Catch a Fire

"Catch a Fire" tells a true story, and that might be its downfall. Not all true stories are created equal, after all. Some are more dazzling, more interesting or simply more cinematic than others. "Catch a Fire" deals with a theme ripe for filmic representation -- South Africa's system of apartheid -- but the specific story it chooses is weak. The year is 1980, and South Africa is a land divided. Blacks comprise a majority of the population yet have no political power and are relegated to a grossly inhumane level of second-class citizenry. Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) has managed to rise above his circumstances, somewhat, and is a foreman at an oil refinery, one of the few blacks to achieve such a position. In his spare time he coaches a youth soccer team. He has a wife, Precious (Bonnie Henna), and two beautiful young daughters. No life is perfect in such an oppressive society, but Patrick's is better than many. Yet he has a secret: In another town, he has a lover by whom he also has a son. He is with them on the night that his oil refinery is attacked, apparently by the freedom-fighting militant wing of the African Nation Congress. A government detective named Nic Vos (Tim Robbins) fingers Patrick as a suspect, as he had access to the plant after hours and, as a black man, had a motive to lash out against the white-run government. Of course, when your society is intent on subjugating an entire race, you're sort of GIVING them motive to fight back, aren't you?