Movie

Catch a Fire

2006 · 101 min

A tense, earnest true-story thriller that weighs injustice and forgiveness, leaving a heavy but hopeful aftertaste.

Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Genres: Action, Drama, Thriller
Starring: Tim Robbins, Derek Luke, Bonnie Mbuli

Tagline: The spark that ignites us, unites us.
Overview: The true story of anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, and particularly the life of Patrick Chamusso, a timid foreman at Secunda CTL, the largest synthetic fuel plant in the world. Patrick is wrongly accused, imprisoned and tortured for an attempt to bomb the plant, with the injustice transforming the apolitical worker into a radicalised insurgent, who then carries out his own successful sabotage mission.

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Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Genres: Action, Drama, Thriller
Starring: Tim Robbins, Derek Luke, Bonnie Mbuli

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How it feels

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Tone: tensestrength 3 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: justice
betrayal
family
redemption
power
Places: small town
countryside
prison
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: true story
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	4
Horror	2
Humour	1
Realism	9
Romance	2
Tension	7
Darkness	7
Complexity	5
Emotional weight	8

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Where to watch in the UK

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Details

Genres: action, drama, thriller
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Written by: Shawn Slovo
Starring: Tim Robbins, Derek Luke, Bonnie Mbuli, Mncedisi Shabangu, Tumisho Masha, Sithembiso Khumalo, Terry Pheto, Michele Burgers
Music: Philip Miller
Cinematography: Ron Fortunato
Runtime: 101 min
Country: France, United Kingdom, United States of America, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique
Languages: English, Afrikaans, Zulu

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Catch a Fire

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