“Her [Elani Dekker’s] acting is top class and she manages to make you care about Koriena, no matter how irrational her behaviour might seem….This is far from a conventional romantic storytelling.” Con Nats
3.5 Saplings
This South African film was their official entry into the Academy Awards, and is an impressive departure from the political documentaries which feature at the South African Film Festival.
Set in 1933, Koriena Kapp (Elani Dekker) lives with the forest people in the Knysa forest. No, they’re not fairy people, but real people living happily off the grid. And as living contently is not allowed, they are under threat of eviction – a brooding forebear to what happened under apartheid.
Koriena is noticed by Johannes (Ivan Abrahams) who sweeps her off her bare feet. He used to be a forest boy who made good, and wants to rescue her from fate. But Koriena has a deep love for the forest (she’s a literal tree hugger) and an aversion to acting falsely and being told what to say and do by a man.
This story is based on the novel by Dalene Matthee. It’s a touching coming of age story set in a time and place many of us didn’t know ever existed. Director Rene van Rooyen has given this story the innocent dreamlike quality that personifies Koriena. It is well shot although the handheld treatment doesn’t seem as relevant to a period piece. The lighting is natural and ambient. It is visually impressive and the story telling is so intense, you don’t realise seven years pass until a world war is mentioned and suddenly WWII breaks out.
Matthee captures Elani Dekker’s portrayal of Koriena. Her acting is top class and she manages to make you care about Koriena, no matter how irrational her behaviour might seem. Johanne’s character is more stereotypical, and it’s a relief when he shows some depth towards the end. His journey complements Koriena’s and is a weak point in the story, until it is salvaged. There are no easy and predictable turns in this story, which keeps you engaged.
This is far from a conventional romantic storytelling. The backdrop is bleak and the despair of their lives is up front. It has a spiritual level and a very human perspective on what it is like for a girl of just 18, and her whole community, to survive in a world looking to tear itself apart. These are questions South Africa is still struggling to answer.
3.5 Saplings
