Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (15)

Reviewed,Anthony Quinn
Thursday 08 July 2010 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Lucky Kunene, anti-hero of this tale of post-apartheid opportunism, announces at the outset that his two icons are Karl Marx and Al Capone.

Accordingly, "property" and "theft" will become the axes of his criminal career, beginning in the Soweto slums where, unable to afford a place at university, Lucky graduates from carjacking to racketeering and extortion. Ralph Ziman's drama is fuzzily plotted and uncertainly acted, but he conveys the menace of Johannesburg's mean streets pretty convincingly, a place of free enterprise going from mad to worse. Hard to decide upon the film's view of gangsterism, though its lenient coda is certainly provocative.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in