Man to Man

15 April 2019

Man to Man 2005

• Director: Régi Wargnier
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: Joseph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Iain Glen, Hugh Bonneville, Lomama Baseki, Cécile Bayiha, Flora Montgomery, Patrick Mofokeng
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Joseph Fiennes – Strangerland, Good-bye Bafana, The Darwin Awards, The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth
• Kristin Scott Thomas – The Invisible Woman, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Contre toi, Ell s’appelait Sarah, Nowhere Boy, The Other Boleyn Girl, Il y a longtemps que je t’aime, Keeping Mum, Gosford Park, The English Patient, Angels and Insects, Richard III, Four Weddings and a Funeral, A Handful of Dust
• Iain Glen – The Hollow Crown, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, Tara Road, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
• Hugh Bonneville – Breathe, The Hollow Crown, Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, From Time to Time, Lost in Austen, Bonekickers, Daniel Deronda, Notting Hill, Tomorrow Never Dies, Frankenstein
• Flora Montgomery – Quirke, Endeavour
• Patrick Mofokeng - Invictus
• Why? The cast
• Seen: 13 April 2019.

       Central Africa 1870. Dr Dodd (Fiennes) and Madame Van Den Ende (Scott Thomas) capture and abduct two pygmies and transport them to Scotland. She is a merchant of exotic animals, he is a scientist searching for the Missing Link, which he believes the Pigmies to be.

       Once in Scotland in the castle of scientist Alexander Auchinleck (Glen) the study begins, together with Fraser McBride (Bonneville). The two prisoners, Toko and Likola, are kept in a large locked cage. They rebel against their captivity in any way they can – hunger strikes, passivity, violence.  Two of the three scientists conclude that the pigmies are between apes and humans. Dr Dodd slowly realises they are as human as all of them.

       The workers fear the prisoners and claim they are witches and have caused all sorts of bad luck. They want the prisoners dead. Instead Toko and Likola use subterfuge and escape.

       There are loads of paradoxes here and the basic question is who are the savages here, who are the most intelligent? Some reviewers have called the film racist. It is not. It is a film about racism. It is fascinating, well-acted by all, exciting, and based on a true story.

5 * of 5