UNLIKE the subject matter, of which as a cricket fan I was very aware of, I did not know that a biopic had been made about the late South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje (2008).
There are several things to bear in mind when watching Hansie - it was produced by Hansie's brother Frans, it resonates with a strong Christian ethos and that (despite his fall) Hansie is still regarded as one of South Africa's greatest citizens - a fact we are reminded off at the conclusion of the movie when the credits reveal a survey of citizens voted him the 11th most influential Seth Effrican of all time.
The movie opens with scenes of Hansie at the crease against the Australians in South Africa, scoring his maiden one day century in 1994.
As an opening, I'm not sure if this works because although lovingly crafted by cricket fans, the vision is rather clunky and looks like the CGI hasn't quite worked.
Australians will be intrigued to see the renderings of Shane Warne and Pigeon McGrath in these opening scenes.
The movie is just over two hours long and manages to squeeze a lot of story in. The tale that is told is all a matter of course - just look it up on Google - and there is very little new knowledge brought to the table.
We see Hansie's rise as the great South African hope, the man to lead the new country to its destiny and then his descent into the pits of his own private hell as he is sucked into the world of match fixing.
It is never quite explained why he starts to accept the bribes. Is it boredom from yet another tour? A desire for more money? Or just an inability to say "no"?
Another moment Australians will anticipate is the 1999 World Cup semi-final and the emotional turmoil which followed as the tournament favourites choked.
Cricket fans will certainly realise that the final hectic moment isn't quite as it was (there's no sign of the famous Fleming underarm).
However, as someone who watched that game live and did not spare a thought for the emotions of the Proteas, it was an awakening of sorts to see the (obvious) desolation in the changerooms afterwards. As an Australian cricket fan, I still say "sucked in". Rude, I know.
For Hansie, life heads downwards from this moment.
There is no point retelling the story, as the movie does this efficiently enough - it tells us pretty much everything we already knew about first Cronje's denials, then his admissions and finally his admissions during the King Commission. There are no new revelations or insights into Hansie or the backroom discussions which followed.
With the obvious Christian direction of this film, what follows is a look at Hansie's eventual realisation that the only way forward is through redemption. It is an obvious Christian theme and heads overtly in that direction as we witness his final months and then the moments before his death.
In some ways the movie becomes the ultimate, real life Biblical tale. Hansie is the perfect protagonist for a cautionary tale from the Lord Himself.
Somehow (to us outside of South Africa), Hansie becomes a hero (which, in his country would be a perfectly normal result).
Harking back to my Australian background, this movie brings up many questions for me regarding the involvement of our own players in such money making ventures and I get the feeling, the opening cricket highlights in the credits are a silent protest from Frans suggesting that his brother should not be remembered as the only high profile player who was involved in such dealings. Maybe I'm looking too deeply. Maybe not.
It is also strange seeing Bob Woolmer being played in a movie, giving his inglorious exit from this mortal coil. Other leading cricket identities portrayed are Allan Donald, a convincing Johnty Rhodes, Peter Pollock and Dr Ali Bacher.
The acting is wooden, as said above, some of the cricket action is clunky, but if for no other reason than for being a fanatic of the sport, this movie was worth watching. 2.5/5
