''Knuckle City'' is a 2019 South African

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

written and directed by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the

2019 Toronto International Film Festival The 44th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 September 2019. The opening gala was the documentary film '' Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band'', directed by Daniel Roher, and the festival closed with a ...

. It was selected as the South African entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

92nd Academy Awards The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...

, but was ultimately not nominated.

Cast

* Bongile Mantsai as Dudu Nyakama * Sivuyile Ngesi as Goatee *

Nomhle Nkonyeni Nomhle Nkonyeni (9 April 1942 – 10 July 2019) was a South African actress who has appeared in television series such as ''Mzansi'', ''Tsha Tsha'' and the 2007 mini-series ''Society'', as well as feature films such as ''Of Good Report'' (2013). ...

as Ma Bokwana * Patrick Ndlovu as Bra Pat

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, it has a perfect approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of .

Film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

Anne T. Donahue of ''Globe and Mail'' gave the film 3 and half stars out of four, saying, "It is a movie that’s as defined by what one’s heart can endure as much as it is by its mesmerizing

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

, its

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

and how long it will stay with you. ''Knuckle City'' cannot be overlooked." Courtney Small of ''In The Seats'' gave it a 4/5 stars and praised the fresh take on traditional genre tropes, saying "Bathed in a sea of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

, ''Knuckle City'' challenges traditional notions of

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...

to expose how toxic and destructive it is. Spreading like a virus, the sins that the brothers’ inherited from their father are part of a greater systemic problem impacting the township of

Mdantsane Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in the Eastern Cape after Ibhayi near Port Elizabeth and seventeenth large ...

. Unflinchingly gritty, ''Knuckle City'' brings a fresh South African take on traditional genre tropes. Engulfed in beautiful

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

that is both sweeping and intimate, Qubeka shows that actions to uplift family, and not endanger them, is what real

man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

hood is all about." In 2020 MoJo Global Arts brokered a deal with

Showtime (TV network) Showtime is an American pay television, premium television television network, network owned by Paramount Media Networks, and is the flagship property of the namesake parent company, Showtime Networks, a part of Paramount Media Networks. Showtime ...

to air ''Knuckle City'' on Showtime.

Accolades

''Knuckle City'' took home five awards at the 2020 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) including Best Actor in a Feature Film, Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film, Best Achievement in Directing in a Feature Film, Best Achievement in Production Design in a Feature Film and Best Achievement in Make-Up and Hairstyling in a Feature Film.

References

External links