Wild is the Wind review: Decent social drama asks important questions

In ‘Wild is the Wind’ Vusi Matsoso, a corrupt cop, realises how one of his past decisions could have had much greater consequences than he first realised.

Story

Vusi Matsoso (Mothusi Magano) and John Smit (Frank Rautenbach) are two cops who let a person go, who was over speeding, without any charges after taking a bribe from him.

Three years after the incident, the same person turns out to be a serial killer and his latest target was Melissa, a young girl. Since Melissa was related to the mayor, the cops take this case very seriously and put John and Vusi in charge.

All that motivates Vusi is money. In fact, both of them are struggling on the financial side and are in desperate need of cash.

While Vusi isn’t interested in solving the case of a white person at first, he decides to take it up after learning about the prize money for the one who solves it. However, a much more shocking fact awaits him.

Performances

Magano is terrific in the lead role of Vusi. Greed is what motivates him at first, but the character gradually develops and learns to respect the duty of a cop.

The actor perfectly captures this entire growth of the character and doesn’t miss a beat. Rautenbach is decent as his partner ‘in crime’, and matches Magano step for step.

None of the other actors gets enough screen time to truly impress, not even Chris Chameleon, who plays the killer.

Positives

While the movie is a thriller-drama, the social issue of discrimination against the black community is right at the centre of the narrative.

Repeatedly, Vusi is concerned about how people of his race are treated. He even brings it up when this isn’t the case. He blatantly rejects investigating the death of a white girl because black deaths are ignored.

Over the course of the film, he realises that the death of the white girl was ultimately his own fault, completely changing his mindset. He could no longer claim to be the victim. He was indirectly responsible for letting a serial killer loose.

The film also subtly hits out at the sections of Africa that continue to discriminate. The cops ignore black deaths but go all out as soon as a white girl, related to the mayor, is killed.

Negatives

The film feels dragged at different points. You’re just wishing for it to pick up the pace and the premise did not need more than two hours.

For all the build-up, the conclusive confrontation with the killer is extremely underwhelming. The investigation is at its strongest when it explores personal motivations and not when it is centred on the killer.

Verdict

‘Wild is the Wind’ is a satisfactory film that is elevated from being a simple thriller or drama due to the exploration of racial discrimination and knitting it with a murder investigation.

Wild is the Wind
Wild is the Wind review: Decent social drama asks important questions 1

Director: Fabian Medea

Date Created: 2022-10-29 18:36

Editor's Rating:
3

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