A Morroccan/Guinean /Senegalese co-production,"Amok" was theatrically released for a limited audience,then later on screened on the third channel in its short lived "Cinema Sans Visa" series.
Running amok, sometimes referred to as simply amok or gone amok,[1] also spelled Amuk, from the Malay language,[2] is "an episode of sudden mass assault against people or objects usually by a single individual following a period of brooding that has traditionally been regarded as occurring especially in Malay culture but is now increasingly viewed as psycho-pathological behavior ".(wikipedia).
In South Africa,Matthew,an old black schoolteacher ,living in a small village under a grotesque boastful kinglet,receives a letter from a former school mate who has grown into a priest ;he visits his sick sister Josephine ,a prostitute ;he meets again his son Gasha ,an "Amok " (see above),and his brother,a trade-union leader whose life will tragically end .
With a comfortable budget,"Amok" is an epic ,with plenty of extras ;it features Myriam Makeba as Josephine and we can her her voice over the splendid landscapes :Makeba was an activist .Her brother,though a teacher,only knew the world of his rural living;he discovers the realities of his country ,the racist Whites as raving mad as the amok brother,the police at their beck and call,who kill Delius ,an unionist clandestinely fighting .
Repression everywhere:the kinglet beats his stupefied servant,the white Police track down the rebels ;things have changed since 1982,but it's an account of the harsh age Joseph lived in;
