Posted: 10/29/2006

Catch a Fire

(2006)

by Karen Petruska

In Phillip Noyce’s latest film Catch a Fire, Derek Luke portrays South African family-man Patrick Chamusso, who is wrongly imprisoned and tortured as a suspect in the bombing of an oil refinery. Chamusso withstands the torture until he is forced into a room with his hands tied and his eyes covered by a blindfold. He hears breathing in the room and walks toward the sound, asking with fear, “is somewhere here?” When he reaches a person crouched on the floor, that person reaches up and removes his blindfold. It is his wife crouched in the corner, bruised and broken, having also been tortured. Devastated, Chamusso lies that he perpetrated the bombing. “What kind of a man are you?” Chamusso screams in agony to the unseen but always watching white government officials.

Catch a Fire explodes with many equally powerful and painful moments. The connecting moments in between, unfortunately, are not always so potent. This film slows down in the second half and too often, Noyce sacrifices character development for plot development. But with a terrific performance from Derek Luke and a complicated examination of the very thin line between terrorist and freedom fighter, Catch a Fire delivers a timely and moving depiction of one man’s fight against an oppressive regime.

The story is based on the real-life experience of Patrick Chamusso, a member of the anti-Apartheid African National Congress who served ten years in prison for terrorism. As the film portrays him, Chamusso is a rather apolitical man who keeps his nose to the grindstone to avoid conflict. He becomes radicalized only when he is wrongly accused and his wife is tortured.

Chamusso isn’t a saint in the movie—he is unable to account for his whereabouts during the first bombing because he doesn’t want his wife to discover his illegitimate child. But the point of view of the film is decidedly in favor of Chamusso. Consider a tag line for the movie: “it takes one spark for an ordinary man to become a hero.” Within the context of South Africa, it makes sense to valorize Chamusso for standing up to an oppressive and racist regime. But then think about the context of freedom fighters in Iraq blowing up the oil fields, and the tag line becomes much more complicated.

Australian director Phillip Noyce is no stranger to political films. He made a name for himself in the film world by directing political thrillers Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Quiet American. With a screenplay by Shawn Slovo, whose parents were anti-Apartheid activists, Noyce develops a decidedly partisan comparison between Chamusso and the Anti-Terrorist Squad leader, played by Tim Robbins, who chases him. Noyce offers glimpses into both men’s family lives. Chamusso teaches his daughters to read. Robbins’ character Nic Vos teaches his daughters to shoot a gun. In between torture sessions, Vos brings prisoner Chamusso to his home for a meal. His deliberate and pointed questioning of Chamusso in front of his wife and children renders Vos a bit perverse for forcing his family to interact with a man that Vos believes to be a killer.

As Patrick Chamusso, Derek Luke makes a huge leap in his career. Having played teenagers in Denzel Washington’s Antwone Fisher and Peter Berg’s Friday Night Lights, Luke never falters as a father and husband fighting to maintain his self respect. Particularly strong in the first half of the film, Luke embodies the fear and hesitation of a simple man forced to overcome impossible odds. Bonnie Henna plays Chamusso’s beauty queen wife with tremendous empathy, perhaps too much to justify a plot twist later in the film. Tim Robbins accomplishes a miracle in his nuanced portrayal of the seriously underwritten Nic Vos. Behind his eyes, Robbins exposes moments of doubt as he executes his duty. With two such accomplished actors as Luke and Robbins, I was disappointed that they did not get to interact more in the rushed conclusion of the film.

Noyce directs thrillers, and with Catch a Fire he has created a suspenseful film about a likeable everyman who fights for his family and his own integrity. As Chamusso’s voiceover describes during the climax of the film, his children will know they have a father “who stood up for what is right.” But considering the current status of the Iraq debate, with politicos debating issues of terrorism and amnesty, comparisons with the events in this film are impossible to deny.

Rather than acknowledge the political complexities and make a statement, Noyce plays coy. While Chamusso plants his bomb in an oil refinery, Noyce intercuts his actions with an imprisoned child singing a song of rebellion, chanting “we’ll meet in the bush with our AK-47s and bazookas.” This is a moment of triumph in the movie during which the audience cannot help but root for Chamusso as he tries to blow up the refinery. At the same time, Noyce relieves Vos of some of his guilt by placing his daughter in a situation where she utilizes that gun training to save her family. Is this Noyce’s attempt to force the audience to think for themselves or is he simply exploiting the situation to create more suspense? Either way, Catch a Fire is a film that will get you talking as you exit the theater.

Karen Petruska is a film critic living in Chicago.

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