Film
Ben (Stiaan Smith), a mechanic in Johannesburg has a chance encounter with a beautiful girl, Linda (Amalia Uys) in a bar one night. He recognises her as the daughter of his boss. The two immediately form a connection. In a bid to impress Linda, Ben tells her he is in a band. This is all very well and good, but as they two grow closer, Ben has to go to lengths to maintain this ruse.
Opting rather to form a band, than let Linda see the real him, Ben enlists the help of a few friends whom he thinks are musically inclined. With the rather humorous support of his work colleagues, who keep Ben out of sight when Linda is near, things get a lot more complex, before they eventually begin to resolve.
The workshop, and fellow mechanics, where Ben works do evoke a slight dose of nostalgia, remembering the buddy movies, with musical numbers, such as Grease.
As characters that drive the entire story, Ben and Linda go through several phases. The cast, much like the characters, are well placed to move the many subtleties of the story forward. WIth a plot that is devoid of overly-complex plot twists, the is a story that one can sit back and enjoy, most likely leaving with a song or two stuck in your head.
Sy Klink Soos Lente is a feel good film. It gives hope, yet passes on the message that one should be yourself, as the is the best ‘you’ that anyone could be. WIth a few great musical numbers, talented cast, and a well written story, this film join the ranks of those that show that South Africa has what it takes to produce our own content.
Disc
Technically, the disc is of a decent quality, overall. One can understand the decisions made with the auto-play videos at the beginning, which are likely part of a product placement deal for the films major investor.
Sy Klink Soos Lente is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.
Video
Video is encoded at a high average bitrate. There are no visible artefacts on screen, nor any colour bleed. Darker scenes retain a high amount of detail, with dark blacks, while maintaining the rest of the scenes colour.
Viewers with the necessary hardware or software, could scale up to a larger or higher resolutions screen, should they wish.
Audio
Sound is encoded at a high average bitrate. Dialogue is clear via the centre speaker, with the front speakers carrying the often present music.
Owing to the nature and genre of the film, there is not too much use of the surround channels. They are, however, used to expand the soundstage of the music played, to great extent, immersing the viewer in the songs and melodies.
There are options for a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, or a downmix of stereo 2.0 to choose from. Both are Afrikaans, with English subtitles burnt in to the film.
Navigation
Navigation is simple, and easy to follow. The main menu opts for a static background, with some accompanying music from the film.
There is a chapter selection sub-menu, with each of these containing a photo of the lead characters, and six numbered motion-thumbnails. The chapters are only numbered, with no chapter title, so choosing the exact point in the film you wish to navigate to may prove difficult. The thumbnail sizes are not very large either.
The extras sub-menu contains yet another photograph of the two leads, with a text list of the bonus features.
A sub-menu for sound gives options for choosing between the 5.1 and 2.0 soundtracks.
Bonus Features
Sy Klink Soos Lente Musiekvideo: A music video by Bouwer Bosch, with non-spoiler video from the film.
Groenblare Mockumentary – Deel 1: A short video, looking back about 10 years, and talking about the band. The feature is amusing, and is best watched after the film, as it does carry the story further, adding a great deal of content via character exposition, to the story. Many potential spoilers.
Groenblare Mockumentary – Deel 2: Furthering the story from part one, this feature alleges to be broadcast a week later. Adding yet more insight into the history of the characters, and events that followed after the credits of the main feature rolled.
The two mockumentaries are a great addition. Best viewed after the film, to avoid spoilers, they bring another dose of the humour of the film, compressed down to a potent dosage in the short videos.
Sy Klink Soos Lente EPK – Die Storie: A short feature with some behind the scenes footage, and a bit of insight from the main cast, on the story and characters, and how they interrelate. The clip covers the story, so those wishing to see the main feature cold, not knowing anything, should best avoid, but it contains no spoilers.
Sy Klink Soos Lente EPK – Die Karakters: A short introduction by each of the main cast, talking about their respective characters. The featurette includes a few non-spoiler clips of the film, with footage of each character. A quick look at each of the main players.
Sy Klink Soos Lente EPK – Die Musiek: This featurette talks about the music of the film, and how it was intended as a character in its own right.
Trailers at the beginning of the disc include: Vir Die Voëls and Jou Romeo, that auto-play as the disc starts.
These can be fast forwarded. There is also an advert for King Price Insurance, which can neither be skipped or fast forwarded. There is no option but to watch.
