How many 20-something South Africans can boast that they've created a film that’s going around global festivals and creating its own little stir? Sibs Shongwe-La Mer is in a very, very exclusive club but does his film live to the hype? Let's dig in...
In Necktie Youth we follow September and Jabz for a day as we see the impact of their friend's suicide on them and their inner circle of friends.
The film quickly becomes a showcase of how the upper middle class kids of Sandton fill their lives with sex, drugs and youth angst. It also shows how they battle with issues of living in SA like racism and absent parents with means that yes, even the post 1994-Madiba, kids who grew up with white kids and sleep with them have issues with race amongst many, many other issues. Sibs explores all the middle class pain, but it's not as nauseating as it sounds...
Sibs is a true insider of the world - it's seen in the appropriation of american slang to nauseating effect used by the kids on screen, the skinny jeans and fashions - i bet a lot of parents are going to be freaked out. Above all, it shows a side of suburban life we hardly explore in our own local cinema or even TV.
Shot entirely in black and white Necktie Youth is very atmospheric. The city lends itself to harsh contrast that comes with black and white well. Plus the looks give the film the same iconic street cred as Clerks, Of Good Report and other great indies shot in black and white. The black and white (form) is also a nice comment on the contrasting of issues and worldviews in the film (content).
The performances are on point, from La Mer who pulls a Spike Lee/ Tarantino, playing the support role of September in a film he has written and is directing, to Bonko Cosmo Khoza, who shows a lot of depth and true sensitivity in his role of Jabz, a man in pain but who can't reach out to anyone or articulate it.
Except for the Snymaan, everyone is on point in this movie. Like the movie Kids or Ken Park, these 20-somethings are on a downward spiral and the parents are nowhere to be found or seen.
Sibs shows how disconnected this generation of rich kids are from their parents and the society they live in and how sex is used as a self destructive tool.
The film has its own rhythm (which might throw off one or two audience members) and its own subplot involving a documentary crew who interview the kids about the dead girl - which feels more like a plot device that doesn't entirely pay off.
However, La Mer has created a film that has cultural significance on the same scale as Yizo Yizo. A film that gives the rich kids of the burbs a voice and identity, without making it kiddie safe nor flashy. Something I believe will become a cult classic in time. Go check out how the 1% percent live, the experience can be illuminating.
Rating ***1/2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Junk **only if theres nothing better on tv *** we getting there **** Almost Perfect ***** Instant Classic