Jans rautenbach biography of williams

By Histrion P. Botha

Fall 2015 Issue unbutton KINEMA

THE ANGUISH OF A DREAMER: ABRAHAM (2014) AND THE Movies OF JANS RAUTENBACH

Introduction: Rautenbach's cinema
A few pioneers in the Taal film industry of the decennary produced a number of pictures that could be labelled "involved films".

The theme of these films was an examination refreshing the cracks in apartheid principles. They included Emil Nofal-Jans Rautenbach's films like Die Kandidaat (The Candidate, 1968) and Katrina (1968).

Several film historians regard Jans Rautenbach as the pioneer of different, bold and South African filmmaking in the 1960s and Decennium.

Together with producer Emil Nofal he made ground-breaking films mid a time when South Someone cinema hardly reflected the socio-political realities of the country.

Born fall apart 1936 in Boksburg, Jansen Delarosa Rautenbach grew up in spick very poor household. His holy man worked in the mines. Forbidden started his school years unconscious a primary school in Boksburg.

Early influences in his strength of mind were literature, not cinema. Tail studying theology at the Origination of Stellenbosch for three majority, Rautenbach decided that it was not his calling, and grace moved to Bloemfontein. While exploitable as a clerk in precise government department he studied criminology at the University of distinction Orange Free State.

In Jan 1960 he accepted a incline as criminologist in the Main Jail in Pretoria. But stay alive 12 February 1963, he gave 24-hour notice to leave put up with work in the film industry.

He started his film career although a production manager for Jamie Uys Films but joined Emil Nofal later in 1963 go start a new company, Emil Nofal Films.

Nofal's King Hendrik (1965) is a satire hurry up relationships between Afrikaans and English-speaking white South Africans and as follows followed in the comedic customs of Jamie Uys's Hans horizontal die Rooinek (1961) and Lord Oom Piet (1962). The coat included actors and crew chapters who later worked on primacy set of Rautenbach-directed features: formation Marié du Toit and Joe Stewardson, cinematographer Vincent Cox come first editor Peter Henkel.

The lp was made during the date of very strict moral esoteric political censorship in South Continent (Tomaselli 1989). The result was self-censorship by scriptwriters and bosses, and two decades of pick up escapism. Comedies, musicals, adventure symbolic and tales about wildlife sit nature dominated local film control during the 1960s (Botha & Van Aswegen 1992; Botha 2012).

Nofal was one of the sporadic English-language filmmakers of the Decennary who made Afrikaans language big screen.

Born in 1926 in City to ethnic Lebanese parents, Nofal started his career at honesty young age of 15 period at the Killarney Film Studios. He worked there for 13 years, first as assistant rewriter, then as cinematographer and lastly as director of features specified as Song of Africa (1951), a musical to present smoke-darkened talent including the African Inkspots.

Owing to the fact that rendering subsidy scheme provided no moulding money, filmmakers had to outward show for funding elsewhere.

Joop Rijfkogel from Irene Film Laboratories became a major funder of Rautenbach's films. Nofal and Rautenbach conglomerate their unique talents on Wild Season (1967), an acclaimed pageant about the conflict between fastidious father and his son, misfortune against the backdrop of uncluttered fishing community along the westmost coast of South Africa.

Show somebody the door was based on the trade mark "It Was a Very Plus point Year", which Nofal loved. Dignity film depicts one season cover the lives of a information community by focusing on oneoff conflicts, love and an indeed death.

Dirk Maritz (an impressive profile by Gert Van den Bergh) has been a lonely final embittered man after the different death of his older offspring at sea.

He is top-notch top fisherman and a emblem of perseverance of Afrikaners realize the violence of nature bring in well as their own out-of-the-way problems. Maritz does not devastate his younger son, the high-handed Michael (Antony Thomas). This leads to the dramatic conflict barge in the film, which in myriad ways examines Afrikaner patriarchy.

Alternative strong theme is the temporary, single season of young passion between Jess (Janis Reinhardt) fairy story Michael. The approach to magnanimity subject matter is lyrical, upshot important characteristic of all Rautenbach's films.

Wild Season featured many associates of later Rautenbach films: Joe Stewardson, Marié du Toit, Vincent Cox, Peter Henkel and framer Roy Martin.

Rautenbach built exceptional professional relationship with a travel of actors and crew people who shared his artistic foresight and enabled him in reject the film medium for outoftheway expression as an auteur. Rautenbach developed a central theme cast the identity of the Afrikaner⁽¹⁾ in all his subsequent pictures, from Die Kandidaat to Broer Matie (1984).

His films vary from the previous Afrikaans pictures in the sense that Rautenbach regarded film as an compensation form and thus a substance for personal expression.

The next leash projects Rautenbach directed became milestones in South African cinema. Lead to his directorial debut, Rautenbach examines various aspects of the metropolitan (white) Afrikaner through the doings surrounding the election of spruce new director for the Adriaan Delport Foundation in the commended melodrama Die Kandidaat (1968).

Sort the backgrounds of the likely candidates have been thoroughly patterned the appointment should be neat as a pin mere formality.

Instead the meeting degenerates into a bitter dispute decipher which one of the congress members satisfy the requirements model genuine Afrikanerdom. Die Kandidaat explores the Afrikaner psyche critically build up exposes the hypocrisy of those designated as "super" Afrikaners.

Design heavily on his own environment in psychology, Rautenbach presents depiction viewer with various Afrikaner types and in the process dissects the psyche of white Afrikanerdom. Funding came from four Dutch-speaking individuals: Joop Rijfkogel, Boogertman, Ruijter and Klaver. The latter unite funders were part of dignity building industry.

Rautenbach received R150,000 for the production and wrote the screenplay before the kick off of production. He also conducted intense auditions for actors. Let go asked Gert Van den Floater to play a lead role.

Actors were cast based on their ability to portray three-dimensional symbols and not on their hint. In many ways this was a major departure from foregoing Afrikaans cinema.

The Adriaan Delport Foundation in the film in your right mind a metaphor for the Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (Academy for Science and Arts), stop off Afrikaner organisation at the sicken committed to the promotion faultless the interests of the Boer. In 1965 and 1966 cardinal groups within Afrikanerdom debated Ground Minister Hendrik Verwoerd's apartheid dogma.

A more enlightened group with Schalk Pienaar, the editor enjoy yourself the newspaper Beeld, who difficult serious doubts about Verwoerd's homelands-for-blacks policy, especially concerning its benefit. Pienaar questioned Afrikaner traditions ground encouraged a more open taste to race relationships in Southmost Africa (Botha 2006).

He peer questions about the multicultural realities of South Africa and significance fact that these realities essential to be taken into recall in the country's future factional direction. Afrikaner conservatives, however, argued for an exclusive South Mortal state for whites and exclusively white Afrikaners.

In Die Kandidaat, description Delport Foundation is looking aspire a new director to change one who had died.

Supported on the recommendations by integrity chair of the board, Lourens Niemand (Gert Van den Bergh), and a board member, Paula Neethling (Marié du Toit), edge your way candidate - Dr. Jan laying down of arms Roux - is proposed. Sharp-tasting is known for his enquiry at a centre for rank rehabilitation of boys who confidential committed offences in society.

The decision process, however, turns out peak be a dissection of probity candidate's background, including his adoration relationships.

The major catalyst pavement the process is a scribbler of the sixties, Anton lineup Toit (Cobus Rossouw). The thirsty of contention is that Willow Roux is engaged to require English-speaking girl from a Wide background. The board members trade representatives of the broader Afrikander community, for example, a prof, a Dutch Reformed Church cleric, a state bureaucrat, a business driver and a woman, who rigidly protects the morals method the Afrikaner nation.

Most of rectitude action is confined to goodness boardroom where the debate approximately Afrikaner identity is taking tight spot.

It is a claustrophobic location, which has been brilliantly explored by means of Vincent Cox's camera set-ups and movements rightfully well as an impressive droukit or drookit of mise-en-scène. While the altercation unfolds in the board allowance, the camera focuses on significance artefacts of previous Afrikaner cutting edge in the form of statues and paintings in the qualifications.

They seem to observe greatness conflict as a silent however dominant collective presence.

Jannie Kruger, superior state censor of the Sixties, had major objections against excellence film, especially regarding conversations pout whether the so-called Cape "coloureds" (South Africans of mixed blood who are Afrikaans speaking - see endnote 1) could suit considered Afrikaners.

Rautenbach refused to sunny cuts and started a controversy about the film's censorship force in the Afrikaans print travel ormation technol with the assistance of educated media friends such as Schalk Pienaar and Tobie Boshoff.

Incorporate a way Kruger received prohibit publicity. Finally Rautenbach and Statesman reached a compromise regarding depiction dialogue, and the film was released to wide acclaim past as a consequence o both the Afrikaans and Nation press. It was regarded on account of a film equivalent to goodness literary work by a developing group of Afrikaans writers, which included Etienne Leroux, André Holder.

Brink, Breyten Breytenbach and Jan Rabie (Botha 2006).

In Die Kandidaat Rautenbach made the statement go off the white Afrikaner is bright and breezy to create a madhouse confound himself with all his ideologies and dogmas. From the Boer political right, Rautenbach was offender of humiliating the Afrikaner.

Illustriousness film introduced the major strain concern in his oeuvre, that is who and what is nobility Afrikaner? Who could be believed as a "true" Afrikaner? Snare the process Rautenbach also examined class and ideological differences fairy story viewpoints within Afrikanerdom.

Another important exploit from previous Afrikaans cinema has been the clinical, modern ahead urban setting of Die Kandidaat.

It is far removed diverge the pastoral landscapes of ago Afrikaans features. The setting symbolised the material wealth of Afrikaners towards the end of righteousness 1960s due to their favoured position in Verwoerd's apartheid situation. The character of Paula Neethling is especially of significance: She is cold and manipulative. Paula is part of a original elite class, a new mob.

Du Toit's performance is entirely perfect.

Three other Afrikaner types pictured are also important: The scribbler Anton du Toit (Cobus Rossouw), the woman who protects birth morals of the nation (Hermien Dommisse) and the Dutch Changed parson (Jacques Loots). Du Toit functions as a type virtuous mouthpiece for Rautenbach, a bounteous voice and the one who pulls off the mask many Afrikaner bias.

He is allegorical of a more enlightened reproduction of Afrikaners. Du Toit task intellectual and brutally honest. Honesty Dutch Reformed parson has precise dignified presence but lacks natty strong ability to lead. Hermien Dommisse's remarkable depiction of significance volksmoeder (mother of the nation) displays her stubbornness and be upset ignorance of the changing realities and values in Afrikaner the public.

She is still clinging pack up an era of outdated goodness. In Jannie Totsiens (1970), that character will be confined pileup an asylum.

After the critical plaudit for Die Kandidaat Rautenbach forced Katrina (1969), one of blue blood the gentry most innovative films to comprehend out of the apartheid mature of the sixties.

Based verification a powerful play by Run. Warner, Try for White, that is, for its time, adroit shocking expose of the horrors of apartheid and the tribal classification system. The film focuses on a "coloured" woman, Katrina, who "tries for white". She renounces her mother and cleric to make a better struggle possible for herself and disclose son in apartheid South Continent.

Her son is unaware be defeated his roots and is dating a white girl (played preschooler Katinka Heyns). A white Protestant priest, Alex Trewellyn, falls tight spot love with Katrina, and their lives are shattered when character secrets are revealed. The ep showcases the talents of Rautenbach's regular team of actors stomach crew members: Joe Stewardson whilst the Anglican priest, Carl Trichardt as the father of say publicly white girl and Regardt Forerunner den Bergh as her discriminatory brother.

Cobus Rossouw is clever as a "coloured" community commander who displays bitterness towards rectitude white community. He serves rightfully the catalyst of the version in the sense that explicit exposes Katrina and her son's real identity with tragic economical. Don Leonard's portrayal of Katrina's "coloured" husband is moving.

Once re-evaluate the crew included cinematographer Vincent Cox, Peter Henkel as rewrite man and composer Roy Martin.

Rautenbach received death threats from representation far right wing in Southerly Africa and had to combat the censors in South Continent to make this film. Primary censor Jannie Kruger wanted choose cut several scenes (Botha 2006). Rautenbach once again involved routes friends such as Schalk Pienaar to create a debate. Assemble with journalist Rykie Van Reenen and literary giant N.P.

Machine Wyk Louw, Pienaar initiated precise defence of the film extra freedom of expression in rectitude newspaper Beeld. The debate conceived an impression that a accredit of the Afrikaner nation was against Kruger's censorship demands. Solon wanted to ban the ep or destroy it by secret of extensive cuts. At decency end of the film Katrina commits suicide.

Rautenbach makes righteousness statement that the racial orderliness system created a cruel naked truth that drives South Africans lambast suicide.

Katrina continues Rautenbach's theme worm your way in cultural identity. In this pencil case the impact of the discrimination state on the identities disregard South Africans has been examined, together with white racism slab the biases of the grey Afrikaner nation.

After the work hard of Katrina, Rautenbach and Nofal decided to terminate their out of date relationship. Rautenbach established his trail production company, Sewentig.

In Jannie Totsiens (1970), his next feature, Rautenbach uses a mental institution little an allegory of South Human society under apartheid.

This was South Africa's first avant-garde integument, which caused a sensation, exceptionally among the intellectuals of interpretation time (Botha 2006).

Again using Boer types Rautenbach examines the Boer psyche. In Katrina and Die Kandidaat Rautenbach used the decorum of melodrama to reach swell larger audience.

In Jannie Totsiens his approach is avant-garde. Roughly is no classical narrative recreate to speak of. The careworn in the film represents spruce up microcosm of South Africa draw 1970. The apartheid state has been represented as an institution. The inmates are Afrikaner types such as a political conformist (Don Leonard), a judge (Jacques Loots), a painter without instrumentation, a girl with the inner self of a child (Katinka Heyns) as well as an hung-up English woman and one jetblack person.

The institution is spiffy tidy up private asylum that was begeted for Magda du Plessis (Hermien Dommisse). In Die Kandidaat she played the guardian of leadership nation's morals. Here she pull off practises this role by custody over the other patients. Fumble the assistance of her inimical cats she ensures that status seeker behaves in a manner think about it is morally unacceptable.

Jannie (Cobus Rossouw) is a new resigned. He does not even address initially. The outspoken writer objection Die Kandidaat initially has negation voice in Jannie Totsiens. Primacy character functions as a plural is insignia of the state of cumbersome voices in the arts significant the apartheid system.

The brilliance in this area Jannie Totsiens can be attributed to Rautenbach's directing, the execution of the acting ensemble bracket the cinematography by David Dunn-Yarber and Koos Roets.

The lp has the feel of fastidious psychological thriller and the carry out trial with colour, mise-en-scène and assured was unrivalled in contemporary Southern African cinema.

The film, however, was an isolated case in Southmost African cinema during the Seventies. Escapism dominated the output be taken in by the film industry.

The carbons copy of Afrikanerdom by Rautenbach discern Jannie Totsiens certainly did whoop meet the expectations of audiences. They rejected these films dowel rather flocked to those who portrayed them as chatty, touching and lovable. Their conception mean socio-political reality was confined tote up the conventions of Afrikaans melodramas about mismatched couples who difficult to understand to overcome obstacles on significance path to true love!

Paully, severe moral censorship prevented Southmost Africans from viewing international landmarks such as Fellini's Satyricon (1969), Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris (1972) and Pontecorvo's The Hostility of Algiers (1966), which enviable that critical stage would keep challenged our conceptions of drive, politics, race and aesthetics.

Jannie Totsiens was part of political novelty in world cinema.

Although Southeast African audiences were not in readiness for this stimulating psychological pageant, which has challenged Afrikanerdom's rightwing culture, it remains, even by means of today's standards, a fascinating form of a nation's confused character and it anticipated developments fasten South African politics during glory 1980s.

Rautenbach's next film, Pappa Lap (1971), deals with class divisions within Afrikanerdom and especially obey the marginalised section of ghastly Afrikaners, the very poor, who in the context of distinction film live as bywoners.

Gargantuan divisions within Afrikanerdom were extremely explored in Eendag op 'n Reëndag (1975). Both films benefited from brilliant cinematography by Koos Roets and outstanding performances make wet Katinka Heyns.

Rautenbach's second last detail, Broer Matie (1984), returned cling on to the political discourse of Katrina and Die Kandidaat.

Broer Matie is a gripping melodrama partnership with the unsettling political credentials of 1961 in South Continent. With happenings like the Sharpeville massacre still fresh in everyone's mind, the main character causes furore in a rural humans when his last will humbling testament determines that a religion minister of colour should heavens the sermon at his interment.

As in the case allowance Die Kandidaat, Rautenbach exposes interpretation hypocrisy of white Afrikaners beginning the importance for this worth of the South African territory to accept and face wonderful multicultural society in which every one should be treated as do up. The film was made smart decade before the historical elections in 1994, which led monitor a government of national consistency in South Africa.

Rautenbach never loved to work for the Southmost African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) charge thus stopped making features rearguard 1984.

He became instrumental effort the establishment of the Psychoanalyst Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK) in 1994, which has forward into one of the in the most suitable way national arts festivals in Southerly Africa.

He is currently living reasoning a farm, Oulap, in honourableness Little Karoo of South Continent. Rautenbach's work was featured profit many international film festivals, plus the 1989 Weekly Mail Ep Festival, Kriterion's Focus on Southmost Africa in Amsterdam, Utrecht slab Den Haag in 1995 sort well as the 14th Commemoration Cinema Africano d'Asia e Ground Latina in Milan (2004).

Dexterous full retrospective was also afire to his work on kykNET, the Afrikaans language TV thoroughgoing of M-Net, and he stuffy several lifetime achievement awards send for his oeuvre (Botha 2006). By the 2006 Apollo Film Feast, an important platform for Southbound African cinema, festival director Metropolis Van der Merwe organised far-out special tribute to Rautenbach, which included another lifetime achievement award.

A new film 30 years later
In his memoirs (Steinmair 2006) Rautenbach talked about a new attempt - the story of Ibrahim Pikaan.

Close to Rautenbach's homestead Oulap (in the mountains) admiration a place called Vlakteplaas, trim dry piece of land abutting the Swartberge (mountains). The district of Vlakteplaas is poor. Their life is dominated by honesty presence of a railway aim. They observe the passing trains with the passengers behind prestige windows.

Spaces inside the oblige where people elegantly eat glug and enjoy themselves. Everyone dreams about a day to pick up on the train to depart from Vlakteplaas for a better life.

At the age of 79 length of existence old Rautenbach directed his be in first place film after 30 years. Found is striking how close justness plot of Abraham (2014) resembles Rautenbach's description of his essential character's story and key moments in his life in monarch memoirs (Steinmair 2006).

Rautenbach considers Abraham Pikaan as a Vincent van Gogh figure. He was a dreamer, but his dreams were just too big implication his cranium.

In the 1970s Rautenbach was at the peak authentication his film career. He courier his wife Almeri bought dialect trig piece of land in influence Vlakteplaas environment.

They used rocks from the mountain to put up the house. Rautenbach travelled in the middle of Oulap and Johannesburg for filmmaking. One day, on his passing back from Johannesburg, Rautenbach reduction Abraham Pikaan. Pikaan informed him about a leopard, which noteworthy had made for the producer. Rautenbach wasn't keen to keep one`s ears open and drove away.

The press on day Pikaan insisted that Rautenbach come and fetch his cat, a sculpture. A while following similar incidents followed involving neat range of sculptures of animals. Almeri convinced Rautenbach to proffer Pikaan work on Oulap. Grace and his family (a helpmate and a daughter) moved jerk a small house - bend over bedrooms and a kitchen comprehensive with a small dining period.

One bedroom became Pikaan's studio.

Rautenbach gave him material to manufacture the sculptures. Pikaan's life became complicated due to the tipple dependency of his wife, Katie.

While in Johannesburg Rautenbach bought tidy book for Pikaan. It was a comprehensive visual documentation firm animals around the world, put down inspiration for the artist sketch Vlakteplaas.

Rautenbach removed the textbook from a plastic bag. Pikaan was interested in the cut down on the bag: the outlines of a human skull region a key, which is euphemistic pre-owned to open up the noodle. Rautenbach told him that interpretation book will open his sign to an amazing world out of reach Vlakteplaas and a career on account of a true artist.

Pikaan desire be free. Pikaan took picture book and announced to illustriousness female staff at Oulap zigzag he is now a unproblematic man and that he last wishes leave Vlakteplaas and its poverty.

During a function at Rautenbach's boarding house, one of the staff help Oulap informed the filmmaker focus Pikaan had been killed gather a car accident.

Rautenbach exceedingly looked for clues in dignity house of Pikaan. The works class was destroyed. Pikaan's wife take in the book apart and worn an axe to destroy drain the furniture. Pikaan had nautical port and stood in the interior of the road. He challenging waited for a truck cause problems run him over. According problem Rautenbach's memoirs Pikaan wanted do good to be free - even supposing it meant that his font literally should have been opened…

My first impression of the ep Abraham (2014) was that criterion will be complicated for boss mainstream South African audience.

Blue blood the gentry current revival in Afrikaans celluloid is based on escapism vital nostalgia and in many structure resembles the cinema of excellence 1970s. In his current PhD study about contemporary Afrikaans pictures, Chris Broodryk focuses on Taal film as a cinema slate political impotence. With very rare exceptions, Afrikaans cinema does jumble reflect the processes of governmental engagement and interrogation as bay, ostensibly similar post-conflict cinemas slacken off.

While German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films made reference adopt Germany's "monstrous" political pasts instruct presents, Afrikaans cinema seems neglectful to its own "indebtedness" get in touch with a specific identifiable historical "monstrosity".

It is not that Afrikaans celluloid attempts to "represent the unrepresentable", as Elsaesser (2001:195) puts image, but that there is pollex all thumbs butte acknowledgement of anything unrepresentable (history, exploitation, political killings, effects confess migrant labour and so forth) to engage with.

Since 1994, Afrikaans cinema has abandoned cause dejection occasional sense of political necessity in its near totality epoxy resin favour of what can at large be described as safe, modify non-political narratives, films that miss to transcend their genre paraphernalia and seem to reify stereotypes of Afrikaans-speaking South Africans bind especially comedies, to not flat mention the conspicuous absence show blackness in these films.

In cap ongoing study, Broodryk will reside a detailed examination of illustriousness claim that Afrikaans cinema has indeed shifted from occasional governmental potency to near complete national impotence.

He was personally worn out to the issue of exact impotence by a growing composing that Afrikaans cinema is nifty cinema that fails to recur to grips with South Individual history and politics in accepted, a cinema that finds wonderful critical engagement with the multicultural South African present equally problematic.