VividSimon Simply Perfect

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Wuchak Released in 2003, "Stander" is based on the true story of Andre Stander, a police captain in South Africa turned bank robber in the late 70s/early 80's, dubbed a modern-day Robin Hood by the media. Thomas Jane stars in the title role while Dexter Fletcher and David O'Hara play his partners. Deborah Kara Unger is on hand as his wife while Melanie Merle plays the girlfriend of one of the gang members. Marius Weyers also appears as Stander's father.While this is based on a true story, people dispute parts of it, like the idea that Stander occasionally gave some of the loot to impoverished black people and the idea that his disillusionment and fall into crime stemmed from an incident where he and other officers shot and killed over twenty unarmed black residents of Thembisa during the 1976 Soweto uprising. Nevertheless, the gist of the story is true and the depiction of apartheid-era South Africa is interesting. Moreover, the news media did indeed portray Stander as a modern-day Robin Hood and so the movie reflects this element and I wouldn't be surprised if he really did give some cash to blacks on a few occasions.The score by The Free Association (aka David Holmes) is odd, but I suppose the filmmakers wanted something that would mesh with the time period and location. While this is a crime thriller, it's generally realistic and lacks the eye-rolling action sequences of conventional Hollywood thrillers. There's action, of course, but it's believable and mixed with the drama of the real-life players and events.The movie runs 116 minutes and was shot in South Africa.GRADE: B

David Joffe I grew up in Pretoria in the 70s and 80s during Apartheid, and the way Bronwen Hughes has managed to reconstruct, capture and convey the overall "feel" of the time is nothing short of remarkable - this movie practically transported me back to my childhood. Her achievement is particularly impressive given she is Canadian - her achievement here warrants more praise, and it is a bit sad that the average non-South-African viewer would never truly be able to appreciate just what she has managed to pull off here.Thomas Jane's South African accent is by far the best I've seen in a movie.

Lucien Lessard Andre Stander (Thomas Jane) is one of the youngest police captains in South Africa. He's a dedicated cop until he killed an unarmed protester in a riot from the line of duty. Then he decides to change his profession by rubbing banks until he's gets caught by the same police force he worked with. Once he's in prison, he becomes friends with two criminals Allan Heyl (David O'Hara) and Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher). They escaped from prison and they becomes one of the most successful criminals of the early 1980's for a brief moment. Which they become anti-heroes to the city. But there's way of crime is coming to end and crime doesn't pay.Directed by Brownen Hughes (Forces of Nature, Harriet the Spy) made an intriguing film with plenty of action and an refreshing sense of humour. Jane, who originally turned down the role at first. He gives an strong performance. Deborah Kara Unger appears as Stander's wife. This UK/Canadian/South Africa co-production didn't received an large released. But this movie will turned into an Cult Following.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD also has trailer and an very informative commentary track by the director. This one of the most interesting true-life crime dramas in awhile. Don't miss it. (****/*****).

kg584 Since my original post 14 months have gone by and I finally broke down and purchased a copy of the DVD on line for 4.99 plus shipping, a very inexpensive rate and just watched it this morning. Considering how films usually butcher the facts this was really 90% accurate.I found the sound a minor problem, had to turn it up several times to hear what was being said.In the trailer I noted his wife had committed suicide in 1990, that was very sad, must have been hard on her and his father also.Those little things which were wrong (but still enjoyable) were: 1) His death was not as shown, 2) The airport scene where he was stopped and then let go did not happen, 3) The passport used to leave SA was obtained differently and was actually that of an a SAA employee named Harris, 4) The film did not show the prison he was in at the time he escaped (Zonderwater, N. of Pretoria) and the shop scenes where he worked were not accurate as they had no such elaborate shop facilities at Z.I don't intend to be picky, I did like the film and will watch it again soon. No film sticks exactly to facts but this one was darn close and the changes probably made for a better film.I'm not sure it ever made it to a general release in the US, just some film shows here and there and I haven't seen it on cable either. Go to ebay and get yourself a copy it is worth it.