I can recall having read a Mills & Boon once, a book as predictable as a visit to Aunty Joey. This is what went on as I sat trough Jakalsdans. But of course, everything has its place and time, even Mills & Boon, and yes, even Jakalsdans.
The reason why this movie is such a disappointment is because you see the name Deon Meyer associated with it. Now for those less familiar, Deon Meyer is the Afrikaans equivalent of a Michael Connelly or Patricia Cornwell, an author of the crime fiction genre who’s books have been translated into many languages and turned into television shows, packed with action, murder, steamy women, blood, guns, settling of old scores and the like. But in thís movie, none of it. Which is of course why reading reviews is important.
Jakalsdans, for those of you familiar with the theory behind Mills & Boon novels, is, well, a Mills and Boon. But this does not make it a dumb production. Indeed, if I had someone to snuggle with it could have been a great film, set in the arid Karoo. A romantic landscape, it’s emptiness fills you with that warm feeling (many South Africans will understand what I say here).The main character is, of course, as in every orderly Mills & Boon, a career woman, played in this film by the lovely Afrikaans singer, Elisma Theron. She and her little daughter (the father passed away recently because she obviously has to be single in order to make this film work) settle in the small town of Loxton. She is a teacher. She has problems with her neighbour, played by another well known Afrikaans singer Theuns Jordaan. Then the school goes bankrupt and they need to organise R500 000 to save it. She eventually organize a show, you know, a real South African jol, hence the name Jakkalsdans where the show was held. Subsequently she realizes that her weirdo neighbour is a famous (but fictional) Afrikaans singer who is hiding from everybody. She wants to convince him to help her with the concert, being a well known singer, but their relationship is so dysfunctional that all this ends in tears.
But, as luck would have it, both decide to get over themselves and everything works out fine (who would have guessed?). The Jakkalsdans is a huge success and Elisma and Theuns become lovers who live happily ever after. All in all, this is not a bad movie. The scenery is amazing, and the Karoo makes for a great place to film something like this. But one should beware that Jakalsdans is a chick flick, before you decide to check it out and not assume that because Deon Meyer wrote it it will be a crime fiction story. In fact, the opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the film, where the little girl runs off into town and Elisma goes looking for her and finds her. This already said to me that this is not a film that is going to end in tears!
(516 Words)
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