Sew the Winter to My Skin

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Sew the Winter to My Skin

2018

1h 58m

Action

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

In the 1950s, the South African government tracks down and arrests a black rebel hero.

Jessica Kiang

Variety

While the project of infusing a local legend with grandly cinematic, mythic status is a worthy one, the film can't quite get out of its own way, and the result is incoherently at odds with itself...

Oct 6, 2018

Full Review

Stephen Dalton

The Hollywood Reporter

Qubeka's largely wordless, diffuse, time-scrambled narrative feels willfully confusing at first, but it rewards patient viewers with its sensory riches and hypnotic rhythms.

Sep 14, 2018

Full Review

Christopher Machell

CineVue

It's a perfect union of genre, mythology and political filmmaking, using generic tropes and familiar narrative patterns both to lampoon colonialism and to reflect on the ways that all westerns are in some way about myth.

Rated: 4/5

May 23, 2019

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Phumlani S Langa

City Press (South Africa)

These are very exciting times in what I now firmly believe is the healthiest branch of South African art.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 6, 2019

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Masego Panyane

Independent Online (South Africa)

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, one that I would encourage other people to watch too.

Feb 8, 2019

Full Review

Courtney Small

Cinema Axis

While Qubeka's visual aesthetic is strong...Sew the Winter to my Skin never feels as impactful as the man whose myth it is telling.

Rated: D+

Dec 17, 2018

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Audience Member

My friend and I first saw ï¿ 1/2~Sew the Winter to my Skinï¿ 1/2(TM) at CTIFMF in October 2018. It is incredible! No wonder itï¿ 1/2(TM)s the South African entry for Oscar best foreign film ï¿ 1/2'Â?ï¿ 1/2Â? 3/4!! Besides the stunning visuals, the limited dialogue makes the film even more captivating and powerful. It comes out on the 9th of February 2019 in South Africa so I canï¿ 1/2(TM)t wait to see the real life story of my ancestor, uMpinga, John Kepe, again!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Sivu N

Super wordless film. Keeps you captured to the very end.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/26/18

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Audience Member

It was very difficult to sit through this film. It was ambitious to go mostly without any dialogue, but unfortunately there was nothing else to convey any depth in the characters or story. Despite beautiful landscapes, the film makes bold social / political statements through symbols, like the swastika or a lone black officer fighting alongside racists whites seemingly against his own people, without ever putting it into context. This is incredibly dangerous as without contexts it becomes a general statement. The pace and rhythm of the film is also haphazzard. It seems the film has an identity crisis and fluctuates between a seemingly slapstic comedic outlook on the antics of a folk hero, and severe brutalisation of blacks by whites during the pre-apartheid era. I found the constant sway between these two points tiring and confusing.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Saw it at TIFF -- brilliant! Now its the South African entry for Oscar best foreign film. Deservedly so. Its also the opening night film for the Cape Town International Film Mart and Festival 9-19 October

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Audience Member

Unique setting, extraordinary visuals, and an immersive experience into one of the lesser known, yet incredible, robin hood esque real-life story.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

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Jahmil X.T. Qubeka

Director

Kandyse McClure

Golden Eyes

Peter Kurth

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David James

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Antoinette Louw

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Synopsis

In the 1950s, the South African government tracks down and arrests a black rebel hero.

Director: Jahmil X.T. Qubeka
Producer: Layla Swart
Screenwriter: Jahmil X.T. Qubeka
Genre: Action, Adventure
Original Language: Afrikaans
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 30, 2021
Runtime: 1h 58m

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