The Devils Liar (2013) 85 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama | May 2013 (Canada)
Braam is a gang leader torn between securing the future of his young family while guiding his men through a deadly drug war turf. What choices will he make?
Director: Riaan Hendricks
Review:
My wife and I were flipping channels and the very last thing we wished to watch just after Midnight tonight was men doing hard drugs and talking about killing each other! However, inexplicably, we forged through the documentary somehow entranced in the story of the lead character in the documentary film along with his beautiful and charming wife and children. In terms of the setting of the documentary film, we'll leave it up to you to see if you can figure it out with little or no clues during the film. I can say that I was way off as my guess but my wife was bang on! No matter what the setting, and regardless of your personal feelings are concerning this lead characters way of life, you may feel as we did, that you just have to reserve a sizable degree of respect for his being able to balance a family with seemingly loved children in a world of such terror with an almost never ending possibility for deadly violence erupting at any split second throughout the film. Having said this I can also say that this reviewers stomach was in knots the entire last act of the documentary. We both wept at the end, another indication that this film cut through our often jaded points of view, specifically that we both feel strongly against the use of any violence at all in film and television today. The Director, Riaan Hendricks is destined for greatness, especially if he can move from genre to genre, sharpening his story-telling skills all the while. The Director whom also seems to be the lead camera person, if not the sole camera person, is especially impressive, and he seemed to use his limited "fly on the wall" filmmaking parameters to their fullest. On a side note, the Director is also the editor of this very powerful documentary. Finally, the music is the salt and pepper that was never too much, it left you wanting more but really lent itself to helping us feel the film more internally, especially the culture of the settings! The Devils Liar (2003) is a documentary that should be "required viewing" in every film school, no matter which language, religion or culture, it makes its fine points that can be easily interpreted by anyone, anywhere. Gordon King Welke, August 5, 2015
Braam is a gang leader torn between securing the future of his young family while guiding his men through a deadly drug war turf. What choices will he make?
Director: Riaan Hendricks
Review:
My wife and I were flipping channels and the very last thing we wished to watch just after Midnight tonight was men doing hard drugs and talking about killing each other! However, inexplicably, we forged through the documentary somehow entranced in the story of the lead character in the documentary film along with his beautiful and charming wife and children. In terms of the setting of the documentary film, we'll leave it up to you to see if you can figure it out with little or no clues during the film. I can say that I was way off as my guess but my wife was bang on! No matter what the setting, and regardless of your personal feelings are concerning this lead characters way of life, you may feel as we did, that you just have to reserve a sizable degree of respect for his being able to balance a family with seemingly loved children in a world of such terror with an almost never ending possibility for deadly violence erupting at any split second throughout the film. Having said this I can also say that this reviewers stomach was in knots the entire last act of the documentary. We both wept at the end, another indication that this film cut through our often jaded points of view, specifically that we both feel strongly against the use of any violence at all in film and television today. The Director, Riaan Hendricks is destined for greatness, especially if he can move from genre to genre, sharpening his story-telling skills all the while. The Director whom also seems to be the lead camera person, if not the sole camera person, is especially impressive, and he seemed to use his limited "fly on the wall" filmmaking parameters to their fullest. On a side note, the Director is also the editor of this very powerful documentary. Finally, the music is the salt and pepper that was never too much, it left you wanting more but really lent itself to helping us feel the film more internally, especially the culture of the settings! The Devils Liar (2003) is a documentary that should be "required viewing" in every film school, no matter which language, religion or culture, it makes its fine points that can be easily interpreted by anyone, anywhere. Gordon King Welke, August 5, 2015
