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IMDbPro

Kanarie

Original title: Canary
  • 20182018
  • UnratedUnrated
  • 2h 3m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
638
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
35,471
7,828
Hannes Otto, Germandt Geldenhuys, and Schalk Bezuidenhout in Kanarie (2018)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:00
1 Video
90 Photos
DramaMusicalWar
A coming-of-age war musical about a small-town boy who gets chosen to serve his compulsory two-year military training in the South African Defence Force Choir and Concert group, known as the... Read allA coming-of-age war musical about a small-town boy who gets chosen to serve his compulsory two-year military training in the South African Defence Force Choir and Concert group, known as the "Canaries," during the height of the Apartheid regime.A coming-of-age war musical about a small-town boy who gets chosen to serve his compulsory two-year military training in the South African Defence Force Choir and Concert group, known as the "Canaries," during the height of the Apartheid regime.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
638
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
35,471
7,828
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Christiaan Olwagen
    • Writers
      • Charl-Johan Lingenfelder
      • Christiaan Olwagen
    • Stars
      • Schalk Bezuidenhout
      • Hannes Otto
      • Germandt Geldenhuys
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Christiaan Olwagen
    • Writers
      • Charl-Johan Lingenfelder
      • Christiaan Olwagen
    • Stars
      • Schalk Bezuidenhout
      • Hannes Otto
      • Germandt Geldenhuys
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 8User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations

    Videos1

    Canary
    Trailer 2:00
    Canary

    Photos90

    Kanarie (2018)
    Anna-Mart van der Merwe and Johan Botha in Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)
    Kanarie (2018)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Schalk Bezuidenhout
    • Johan Niemand
    Hannes Otto
    Hannes Otto
    • Wolfgang Müller
    Germandt Geldenhuys
    • Ludolf Otterman
    Gérard Rudolf
    Gérard Rudolf
    • Reverend Koch
    Jacques Bessenger
    Jacques Bessenger
    • Reverend Engelbrecht
    Francois Jacobs
    • Tiaan Taljaard
    De Klerk Oelofse
    • Walter (Rambo) Boonzaaier
    Ludwig Binge
    • Daan Goosen
    David Viviers
    • Kevin Scott
    Andrico Goosen
    Andrico Goosen
    • RuanRuan (Lobster) Swart
    Beer Adriaanse
    • Corporal Crunchie
    Laudo Liebenberg
    Laudo Liebenberg
    • Lourens Human
    Geon Nel
    • Corporal de Wet
    Emile Tredoux
    • Corporal du Toit
    Johan Botha
    • Mr. Visser
    Lida Botha
    • Mrs. Visser
    Anna-Mart van der Merwe
    • Arlene Louw
    Dawid Minnaar
    • Gerhard Louw
    • Director
      • Christiaan Olwagen
    • Writers
      • Charl-Johan Lingenfelder
      • Christiaan Olwagen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Shot in 5 weeks in and around Cape Town, South Africa.
    • Soundtracks
      Smalltown Boy
      Written by Steve Bronski, Jimmy Somerville, Larry Steinbachek

      Performed by Bronski Beat

    User reviews8

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Sounds of History
    The male canary is known for its song, a lyrical and happy sound that can end suddenly in a poisonous environment, hence its use in coal mines of the past to detect danger from toxic fumes. Take us then to South Africa in the 1980's, and begin a story told in Afrikaans that is at times bizarre, occasionally jolly but at its heart historically portentous of evil. The main character of the story is a closeted small town boy learning, after his conscription, how to be true to himself while under the control of a military state just a decade shy of its dissolution. To be sure, this is not a political screed. There is only one scene overtly connected to the evil of racism. Yet that evil lies constantly beneath the surface as the narrative peels back one prejudice after another in Afrikaner society, using Johan's own life parable contrasted with frequent biblical references and lines from pop tunes as context. It is a tale of opposites clashing even as they move inexorably closer together into historical destiny. As a student of a broader history, I appreciate small things like one character saying to another. "your grandparents put my grandparents in concentration camps" to the one English-speaking recruit, a reminder of a time a hundred years earlier when South Africa was engaged in a violent civil war. For an audience in the 21st century unfamiliar with South African history, those kinds of comments should send people running to their Wikipedia. So this funny little movie in an oddly strange yet familiar language can be an opening to more than just an afternoon at the local cinema.
    helpful•7
    0
    • B24
    • Nov 18, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 2018 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • South Africa
    • Official sites
      • Offical site
      • Watch on Fearless
    • Languages
      • Afrikaans
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Канаринац
    • Production companies
      • Marche Media
      • kykNET
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $98,665
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 3 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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