''Tengers'' is a 2007 South African animated film written, directed and produced by Michael J. Rix. It is the first full-length animation produced in South Africa and uses the claymation technique. The film is a satirical

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

about life in post-

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

South Africa. Rix has said his intention was to make a film that was: "Entertaining but not frivolous. Political but not preachy. Sophisticated but not alienating."

Synopsis

The film opens with Rob's mistaken arrest for bank robbery. He explains to Marius that he was wearing the balaclava because he was cold, and that carrying a gun is standard practice in Johannesburg. In fact, he was at the bank to see Christine. She is the artist responsible for the "Remembrance Wall," a memorial to the victims of violent crime in the city. After meeting at the wall, Christine agrees to go on a date with Rob. After winning a fortune on a scratch card, Rob finds his life under threat and believes that the Lottery Service is trying to murder him to prevent him from claiming his prize. He is forced to hide amongst the city's underclass. The film ends with a western style shoot out during which the killer is revealed to be Marius and Christine is killed. Rob reflects on the harsh realities of life in modern South Africa.

Characters

*Rob, an unemployed writer, working on the "great South African novel". *Marius, Rob's friend, struggling to make ends meet on a meagre cop's salary. *Christine, a bank teller and artist. She is also the girl of Rob's dreams.

Minor characters

Minor characters include: Vusi, a taxi driver; Jack, a professional

carjacker Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...

; and Fud, a homeless beggar.

Notes

*Rix shot the film over the course of nine years in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. *The term Tengers was coined by Rix himself to refer to residents of

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

province.

References

External links