Jerusalema Movie (2008)
“Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema,” originally titled “Jerusalema,” is a 2008 South African crime film written and directed by Ralph Ziman. The film is based on the story of Lucky Kunene, an underworld figure who, in the 1990s, took over real estate in the Hillbrow neighborhood of Johannesburg, South Africa. The movie portrays a young hoodlum’s rise from a small-time criminal to a powerful crime entrepreneur during the turbulent years before and after the fall of apartheid.
The film was submitted to the Academy Awards to qualify as a nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 11, 2008, and was commercially released in South Africa on August 29, 2008. Despite being a box office bomb, grossing only $400,000 against a production budget of $2 million, “Jerusalema” was well received by critics and audiences.
The overall execution of the film has been praised for its reflection on some of the darker sides of the new South Africa, with some considering it a masterpiece that speaks to the core of the human spirit. The movie has been described as a portrayal of the dreams that shatter and fade painfully silently, and the dark talents discovered in desperation for a moment to live the life once aspired to.
The film captures the strife tearing the city apart and how one man fought against the system and won in his own way, on his terms. Despite some criticisms, “Jerusalema” has been commended for being an engrossing and energetic film full of memorable characters and a compelling soundtrack.
