Van Houten ... gives a strong performance as Jonker, and the cinematography is pleasing, but the script is cliche-ridden and ends on an overly sentimental note.
Black Butterflies
2011 · 1h 40m · NOT RATED
Drama, Romance
Directed by
Paula van der Oest
Overview
Confronted by Apartheid and a father who was Minister of Censorship, Ingrid Jonker searched for a home, searched for love. With men like Jack Cope and André Brink she found much love, but no home. Later, in his first speech to the South African Parliament Nelson Mandela read her poem "The Dead Child of Nyanga" and addressed her as one of the finest poets of South Africa.
Director and cast
- Paula van der Oest Director
- Carice van Houten as Ingrid Jonker
- Rutger Hauer as Abraham Jonker
- Liam Cunningham as Jack Cope
- Nicholas Pauling as Eugene Maritz
- Grant Swanby as Jan Rabie
- Graham Clarke as Uys Krige
- Damon Berry as Pieter Venter
- Jennifer Steyn as Lucille - Lulu
- Candice D'Arcy as Anna Jonker
- Leon Clingman as Valkenberg receptionist
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
The movie reminds you of the extent to which poetry has been marginalized as a cultural force since the early 1960s.
Black Butterflies scarcely tries to illuminate the substance of Jonker's writing.
Black Butterflies is a dark, moving depiction of the life and death of a brave rebellious, idiosyncratic woman who made significant strides toward changing the world around her and paid a heavy toll for her passion.
Always feels like a life schematically condensed rather than intimately explored.
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