Five Fingers for Marseilles (2017)

Lives change forever when Tau, the young lion, kills two corrupt policemen in a South African shanty town.

Director:

Michael Matthews

Writers:

Sean Drummond (screenplay), Sean Drummond (story)

Stars:

Vuyo Dabula, Zethu Dlomo, Hamilton Dhlamini

7 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Vuyo Dabula	...	Tau
Zethu Dlomo	...	Lerato
Hamilton Dhlamini	...	Sepoko
Kenneth Nkosi	...	Bongani
Mduduzi Mabaso	...	Luyanda
Aubrey Poolo	...	Unathi
Lizwi Vilakazi	...	Sizwe
Jerry Mofokeng	...	Jonah
Warren Masemola	...	Thuto
Dean Fourie	...	Honest John
Kenneth Fok	...	Wei
Anthony Oseyemi	...	Congo
Brendon Daniels	...	Slim Sixteen
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Garth Breytenbach	...	Officer De Vries

Storyline

Twenty years ago, the young 'Five Fingers' fought for the rural town of Marseilles, against brutal police oppression. Now, after fleeing in disgrace, freedom-fighter-turned-'outlaw' Tau returns to Marseilles, seeking only a peaceful pastoral life. When he finds the town under new threat, he must reluctantly fight to free it. can he free himself from his past? Will the Five Fingers stand again?

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Taglines:

There Are No Good Men

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | Western

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Did You Know?

Trivia

All of the language in the film is authentic. Director Michael Matthews said they went to great lengths to have local languages represented in the film. It switches from English to Xhosa and Sesotho.

User Reviews

South African Films getting better and better

Films coming out of South Africa are getting better & better. Last week i watched Catching Feelings and it was good. Yesterday i had to watch this one, who wouldn't after seeing the trailer and poster ? This film reminded me of Bruce Willis' 1996 cowboy movie Last Man Standing because they are alike. Difference is Fiver Fingers for Marseilles is not as straight forward and at 2 hours long it seems like 3 because the pacing is slow. The setting up of characters in this case epilogue is around 20 minutes. Then everything seem puzzling and you will ask yourself why, how, when. The biggest flaw is the script. It was written by a certain Sean Drummond who i presume is an English speaker and then given to a translator who did direct translation resulting in some dialogue/sayings/phrases being lost in the process. I don't even speak South African languages but i picked some of it. The other flaw is the casting. The younger Lerato of about 14 years old is light skinned (popularly known as yellow bones) as an adult woman she is now darker skinned which never happens thereby not making sense. It is mistakes like these that turn local audiences off because we feel we are being taken for granted. The bright side is the main cast is just brilliant. I had doubts about Vuyo Dabula's acting chops in Generations because he is one dimensional but now i am convinced he has talent. Hamilton Dhlamini who plays the villain is just magnificent that you would think he came out of a Hollywood horror movie. Veteran Kenneth Nkosi and newbie Zethu don't disappoint.

Keep it up guys.

Details

Country:

South Africa

Language:

Xhosa Southern Sotho English Afrikaans

Release Date:

7 September 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lupta pentru Marseilles

Filming Locations:

Lady Grey, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$136,374

Company Credits

Production Co:

Game 7 Films, Stage 5 Films, The Be Phat Motel Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Color:

Color