Set in late 1970s in South Africa, Free State is writer-director Salmon de Jager’s attempt to inject some Romeo and Juliet flair with outlawed racial love and cultural family tension.
Set in late 1970s in South Africa, Free State is writer-director Salmon de Jager’s attempt to inject some Romeo and Juliet flair with outlawed racial love and cultural family tension. While its earnestness is admirable and subject worthy, Free State is too comfortable and dull to ignite any sparks.
The film is set up rather simply enough via voice over telling us that is not legal for two races in South Africa to engage or carry out any romantic relationship. This voice is revealed to be our titular heroine. Blonde, beautiful, and white, Jeanette (Nicola Breytenbach) is finishing law school and is travelling home to the ‘free state’ to visit her widowed father (Deon Lotz), and to hopefully start her life with her military fiancé who is away on tour. Unfortunately she has a flat tire but is helped by Ravi (Andrew Govender), a handsome, mild-mannered and extremely helpful Indian man who seems to really like movies (Star Wars and Love Story are his favorite).
Ravi does not care too much for his arranged marriage fiancé and seems to be resistant to his family’s traditional ways. Soon an illicit affair begins and so does the trouble. The two are not only lying to their significant others and their families, but are also on the government’s bad side as Ravi is suspected to be a terrorist due to his somewhat suspicious behavior. Can’t a guy carry out some adultery in peace? Weirdly a lot of the problems here aren’t addressed as much as prayed for. Whenever a character is confronted with their problems, praying seems to be the solution.
What is even more confounding is that the crucial tragedy (from my understanding of the reality that the film presents) is that this all could have been avoided if the two main characters had been honest about their infidelity and the dissatisfaction of their romantic prospects. Perhaps that’s societies fault and we’re being exposed to that lament, but it makes Ravi and Jeanette unsympathetic martyrs. With such a huge critique of open racism at the forefront, it deflates that entire point and exploration. Not to mention that when the emotional peak of the film feels entirely underwhelming and confusing during what should be a no-brainer of a scene.
The heated melodrama simply doesn’t add any flames to this by numbers romantic tragedy. While the cinematography and direction are competent and easy on the eyes, the characters are flatly stereotypical and lack any real emotional depth. Both Govender and Breytenbach are too green to hold the film together given how clumsily the film navigates the issues it’s trying to address and critique. We watch their romance from afar with glorious shots of the countryside and them embracing. We never know what made these two work as a couple, if anything besides outlawed fornication. It’s a big complex subject wrapped in a thin trashy romance novel plot device that never feels challenging or all that engaging.
