand as his wife while Melanie Merle plays the girlfriend of one of the gang members. Marius Weyers also appears as Stander's father.While this is based on a true story, people dispute parts of it, like the idea that Stander occasionally gave some of the loot to impoverished black people and the idea that his disillusionment and fall into crime stemmed from an incident where he and other officers shot and killed over twenty unarmed black residents of Thembisa during the 1976 Soweto uprising. Nevertheless, the gist of the story is true and the depiction of apartheid-era South Africa is interesting. Moreover, the news media did indeed portray Stander as a modern-day Robin Hood and so the movie reflects this element and I wouldn't be surprised if he really did give some cash to blacks on a few occasions.The score by The Free Association (aka David Holmes) is odd, but I suppose the filmmakers wanted something that would mesh with the time period and location. While this is a crime thriller, it's generally realistic and lacks the eye-rolling action sequences of conventional Hollywood thrillers. There's action, of course, but it's believable and mixed with the drama of the real-life players and events.The movie runs 116 minutes and was shot in South Africa.GRADE: B

How many times do people have their hearts broken during the movie: Stander? 1. The viewer's heart should break during the opening credits, which shows the visual contrast between the wealthy, white Afrikaner's neighborhoods and the poor, black African's slums. South Africa's apartheid system during the seventies is the heartbreaking context in which the story takes place.2. In the opening scene, Andre, the main character, and his wife are shown re-marrying one another. Their hearts have already been broken before the real story even begins; they are now trying to put the pieces of their broken relationship back together.3. Andre's heart is broken when, during the confusion of a riot, he shoots and kills a young, unarmed black man (this is the one, big heartbreak from which all other heartbreaks, from this point in the film on, will originate).4. Andre breaks the heart of his best friend (a fellow cop) who, because Andre is robbing banks, is finally forced to arrest him (the friend also gets his heart broken when Andre refuses to heed the warning he gives him (i.e., that he is on to him) to stop).5. Andre's father's heart is broken when he hears, on the news, that his son has been arrested for bank robbery.6. Andre's wife's heart is broken when she hears, on the news, that he's been arrested for bank robbery.7. Andre's heart is broken when his wife, after having pleaded with him not to put his job over their relationship, again, rejects him and his plan for the two of them to run away together. His heart is also broken by the fact that his wife doesn't understand the heartbreak he feels for the blacks, especially the young man he killed, and the apartheid system he has been a part of.8. Andre's heart is broken again when he (later) sees his wife making love with another man.9. Andre, the father of the young man that Andre killed, and all of the spectators, have their hearts broken when Andre seeks out the young man's father to apologize to him for killing his son and submits himself to the father's punishment (i.e., a good beating).10. Andre's heart is broken when he sees his friend, surrounded by the police, commit suicide by cop (going down in a hail of police bullets).11. Allen, now the only surviving member of the Stander Gang besides Andre, relates to Andre a profound heartbreak he experienced in the past, occasioned by South Africa's apartheid system, the rejection of which led him into his life of crime: the police had beaten a woman he loved, a black woman, and had cause the death of her child (she was pregnant, although not with Allen's child).12. As Andre and his friend Allen say their goodbyes, as each of them will now go their separate ways. Both of their hearts are broken by the end of their friendship.13. Andre travels to the United States and arrives in Fort Lauderdale during Spring Break. A young woman approaches him, thinking he is a celebrity, and, for a moment, Andre appears to believe that he could fall in love again; perhaps even with this woman. She soon runs off to join the drinking festivities and Andre realizes how stupid it was for him to think he could ever fall in love and be happy again. You can see the heartbreak on his face.14. Andre calls his father, pretending to be a black man who once worked for his father, and says his goodbyes to him. Heartbreaking. For both of them.15. Andre then steals a car, runs a red light (on purpose), and leads two nearby police officers on a high speed chase (he is told, by the cops), that he had been going over 100 mph). When stopped, he wrestles a gun away from one of the cops and, with intention of using it (his intention being suicide by cop), points the gun at one of the officers. The other officer fires, twice, dropping Andre to the pavement, where he soon dies. His heartbreak finally over. This is the last scene.16. As the credits roll, we are told the tragic, heartbreaking fates of two of the main characters: Andre's wife later commits suicide, and Andre's friend Allen is caught and sentenced to thirty-two years in prison. (Remember, this film is based on a true story.) 17. The viewer's heart breaks again, at the end of this movie, because we know, now, how wrong South Africa's apartheid system was. It's over now. And it was this system of oppression which drove both Andre and Allen into their lives of crime in the first place. These were simply men with good consciences who could no longer tolerate being a part of the oppressive system and chose to revolt against it. In other words, in the end, they were proved right. Heartbroken, but right.

The true story of South African police officer who, while protecting the law and the order of the British occupation force, during the Soveto riot has a violent encounter with an African protester but also with his conscience after killing him. While his system of values falls apart he comes to realize that he cannot live in ignorance any more and chooses to cross to the other side of the law by robbing banks. In fact it's the account of a man who had everything by common set standards and on a date with destiny loses it ironically(or not) at the same moment in time that seals his fate when he realizes that his very existence stands for what he increasingly learns to hate. This is when he willingly chooses to go down the road of self discovery and ultimately self destruction. The action sequences are brisk; Thomas Jane delivers a solid performance, mastering both the accent and the portrayal of the powerful personality Andre Stander possessed; Deborah Kara Unger is sizzling hot as Bekki Stander; and the ending becomes symbolic upon reflection on the relationship between destiny and fatality.A true to life invitation to question our part in this world and a glimpse into how our inertia dictated actions can change the course of our lives in a split-second far away from Hollywood's vision on how to manage an uncomfortable subject.

Since my original post 14 months have gone by and I finally broke down and purchased a copy of the DVD on line for 4.99 plus shipping, a very inexpensive rate and just watched it this morning. Considering how films usually butcher the facts this was really 90% accurate.I found the sound a minor problem, had to turn it up several times to hear what was being said.In the trailer I noted his wife had committed suicide in 1990, that was very sad, must have been hard on her and his father also.Those little things which were wrong (but still enjoyable) were: 1) His death was not as shown, 2) The airport scene where he was stopped and then let go did not happen, 3) The passport used to leave SA was obtained differently and was actually that of an a SAA employee named Harris, 4) The film did not show the prison he was in at the time he escaped (Zonderwater, N. of Pretoria) and the shop scenes where he worked were not accurate as they had no such elaborate shop facilities at Z.I don't intend to be picky, I did like the film and will watch it again soon. No film sticks exactly to facts but this one was darn close and the changes probably made for a better film.I'm not sure it ever made it to a general release in the US, just some film shows here and there and I haven't seen it on cable either. Go to ebay and get yourself a copy it is worth it.