Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story (2005/Umbrella Entertainment/Region Zero/0/PAL
Documentary)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Documentary: B
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD can only be operated on
machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Zero/0 PAL format
software and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the
website address provided at the end of the review.
There are
many stories about the rise and fall of Apartheid and some ugly things have
been happening since its fall, from an AIDS crisis to revenge violence as a
result of that fall, but there have been people who made a big difference and
one of the most important has been an outspoken comedian. Pieter-Dirk Uys became public enemy #1 for
the government holding in vein to the policy and he could have been
assassinated for what he had done. The
government had already tortured and killed people over it (Steve Biko being an
obvious example) down to an ugly incident little discussed where they had
tortured a subversive so much, when they were done, all he could to was hold birds
and say nothing. Uys was up against
that!
So how
did he pull it off and help end Apartheid and continues to fight for justice in
South Africa? Julian Show’s Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story
(2005) shows the solution to this. Not
only was he a comic actor, he was cross-dressing to play characters that made
his subversions and transgressions even more dangerous because to attack him
directly, they would have had to admit he had credence in any form and one that
is a gay persona is one they simply could not handle. Between his impersonations of Bishop Desmond
Tutu (which the Bishop highly approves of, laughing uncontrollably in one of
the best moments here) to playing “the whitest woman in South Africa”, you can
imagine why they are still censoring
him, why you may have never heard of him and why this portrait is so vital.
Uys
offers a long range of interviews covering every pertinent subject imaginable
as we learn about his work, his battles and his vital talk with children and
teens about the AIDS crisis, the lack of which (especially in the U.S., for
instance) is perpetuating the crisis in ways the media and especially the
second Bush Administration have been purposely underreporting. But best of all, Uys is a great guy with a
life-changin legacy that includes the fact that he is a brilliant comic talent.
Anyone
serious about the subjects noted or great documentary filmmaking should list Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story as a
major must-see!
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is soft and has a mix of older historic
analog video, but is fine for a documentary, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 is
stereophonic enough, though some sound is mono or location sound that could only
be fixed up so much. Extras include
director’s notebook gallery, a Q&A with director and star, trailers and
deleted scenes of interest.
As noted above, you can order this impressive PAL DVD import
exclusively from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
- Nicholas Sheffo
