SYNOPSICS
Boy Called Twist (2004) is a English movie. Tim Greene has directed this movie. Jarrid Geduld,Lesley Fong,Bart Fouche,Bill Curry are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2004. Boy Called Twist (2004) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
Boy Called Twist is the harrowing tale of a South African street-kid's search for love, based on Charles Dickens' classic Oliver Twist. Growing up neglected in a rural orphanage, Twist escapes to the unpredictable freedom of Cape Town, where he falls in with Fagin's gang of street urchins. With a gritty honesty steeped in its vibrant characters, Boy called Twist superbly captures the contemporary equivalents of Dickens' seedy individuals as it shadows the timeless tale in its own inimitable style.
Boy Called Twist (2004) Reviews
An engaging look at another side of life in Cape Town
Being a Capetonian (resident of Cape Town, South Africa), this movie was particularly interesting. One knows about hoe bipolar the city can be (squatters a few blocks from million dollar mansions), but this really shows just how close to the surface the poverty really is (and makes me feel a little less safe!). So many street children are really faced with such an existence. What is good about the movie is that despite the poverty and bleakness, there is sense of hope. One gets the sense that one day, something might go right for them and they might be rescued from the plight.It's not difficult to make a dreary depressing film, but an achievement to infuse it with a sense of hope and possibility.
Surprisingly effective update
This modern day retelling of Charles Dickens' great novel Oliver Twist takes place in Capetown, South Africa, where a 'Boy Called Twist' moves from orphanage to street life to middle class comfort thanks to a series of happy and not so happy coincidences. Though not quite able to match either the David Lean or Roman Polanski adaptations, this is still a very worthwhile effort with a superb cast, including young Jarrid Geduld as Twist, dreadlocked Lesley Fong as Fagin, Bill Curry as the businessman (here reinterpreted as a Muslim named Ebrahim) who takes pity on the young lad, and the stunning Kim Engelbrecht as Nancy, about whom I can say 'rrrowww' with considerable emphasis. Though the film stays reasonably true to the novel, it adds some gritty local details--the Dodger and co. spend time huffing glue, for example, and the muezzin's call to prayer is an important counterpoint throughout the film. All in all, a fine production, marred somewhat by careless telecine work which results in awkward framing and subtitles that 'fall off' the screen.
A truly excellent film
This movie is being played here in the United States in heavy rotation. I thought that Jarrid Geduld really made the movie what it was. I don't think I would have paid much attention to it had he not been in the title role. I would like to commend the other actors for displaying a more realistic portrayal of life in South Africa. I would like to also say that Jarrid will someday become a very major star in showbiz. I truly hope to see him in more movies being played in the US. Although this movie was done in 2004 it should be released again to a much broader audience. I am sure that it will reach a lot more people and make more of an impact for those of us who do not know what life is like in Capetown.
Is this available on DVD?
I was in Cape Town for 6 months in the fall of 2005 working as a volunteer with street kids, so it was really a special experience for me watching this film. I know some of the street boys figuring as extras in the movie, as Fagin's gang members. From the little knowledge and insight I got to these boys' lives, the illustration of a street boy's life in this film seemed quite realistic to me. I saw this movie in a theater with two young former street boys whom I invited to see it with me, and they both recognized a lot from their own past lives on the street. The street boys I got to know are wonderful and loving innocent boys, who shouldn't be feared. They can look rather tough when you don't know them, but that is just a facade, and necessary to live. All they really want if they approach you, is a little money to buy food. They are rarely violent, but I will admit can be bit annoying if they get too insistent ;) Actually I really just wanted to know if this movie is available on DVD on some internet shop??? I would really like a copy...
JUST YOU BOSS
This is a South African rendition of the Dickens's classic, the non-musical version. Raised in an orphanage that sells children to pay for its operation, Twist (Jarrid Geduld) ends up in Capetown, working for a dreadlocks Jamaican accent Fagin (Lesley Fong) who calls him "Ta-whist". I think most of us know the story. It was an interesting adaptation. Our Twist, named for the Dickens's novel, was a drab character, almost lifeless. Bill Sykes was played by Bart Fouche reminded me of Danny Bonaduce, for better or worse. The support cast was great, but the guy who got the lead was not so great...sort of like Harry Potter, or LOTR (Elijah Wood). Still worth watching. Good drama, but don't expect a twist.