Hansie: A True Story

I am kind of tired of watching films, because the quality is graded down with overly hyped storylines and cringe CGI, Platforms like Netflix, and Amazon enhance the quantity of the films but quality zeroed down.

I was perplexed and browsing the movies on Netflix until I came to the word Hansie Cronge, At first I was surprised there was a film about him as being a freak cricket fan, I never heard of it. Anyway, I clicked on the title and started watching it, Unfamiliar to the actors, I tend to feel attached to the narrative.

To clear the air, Hansie is not all about cricket, It covers some harsh facets of his life, I didn't know the man but heard a lot about him. He was a legend, praised by Icons like Imran Khan as he changed the dynamics of cricket in South Africa after the Apartheid era. He was alleged of thrown matches, a controversy which shook the highest tables of ICC as their favourite child India was involved in it. Hansie was dethroned, he tried to recompense his life and during all those struggles, he died in a plane crash, and left for the heavenly abode.

As soon as I finished the film, I read some reviews which tarnished the film, but contrary to them, I found a slice of life in it. A unique way of presenting Hansie with minimal resources, one reviewer mocked the cricket matches displayed in the movie, well Mate if you're reading this then Hansie was not about his cricket, it was about his attitude towards his dream, It's about the temptations which challenges his faith, it was about the traps which ended his career. It was about the betting world which destroyed the careers of talented men, I recounted 2 people, who lost to temptations one of them is Salman Butt, a young left-handed opener who destroyed his life after getting the bait.

Yes, I truly agree, the film was not a spectacle like other cricketing films, but it has the soul to hug you and show you the many emotions and tragedies of life. It's a film for those who celebrate sports, faith, love, friendships and life.

HANSIE with Frans Rautenbach, Sarah Thompson, Brandon Auret, David Sherwood, Eric Nobbs and Sybel Coetzee, directed by Regardt van den Bergh . Rating: 3/10.

BORN into a priviliged white world and graced with a mercurial talent for cricket, the late Hansie Cronje rose to great heights, but a combination of greed, boredom and arrogance led to him accepting bribes from bookmakers while serving as South Africa's test cricket captain. When he was caught out, Cronje denied his crimes for a while - and received the full support of Dr Ali Bacher and the Minister of Sport. But it was obvious the millionaire cricketer was lying, and he quickly changed his story. Soon he was weeping before the King Commission and telling how "a love of money" had led him into temptation. From here we see Cronje struggling with guilt and angst, while his faithful wife Bertha (played by America actress Sarah Thompson, who's beautiful but battles to do a South African accent) offers him unconditional love and support. Soon it becomes clear that while the Devil made him do it, the Lord (with a little help from Peter Pollock) will save the day. "Hansie", scripted by Frans Conje (Hansie's brother), is no doubt well-intentioned, but not only is it sentimental, overlong and cliché-strewn, it teaches us nothing we don't already know, and offers absolutely no piercing insights into the title character. A fascinating film could have been made about Hansie Cronje, but this isn't it. Perhaps someone impartial should try making an in-depth television documentary about the man. However, fans of director Regard van den Bergh's previous Christian film, "Faith Like Potatoes" (which also starred Rautenbach) and Hansie loyalists might like this expensive local movie (it cost about R42 million), which hammers away with its message about the prodigal son and forgiveness. And Rautenbach's performance isn't bad. As a fanatical cricket lover, Hansie Cronje broke my heart, and I forgave him(even though he didn't have to got jail or return the money and gifts he received). Yet I find it harder to forgive this film, which steals shots shamelessly from "Chariots of Fire", "Rocky" and "Dead Poets Society", and even pinches a line of dialogue from "Trainspotting". "Hansie" isn't recommended to genuine cricket lovers and doesn't have the depth to intruige sophisticated cinema-goers, but it will do reasonably well in South Africa. Overseas prospects appear decidedly limited, and I can tell you now that former England-captain-turned-ace journalist Mike Atherton certainly won't be impressed.

I was never a great Hansie fan, mainly because I am not that interested in sports. However, it is a intriguing story and I decided to watch the DVD to hopefully learn more of the story than what was generally published in the main stream media.

In short, except for some nice camera work, the movie was a serious disappointment in just about every other aspect.

Although Frank Rautenbach probably delivered the best performance so far of his career, I am not hopeful that he will ever be in the league of Marius Wyers or Gys de Villiers for example. I would say this is the very minimum that one can expect from a professional actor.

Why they decided to use the American actress, Sarah Thompson to play the role of Bertha, is not clear. We have more than enough pretty blond local actresses that could fill this position perfectly. She was insipid to say at the least and her accent was a major disturbance. I could not else but to wonder what the real Bertha is like.

The movie totally fails to keep one's attention and I spend a lot of time forwarding scenes. It would be torture to watch it in a cinema.

Probably the biggest disappointment, is the fact the movie did not add a single piece of information that was not available in main stream media. I would say one of the logical main objectives would be to try and answer at least some of the many questions people had about it all.

For a high budget film in any local terms, they should have done much better.

It seems many reviewers have missed the point of the Hansie movie.

This movie is not just about cricket and a sullied era of match fixing.

As an Australian, this movie gives us insight into the South African psyche at the time. It shows us how South Africa needed "a Hansie" to rise up into a new post-apartheid era. If Hansie was not born, they would have invented "another Hansie"; just like Australia needed "a Bradman" during the depression era to help define itself & lift its spirits.

This movie is also about how a man can be tempted despite good intentions and character. A "little leaven, leavens the whole lump".

It shows that all our heroes are flawed in some way, and that we should take them off their pedestal.

Its also about how Christians struggle with life like anyone else.

Reviews of "pious" and 'dribble" have missed the point.

As an Aussie, one thing I like about this movie is that it is not from Hollywood. Its good to get another perspective on the human condition.

A well done movie which shows us many things if we take off our blinkers and see.

Normally I'm quite critical of movies. I knew "Hansie" wouldn't be amazing and expected it to be low-budget as I knew it was a Christian movie. I was drawn to watch it because as an Australian I love cricket and admired Cronje, and (like one of the other reviewers on this board) I was interested in the South African psyche at the time.

Firstly I was quite surprised to find that the cinematography was really good. I was impressed with the production and could see that a fair bit of money had been invested into the movie. The acting wasn't standout but I expected worse - and it was good enough not for me to notice it during the film.

I have to admit I couldn't figure out some of the accents - especially Bertha (I thought she must have been English, not Safi) and some of the older men portrayed seemed to have English accents as well (the pastor, Justice King, etc).

While I know there are heaps in India, there aren't that many English-language movies about cricket - so I enjoyed watching the portrayal of famous cricket stars and I especially enjoyed the re-enactment of the last over of the 1999 World Cup Semi-final in which Alan Donald was run out. I remember watching that on live TV with mates and expecting Australia to lose the match and then the unthinkable happened. Australia went on to win the World Cup and have also won the last two (2003 and 2007). It was a pivotal point for our team and it was refreshing to see the same event from a South African point of view.

I'm giving the movie 7 out of 10 because I actually enjoyed it - and when that happens I have to rate a movie. It was actually quite sad. Not being from South Africa myself, it was interesting to see aspects of South African life that's similar to things here in Oz (e.g. backyard cricket and BBQs, sport and outdoor lifestyle).