Five Fingers for Marseilles: A classic Western set in modern South Africa

If you’re a fan of classic spaghetti Westerns, you’re going to want to see Five Fingers for Marseilles. A beautiful, yet tragic tale of redemption.

There was a time when the Western was king. Though that time is behind us, every now and then we’ll see someone try to make the next great Western. Often times, the writer or director try too hard and do something incredibly cliché or cheesy. That is not the case here. In Five Fingers, as soon as you think you know what’s going to happen you are soon proven wrong. Nothing goes perfectly and you come to accept that it couldn’t. It’s a tragic tale but one with hope as well.

At the heart of the story is a group of five friends who refer to themselves as the five fingers. Tau (Vuyo Dabula) who they call The Lion is the main character. As children, the group practices with slingshots to defend their town from the settlers who threaten their way of life constantly. One day, this goes too far as Lerato (Zethu Dlomo), another friend of the boys, hits a police officer with a brick. The officer tries to kidnap her, leading Tau to chase the police down and inevitably kill them when he thinks they have killed Lerato.

The boys know that this will not end well for them and Tau to runs away. We flash forward and now Tau is an adult being released from a prison. He’s been gone for years but goes back to his old town to find that things have changed for all of his friends but there are new threats. The rest of the film revolves around Tau trying to make up for the sins of his past.

Without spoiling the film, I was impressed with the patience in the pacing. Tau doesn’t come back and announce that he’s back in town. He appears as a stranger for a while, observing the dynamics within town. When his old friends learn that he’s returned, the reunions are also not perfect or easy. You can feel the tension between the characters and see the guilt that Tau carries for having left them before.

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As the drama builds, it’s hard to predict how the events will unfold for all parties involved. As the tagline says: “There are no good men.”

The ending of the film brings us full circle, complete with flashbacks to the group as children as the final standoff unfolds. It’s tragic, yet beautiful because what happens is what needed to happen. Out of the tragedy, there is also some hope for what the city can become.

Five Fingers for Marseilles is already receiving award nominations. Vuyo Dabula received an African Movie Academy nomination for Best Actor just this past week and it is well deserved. The film also received nominations for best screenplay, cinematography, and costume design. It really is a great movie in all aspects and should appeal to audiences well outside of the region.

The above trailer alone is riveting and gives you an idea as to how much is happening during the film. If you have a chance to see Five Fingers, you should definitely do so!

Five Fingers for Marseilles is currently available in select theaters.