Tagline: The spark that ignites us, unites us.
A political thriller based on the true story of Patrick Chamusso, an ordinary man forced to resort to terror in extraordinary circumstances. A story of one man’s struggle amongst a nation’s, set in a divided South Africa in the nineteen eighties, climaxing in the present day.
Powerfully telling the story of a South African hero’s journey to freedom, “Catch a Fire” is the new film from director Phillip Noyce (“The Quiet American,” “Rabbit-Proof Fence”). The political thriller takes place during the country’s turbulent and divided times in the early 1980s, and in the new South Africa of today.
Derek Luke portrays real-life hero Patrick Chamusso. Patrick is a charming and loving husband to his wife Precious (Bonnie Henna), and a caring father to his two young daughters. He works as a foreman at the centrally located Secunda oil refinery, which is a symbol of South Africa’s self-sufficiency at a time when the world was protesting the country’s oppressive apartheid system. In his spare time, Patrick coaches a local boys’ soccer team. Carefully toeing the hard line imposed on blacks by apartheid, Patrick is completely apolitical.
Academy Award winner Tim Robbins plays Nic Vos, a Colonel in the country’s Police Security Branch. The shrewd and charismatic Vos strives to maintain order in volatile situations, which have become more and more frequent as the outlawed activist organization African National Congress (ANC) rallies blacks against apartheid. Vos is also concerned for the safety of his wife and two daughters. He and his family live a world away from the Chamusso family…
Production notes provided by Focus Features.
Catch a Fire
Starring: Robert Hobbs, Derek Luke, Bonnie Henna, Tim Robbins, Terry Pheto, Michele Burgers, Jessica Anstey
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Screenplay by: Shawn Slovo
Release Date: October 27, 2006
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic material involving torture and abuse, violence and brief language.
Studio: Focus Features
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $4,299,773 (75.3%)
Foreign: $1,410,463 (24.7%)
Total: $5,710,236 (Worldwide)