Beauty (Skoonheid)
Middle-aged Francois (Deon Lotz), a father and husband, leads a seemingly simple and conservative existence in the small town of Bloemfontein, South Africa. Gradually and devastatingly, deception is peeled away to reveal the truth of Francois’ life, as he descends into a dangerous obsession with the handsome son of one of his friends. With exquisite performances, earning Deon Lotz the Golden Eye Award as Best Actor at the 2011 Zurich Film Festival, this hypnotic film is an exploration of private shame, secret desire and outdated racist ideologies. Beauty was entered as South Africa’s nomination for the Best Foreign film at the 2011 Oscars, and competed at Cannes this year.
Dir. Oliver Hermanus. South Africa. 2011. 98 min. Print Source: Peccadillo Pictures
