Movie Review: Five Fingers for Marseilles (2017)

Five Fingers for Marseilles (2017) - South Africa - Western Thriller - Not Rated

Directed by Michael Matthews

Written by Sean Drummond

Starring Vuyo Dabula, Zethu Dlomo, Kenneth Nkosi, Jerry Mofokeng, Mduduzi Mabaso, Lizwi Vilakazi, Hamilton Dhlamini, Dean Fourie, Kenneth Fok, Anthony Oseyemi, Warren Masemola, Garth Breytenbach, Aubrey Poolo, Brendon Daniels

A compelling film filled with stunning sights and sounds that from opening shot to final frame moves like an unstoppable locomotive.

Five boys in the township of Marseilles in South Africa form a pact to fight against the corrupt police oppression. They call themselves the Five Fingers, vowing not to become like their oppressors. But one day one of them crosses a new line in defending one of their own resulting in the death of two police officers. A self-imposed exile from Marseilles for him leads to a life of crime and violence, until some 20 years later he returns to Marseilles, a stranger, in what seems on the outside to have won the fight against oppression. But what lurks within, even within themselves, is a greater threat than what they overcame. Will he and his brothers in the Five Fingers be able to stand together... or apart?

Struggle is a word for many of us that we can only imagine... for others, that word is life. Oppression is a privileged tool of conquerors and raiders throughout history. Keeping people in check with brutality and despoiling of their property and goods is a significant part of that history and of colonization. The oppressors may have brought their names and infused their ways on a people, but within churns a spirit that was there long before they came. Dress them in different clothes, teach them a new language, a different religion, but inside people know who they are and that can't be taken away.

Opening upon a simple shot of the plains, the air is brisk, the sky is clear and a crackle in a voice sets the tone for what will follow. The narrative is a delight of sight and sound, not telling its story but revealing it. Filled with character and stylings, and permeated with a dynamic soundtrack ticking the mood, unveiled before the viewers eyes and ears is a visceral symphony. A contemporary western set in South Africa it is, but you haven't seen this before.

The story itself is highly allegorical. Most potent of these is the Christ figure represented by the central protagonist of the story, Tau, as well themes of crucifixion and resurrection. Ironically, central to the antagonist is one of entrenched legacy. The mixing of a western with socio-political and spiritual themes dates back to the beginnings of cinema. Perhaps that's why this seems such a good fit for Five Fingers for Marseilles.

For me the final act fizzles a bit. Yet it ups its pace at the same time, so it's give for take. From opening frame to closing shot Five Fingers for Marseilles is consistent in its delivery. So compelling it is that it grabs you by the [please insert preferred genitals here] and doesn't let go. A complete story it is, but just as ambiguous in places it is that too. This works well for it as I can't tell you what you should make of this. Five Fingers for Marseilles provides the ingredients for you to savor for yourself.

Five Fingers for Marseilles features a wonderful South African cast, and obviously a skilled crew. Sight and sound are beautiful to behold. The music throughout is tempestuous. It is subtitled, but this keeps the film text in check as even with reading the dialogue you can get a feel for what the actor is saying without having to understand the words.

My Rating: 5 Fingers

You can find out more on the film's official Facebook and Twitter pages.

Watch the official trailer on YouTube.

An Interview with Bigfoot Erotica Author Virginia Wade

Some of the damnedest things come out in politics. Most especially with this current administration we've had strippers and playmates and pussy grabbing... oh my!

But Bigfoot erotica?

A congressional race in the state of Virginia and a candidate named Cockburn (really?!) tweets about her opponent and his alleged interest in Bigfoot porn with a picture taken from his Instagram page (now private) of a Bigfoot with an enormous and censored... shall we say organ?

Of course social media ran with this, myself included. And of course with the number of news articles popping up online about this, many can't help but mention Virginia Wade, the best known author of Bigfoot erotica with 16 books in her Cum for Bigfoot series alone. And naturally I couldn't help (honest, ah couldn't) but chide her about being a bad influence on politicians.

For those of you not familiar with Virginia Wade the author, let me introduce you to her.

Virginia is, or has been, a stay at home mom of two children, now grown. She is also a mother of an autistic child which any mother of an autistic child can relate to. Brought up as an army brat her childhood and teen years were spent in many places, but now she makes Colorado her home. Her father helps out in editing her writings while her mother, a German teacher, has translated her writings.

Writing can be profitable for a good writer who not only finds their niche but also gets out and promotes themselves. "Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door", a saying attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson in part is true, but should be appended "but only if you tell them about it."

Her better mousetrap is erotica, and more specifically Bigfoot and monster erotica. Known for not only fringe premises like sex with aliens, demons, an assortment of movie monsters, and even a murder mystery where the weapon was a dildo, her trademark fun approach to storytelling and sense of humor brings her readers back.

Fletch: Why Bigfoot? With a variety of potential human companions in erotica, what interested you in writing about Bigfoot instead?

Virginia: I had already written about Tarzan and Jane and my version of Jane Austen, with the Filthy Classics, so it made perfect sense to tackle Bigfoot. It was a crazy idea, and I ran with it.

Fletch: Cryptozoology in essence has been around since cavepeople. Imagining what was beyond the known world, and the creatures that inhabited it, has sparked many a journey. Your Bigfoot fiction most definitely has its readership. Is it this age old curiosity, or what is it, that attracts readers?

Virginia: It might be a healthy curiosity about Bigfoot’s sex life, and what that might entail. He is especially well-endowed, after all. Sex is one of his favorite things, that and food. His needs are few, but they drive him to take risks, especially when it comes to kidnapping young ladies for his pleasure.

Fletch: Porsche and Leonard are the two main characters in your Cum for Bigfoot series. Writers often, if not to some degree always, put a little of themselves into their work.

(1) Are there any inspirations for Porsche and Leonard from your life or people you know?

(2) Considering that question and knowing that, compared to you, your husband is a big guy, has this been an influence, or pointed out to you if it wasn't?

Virginia: I think it’s most women’s wish to have some strong, big guy protect and care for them. Real life expectations might’ve gotten mixed in with the fiction. Leonard, although insatiably horny, always took very good care of his women.

I didn’t model Leonard or Porsche after anyone in particular.

Fletch: Vampires, werewolves, demons, the Invisible Man, you've written erotica involving many of the standards in the monster codex, and of course not so standard too. Kind of like the Universal Monsters of erotica. Have you been influenced by movies in your writings?

Virginia: I’m sure I have. Watching Pride and Prejudice inspired me to want to know how Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy behaved in the bedroom. The Filthy Classics sprang from that.

Fletch: Being I brought up monster movies, your new Sasquatch series brings into being a lab created Sasquatch. A spin on Frankenstein? Why a new Bigfoot series?

Virginia: I wrote it for the fans. It had been years since I had published monster sex, so I wanted to put something new out there that didn’t have anything to do with the original series, yet there would be more Bigfoot sex.

Fletch: Bigfoot and politics. Aside from that run for the presidency in 2015/16 you made*, is Bigfoot erotica being discussed in the light of congressional campaigns, or any political campaign, something you would have ever anticipated?

Virginia: No. I’m as shocked as anyone else that we are mixing politics with monster sex, or maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.

*Virginia didn't actually run for president. Another erotica author created a Twitter account and ran a tongue-in-cheek campaign for her.

Fletch: I understand since the political race in Virginia (What a coinkydink!) brought up the subject of Bigfoot erotica that you've been getting some mention in blog articles, tweets (ah swears I don't know who's been doing that), and interview requests. Have you been getting much attention as a result of this?

Virginia: I’ve had several requests for interviews in the last two days. Older interviews I’ve done are swirling around Twitter and other social media sites. Sales are up too!

Fletch: Cum for Bigfoot has been your trademark series with 16 books. It's been a while since number 16. What have you been writing lately?

Virginia: In January I published Namaste with Sasquatch, which is a 4-part series of Bigfoot erotica set at a yoga camp in the Rocky Mountains. A new group of young women discover the pleasures of being kidnapped and seduced by Bigfoot.

You can find Virginia Wade on Twitter and Facebook. Check out her books on Amazon and Smashwords. Her series include Cum for Bigfoot, Namaste with Sasquatch, The Coven, Cum for the Viking and her Stacy stories. Individual titles include Cum for the Invisible Man, Who Killed Cole Custer in the Library with a Dildo?, Bred at Bible Camp, Breeding the Lusty Babysitter, Pride and Penetration, Cum for the Phantom, Cum for the Demon, The Demon in Alice, Crissy's Naughty Daddy, Sweet Melissa, Dirty Preacher Daddy, Island Curves (A BBW Romance) and many others too numerous to mention.