That's what it should be called, because I don't see a conspiracy in this movie, just a few plot angles, Rina (Prunella Gee) wants to get her client off and later escape from her marriage with her boyfriend, Schack (Sidney Poitier) wants to flee to Botswana with some diamonds for his terrorist/political group, Jim (Michael Caine) just wants to escape prosecution with his girlfriend. The main plot (and the 'Conspiracy' in the title) was that Major Horn (Nicol Williamson) has let Schack go because he wants to discover where his comrades are, then there is a small sub-plot where Persis (Persis Khambatta) wants to stop the diamonds because she is worried that the Asians will be treated badly by the blacks once they take over, confused ? so was I !
The film is too confusing and too easy going at the same time.
It's not a true story as some people seem to think, it's come from a Novel, although based on some events around the period of South African history when apartheid was in place and the blacks were striving for more freedom and a fair society.
Its not a bad film, I think the Actors have done their best with a bad screenplay and editing (the music was average), and there lies the problem. There are too many bits missing or not right, I have not read the novel but I am assuming that it was more concise with the events, and the characters (probably under direction) seem to be more happy than they otherwise would be, when fleeing for their lives/facing death, they almost all seem to be having fun ? They have turned what would be a serious political/crime drama into a almost farcical adventure.
The first fault is Major Horn's easy release from court of the black terrorist so he could follow him , that should have raised a few eyebrows with the escapees, but not in this film, none of them seemed to worry about that, it was good that this plot was all part of his scheme to find the leader of the party/terrorist group Wilby Xaba, via the diamonds, but Horn already knew where the diamonds and Anil Mukerjee (the sympathiser) were, so did not need to set them up with a dead body in the boot, nor follow them to Johannesburg, he already knew where they were going, the "from across the tracks" buddy - buddy relationship between Caine and Poitier was a bit unlikely, and Persis's angle in trying to stop Schack succeeding was a bit of an add-on for a bit of twist in the story, an extremely unlikely event and unnecessary.
Michael Caine acted well but not great, Sidney Poitier was the best (this was the first of 2 films that they did together about apartheid in South Africa), Prunella Gee was a bit expressionless but did act well, she fit the role of the Boer Afrikaans woman well, Nicol Williamson was good as the smiling sadistic Secret Police Major until the end, Saeed Jaffrey was good as the Asian sympathiser, Persis Khambatta did ok in her role but it was only a short one, the sex scene between her and Schack should not have been included, it was a bit of an add-on for a sex angle, Rutger Hauer was a bit bland as the wronged husband, he could have been a bit more reactionary, again with an inane grin like it was all a bit of fun, whether that was because of Hauer's then inexperience or the direction I don't know, but it was wrong. The only actor who made his role look like he was not having fun was Sidney Poitier which made his role the best, despite many people saying that Nicol Williamson was the best, I don't agree, Nicol was playing it too free and easy, he did not seem to be taking the role too seriously.
They should have made more of the relationship between Jim & Rina, made more of the relationship between Jim & Schack, shown where the dead body in the boot came from, put more detail into the events surrounding the trip to Johannesburg, not put the sex scene in between Persis and Schack, at the end Major Horn was smiling like it was all fun despite that all his soldiers were now dead and did not look like he was worried about the gravity of his situation just before Jim shot him, it should have been much more serious.
Despite all that it was adventurous and a bit enjoyable, and most of the acting was good, at least most of the actors seemed to fit their characters, either in type or nationality and the photography and African scenes were good, it was mostly filmed in Kenya so at least it was the right continent and looked right. The truth dawning at the end was done well, for most of the time.
It looks as if this film has a higher rating than it should to me, I gave it a 5 for the African photography and actors, the plot gets a 1 !
This story could be re-filmed as a serious action movie and be much better with the right Director and cast, maybe done by South Africans, for another time.
The film is too confusing and too easy going at the same time.
It's not a true story as some people seem to think, it's come from a Novel, although based on some events around the period of South African history when apartheid was in place and the blacks were striving for more freedom and a fair society.
Its not a bad film, I think the Actors have done their best with a bad screenplay and editing (the music was average), and there lies the problem. There are too many bits missing or not right, I have not read the novel but I am assuming that it was more concise with the events, and the characters (probably under direction) seem to be more happy than they otherwise would be, when fleeing for their lives/facing death, they almost all seem to be having fun ? They have turned what would be a serious political/crime drama into a almost farcical adventure.
The first fault is Major Horn's easy release from court of the black terrorist so he could follow him , that should have raised a few eyebrows with the escapees, but not in this film, none of them seemed to worry about that, it was good that this plot was all part of his scheme to find the leader of the party/terrorist group Wilby Xaba, via the diamonds, but Horn already knew where the diamonds and Anil Mukerjee (the sympathiser) were, so did not need to set them up with a dead body in the boot, nor follow them to Johannesburg, he already knew where they were going, the "from across the tracks" buddy - buddy relationship between Caine and Poitier was a bit unlikely, and Persis's angle in trying to stop Schack succeeding was a bit of an add-on for a bit of twist in the story, an extremely unlikely event and unnecessary.
Michael Caine acted well but not great, Sidney Poitier was the best (this was the first of 2 films that they did together about apartheid in South Africa), Prunella Gee was a bit expressionless but did act well, she fit the role of the Boer Afrikaans woman well, Nicol Williamson was good as the smiling sadistic Secret Police Major until the end, Saeed Jaffrey was good as the Asian sympathiser, Persis Khambatta did ok in her role but it was only a short one, the sex scene between her and Schack should not have been included, it was a bit of an add-on for a sex angle, Rutger Hauer was a bit bland as the wronged husband, he could have been a bit more reactionary, again with an inane grin like it was all a bit of fun, whether that was because of Hauer's then inexperience or the direction I don't know, but it was wrong. The only actor who made his role look like he was not having fun was Sidney Poitier which made his role the best, despite many people saying that Nicol Williamson was the best, I don't agree, Nicol was playing it too free and easy, he did not seem to be taking the role too seriously.
They should have made more of the relationship between Jim & Rina, made more of the relationship between Jim & Schack, shown where the dead body in the boot came from, put more detail into the events surrounding the trip to Johannesburg, not put the sex scene in between Persis and Schack, at the end Major Horn was smiling like it was all fun despite that all his soldiers were now dead and did not look like he was worried about the gravity of his situation just before Jim shot him, it should have been much more serious.
Despite all that it was adventurous and a bit enjoyable, and most of the acting was good, at least most of the actors seemed to fit their characters, either in type or nationality and the photography and African scenes were good, it was mostly filmed in Kenya so at least it was the right continent and looked right. The truth dawning at the end was done well, for most of the time.
It looks as if this film has a higher rating than it should to me, I gave it a 5 for the African photography and actors, the plot gets a 1 !
This story could be re-filmed as a serious action movie and be much better with the right Director and cast, maybe done by South Africans, for another time.