Five Fingers for Marseilles is 2018 drama about how lives change forever when a young man kills two corrupt policemen in a South African shanty town.
Some might argue that the Western is, by a clear definition of the word itself, a genre exclusive to the United States, even if other countries have long since set about copying the mechanics of it. Heck, it might not even have survived this long if it weren’t for the Italians. And it’s not like there haven’t been successes elsewhere. Who doesn’t like Quigley Down Under? Now comes a South African film from Michael Matthews, and it looks a lot like what we’ve come to expect in a good Western, even if much of it is redressed in the modern culture of the times and place it’s set. It embraces its influences with plenty to keep it recognizable, making this an entertaining pick for those who like movies that play the conventions with a twist.
We learn that a small shanty town on the Eastern Cape of South Africa lies at the end of the line, the folks desperately poor but proud of what they have. Here, a small group of tough children call themselves the ‘Five Fingers’, led by a particularly hard-nosed kid named Tau, nicknamed The Lion, who when white military officers come looking to collect what little they have, leave a trail of death and The Lion on the run. Twenty years later, after a life of crime and some time in jail, Tau (played as an adult by Vuyo Dabula) returns, finding his hometown in worse shape, caught in a war between a corrupt police force and a local gang, his old friend now running the town. Can he stay removed from conflict or will he be drawn back into the fighting lifestyle?
After a brief stay in the past, where we witness the formation of the Five Fingers and the jarring confrontation that ends in death, the film slows down as we track Tau’s journey home and the darkness that has befallen his old stomping grounds. Tau is the classic old west drifter (even called ‘The Ghost’ by those in town), the damaged hero who longs to be anything but, burdened by his past and yet moved by what he finds himself mired within. What’s interesting is the people that orbit him, the children now grown to adults, leaders now, scarred by their histories and seeing the future with very different eyes.
Like any in this genre, there are those underfoot and those with absolute power, the returning shadowy figure soon cast into the fray, forced to make violence the only solution. The modern setting doesn’t divert from the obvious imitation of many horse mounted classics, with Matthews making every effort to make connections, most working very well. There’s some terrific imagery of bad men in worse situations, surrounded on all sides by breathtaking landscapes.
For much of the movie though, this is a slow, dialogue-heavy experience, with a cast of superbly defined characters, faces weathered and worn by time and torment. They are a familiar bunch, hardly a trustworthy one in the lot, who naturally funnel the story to an explosive end. Well made and acted, this will sit well with enthusiasts and earns a solid recommendation.