Stander (2003) User Reviews

One of the best South African films to date

[AntiDot · 8/10 · 5 October 2004]

I've seen my share of South African films, being a South African myself, and I can tell you with pride and without hesitation that this was one of the best films from my country I've ever seen. I felt the protagonist's confusion and frustration. I cannot remember the last time I've wanted the bad guy to escape more than in this movie.

"ebhp1" commented on the accent, which made it difficult to understand the dialogue. I think it was a functional and very important part of the movie in an attempt to make it REAL. A movie about South Africans with an American accent? No. It's like making a British film French accents... I do have to congratulate the American actors who handled the accent so well. I even wondered if they were South African!

I take my hat off to you. A great movie with great actors.

Like a Great, Forgotten Movie From the 70s

[Craig-9 · 8/10 · 16 February 2005]

_Stander_ was completely fascinating, from start to finish. I don't know when the last time was I saw a movie that I enjoyed so completely. It really was like some overlooked classic from the early 70s, in the styles and the composition. The colors have just the right washed-out look to make you think this film might be a contemporary of films like _Dog Day Afternoon_ or _Network_. And the settings, the costumes, the cars--all the period details bring us right back to the mid-70s. Never having visited South Africa and not really knowing that much about it, I almost feel like I've had a bit of a crash course in South African history and culture after watching the film. It's amazing that Thomas Jane, who hasn't exactly had the most memorable career to date, could so completely inhabit this character and bring him to life. This is the same guy who was the romantic lead in the insipid _The Sweetest Thing_! And the morose protagonist of _The Punisher_. He needs to keep stretching and looking for these more offbeat roles. And it's always a pleasure to see the beautiful Deborah Kara Unger in a film--here she plays Stander's wife. I won't recount the plot--plenty of other posters have already--but just urge you to rent this movie if you get the chance. It was immensely entertaining.

The True Saga of a Bank Robber

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 30 March 2008]

In 1976, in Johannesburg, the efficient anti-racist Homicide/Robbery Police Captain Andre Stander (Thomas Jane) has a nervous breakdown after killing an unarmed man in an apartheid protest. Stander decides to confront and mock the established corrupt system heisting twenty-six banks while working for the police department. He is captured and sentenced to thirty-two years in prison; however, he succeeds to escape with the criminals Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher) and Allan Heyl (David Patrick O'Hara) and together they form "The Stander Gang" and rob another twenty banks in six months.

"Stander" tells the story of the notorious Afrikaner bank robber and former police captain Andre Stander. The movie works perfectly as an action movie, but if the intention was to give any political connotation to the actions of the anti-hero Stander, it completely fails. Stander is shown as an efficient but unbalanced man in love for his wife performed by the gorgeous Deborah Kara Unger that defies the system, not like a Robin Hood or to protect the black people, but for self-profit only. Thomas Jane has a great performance in the role of this complex character. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Stander – Um Policial Contra o Sistema" ("Stander – A Policeman Against the System")

Did It Show In USA,UK,Aus Or NZ ?

[gerrit843 · 18 October 2004]

Hi, Stander was an absolute blast of a movie. Well directed & true the origins. Andre Stander (according to newspapers in SA)was deeply shocked by events and did feel a need to break away from what he felt was wrong, incl.the government's way at the time. Thomas Jane is a great actor and to have learned the accent - Wow! He looks so much like the real Stander. Stander as a movie is compare able to 'Blow' from Johnny Depp which was also a true 'story' movie. I felt the best thing from the movie was the fact that they made Johannesburg look so much like it did in the 80's and the cars they used, with all the different number plates, as well as the old bank names, was a classy touch. Johannesburg looks so nice and clean, like it used to be.

Now did it open worldwide, or at least in the USA, or UK on the 6 / 13th August? So did anyone manage to see it ?Because in SA it has since been on TV & DVD.

A great deal better and more honest than many similar films

[pfgpowell-1 · 7/10 · 27 November 2009]

For £1 in your local supermarket's bargain bin (€1.10 and $1.65 at the time of writing) you don't really expect the DVD you picked up on a whim to amount to much. But Stander is a revelation and quite why Morrison's had already relegated it to junk status, I don't know. Another drawback - or apparent drawback - was the legend on the cover 'Based on a true story', which usually means 'we got the idea from something that happened and glammed it up'. Yet Stander sticks pretty close to the facts. Andre Stander, at one point the youngest police captain in South Africa and the son of a respected general, starts robbing banks while still serving. Later, once he has escaped jail, he forms the very successful Stander Gang and carries on his life of crime. As portrayed in the film, greed is apparently not his motive. The film suggests that he after killing a man while on riot duty he simply loses faith with the establishment and decides to f*** the system. Biographical details I have looked up suggest he had some sort of breakdown after his brother was killed in a crash and he had to identify the body. But what is remarkable about the film is that despite a storyline which is as close to fiction as life is ever going to get, nothing is sensationalised. Stander's relationships with his father, his former wife and his friends all ring true and Bronwen Hughes, the American writer/director plays it straight without, however, playing boring. There are several quite moving scenes in the film as when, for example, Stander seeks out the father of the man he killed and allows him to take his revenge. Whether of not that happened I don't know, but the film doesn't play it for cheap emotions. There is another scene where Stander tries to persuade his former wife to leave the country with him. She refuses, obliquely admitting that she, too, hates the apartheid system in which they all live, but that she has found a way of accommodating it. In fact, it is pretty obvious that she feels betrayed by Stander who had more or less thrown away a happy life with her. Honesty is, in fact, the hallmark of Hughes's film. Worth more than being given a chance. You might even be persuaded to go out of your way to watch it. Scenes which in less subtle hands might have made this just another run-of-the-mill movie - for example, the way it the rottenness at the core of the regime, also ring true. I puzzled that I had never before heard of this film, or why it is already languishing in a bargain bin valued at merely £1. It is worth every penny, and then some.

Melancholy Look at the Mythology that was the 'Stander Gang'

[nzallblacks_12 · 6/10 · 12 January 2014]

Having resided in the Transvaal during the 80s when the 'Stander Gang' rode the high veldt while pillaging and robbing banks at every turn they maneuvered their 1982 Ford Cortina XR6 Interceptor, I can safely vouch now and from a great distance, that the historicity of the film is somewhat accurate. Well, with some minor reservations...

But I won't say the same for the 'tone', make that, theme. This film, which had the potential to be gute South African cinema was cast almost entirely with a huge liberal bent; way too much PC for my liking. To wit, the director tries hard, maybe even succeeds (with unsuspecting viewers) to portray Andre Stander, former S.A. Police detective, now turned hoodlum/mayhem master as a black benefactor. Make no mistake: the real Stander was no such thing. On the contrary, he was an opportunist; he only sought avenues for quick, easy plunder. It came in the form of easy pickings; always in the form of robbing banks; sometimes his gang knocked over four branches a day. Some twice!

And Stander always enjoyed the fruits of his labors. He had a penchant for fast cars: the likes of several yellow Porsche Carerras hardly escaped his lusting eyes. The same can be said for the other forms of ostentatious debauchery: fast women, probably drugs, clubbing and wining and dining in the trendy Joburg suburbs of Mayfair and Sandton; just to name a few.

But Stander had help. The South African media also had a penchant for debauchery. Their non-stop 24/7 coverage no doubt fanned the flames of this budding myth. As if scripted, Stander and his gang would never disappoint either. At the hint of a hot lead or the attraction of a pretty, young teller longing for her 15 minutes of fame, the infamous gang would always burst on the scene. As expected, the media hounds never missed a scent and the chance to further expound the bank robbers meteoric rise to stardom.

More often than naught, the brazen robbers were well received in the newspapers as well as on the S.A.B.C. TV channels. Both of them. The Gang, was now officially the Republik's own version of Robin Hood; but the motley trio was never given a 'merry band of fellows' moniker though.

Thomas Jane gives a good/bad account of the main man: Andre Stander. His two accomplices, Allan Heyl and Lee McCall were well portrayed as well; so were the entire supporting cast members and extras. The sets of 70s/80s Joburg were expertly re-constructed: all too eerily, realistic.

Ofter during the viewing, I felt s strong longing to return home. But not back to the future...

Thomas Jane does it again.

[Dodge-Zombie · 6/10 · 15 June 2022]

The fact that a lot of what happens in this movie is true makes you wonder as to how it went on for so long.

Now I like the film but I'll be the first to admit that some of the south african accents slip a fair bit from time to time.

That being said it's a great story and for the most part well acted. I know it's not a new movie but if you've got chance then give it a try.

Exciting, funny and sad, an outstanding true-life tale

[barbowitz · 9/10 · 28 July 2004]

A thoughtful action film, well written, directed and acted. A potent blend of character study and social history, with a dynamic performance by Thomas Jane in the title role. What at first seems to be a kind of Robin Hood tale turns out to be much more complex and unsettling.

Director/co-writer Bronwen Hughes (can this really be the same person who directed "Harriet the Spy"?) finds just the right tone and pace. The Soweto riot scene is a knockout and sets the stage for Andre Stander's disillusionment. The overall film is reminiscent (in the best sense) of some of the classic Hollywood films of the late 60s, early 70s such as "Butch Cassidy" and "Dog Day Afternoon."

The High Life

[refinedsugar · 7/10 · 5 September 2023]

I originally saw Stander shortly after it hit DVD in 2004-2005. I though it was great blend of a white policeman losing his way under the pressure of inequality & racism in apartheid South Africa robbing banks rebelling against the system. I was younger. I bought into the illusion of "based on a true story".

Present day, I still very much enjoy it. Thomas Jane gives a fantastic performance as Andre Stander and his two bank robbing real life associates are known actors in Dexter Fletcher (Layer Cake, Band Of Brothers) & David O'Hara (Braveheart, The Departed). Plus Deborah Kara Unger gives a grounded performance as Standers wife.

However you start digging into the real story this is based on and you can quickly deduct Stander might have been an adrenaline junkie or rebelling against his silver spoon upbringing. A lot of the events as they are shown here aren't factual. I don't hold that against the movie. I know it has to be an entertaining commercial product, but it deadens the message a bit. Doesn't make Stander as smart or sympathetic as this film wants you to believe.

If you put that aside, the characters, plot, bits of action and tension work pretty well. Jane gives one of his best performances and 'Stander' doesn't shy away from nasty world history and topics that are rather unpleasant but can't be dismissed or swept away. Tune in for the action, unique settings and acting is the name of the game here.

Brilliant true crime film Thomas Jane was amazing

[willden21 · 9/10 · 18 January 2004]

I Just got back from a screening of This film at the Sundance film festival, and there are some corrections that need to be made from some of the other comments. After the screening the director did a Q&A where when asked was all this true, she said oddly enough "the outrageous stuff was true, and we had to add normal plot fillers to help it dramatically."

Stander never planned his robberies, he was a criminal who was sick of seeing the violence against the unarmed citizens, and tired of the crookedness of police life, that he rebelled against the system, just as a political act, not a need for money.

This film has plenty of great action scenes and alot of great comedy as well as brilliant acting by the whole cast, especially Thomas Jane who shines as Stander.

Outside of the violence and fun, there is a very powerful moral story, one of right and wrong, politics and the lonely life of a criminal. One theme I love was repeated throughout, and that is that the wrong man is always punished, or killed, when we should be looking at our government officials and their corruption, we spend too much time on the little criminals.

Very fascinating, and fun to watch, as well as thought provoking, once again the Q&A would answer all of the problems other posters had with the film, because the stuff they did not like was the actual facts behind the characters lives, just AMAZING!!

Really wanted to love this...only liked it.

[ebhp1 · 6/10 · 5 September 2004]

The biggest fault of this movie, surprisingly, is the slow pacing. I expected this to be a non-stop action/suspense film with twists and turns at every corner. What I experienced was instead a slowly paced, insightful drama about a man torn between what he was raised to do (uphold the law) and what he was inspired to do - stand up for the small man and fight the system.

I could have dealt with this change in reality and really grasped the vision of the writer and director, had it been done in 20-30 minutes less time. This is not to say I have a limited attention span or that I don't like to think while I watch films - on the contrary, I love the challenge. I suppose some of the limitations were based on this being a true story, in which case I applaud them for sticking to the truth. But, they could have cut the fluff and gotten to the meat of what really happened and I would have been greatly entertained.

Instead, I was constantly checking the time and wondering when it would be over.

Performances were stellar, especially Thomas Jane.

One fault of this film for Americans is the thick accent used throughout. It really made it difficult to understand what they were saying, so for those out there who are interested in seeing this, I suggest you wait for the DVD and watch it with subtitles on.

Overall, a good film, but I was really hoping it would be great.

6/10 rating.

ebhp

Just watched...amazing!

[onion9 · 8/10 · 2 January 2005]

I just watched this movie yesterday. I guess it just got released, but I couldn't find it. Luckily someone put it online.

Anyway, this movie was incredible. Since watching the movie, I did some research, and this move was completely based on actual events and facts. Only robbing the same bank twice in one day was fictional.

Tom Jane was great in the role as Andre Stander, and was excellent in his confidence within the character. its too bad this film wasn't more popular in North America

I am going to have to buy the DVD. Hopefully it will have some interesting extras

Underwhelming

[=G= · 6/10 · 24 December 2004]

"Stander" tells the true story of a South African cop who, in the waning years of apartheid, kills an unarmed black man in a riot, has a crisis of conscience, and rebels against the establishment by robbing banks thereby becoming a legend in his own time. An underwhelming and mechanical film which never really brings the human story into focus, "Stander" spends it's time dutifully going through the obligatory biographical benchmarks with good production value, a modicum of entertainment, and a poor presentation of the complex psychodramatic issues which gave rise to the cop turned crook enigma. An okay watch for anyone into the Guy Ritchie "Lock, Stock...." kind of energy with some action, no titillators, and a whole lot of bank robberies. (B-)

Not much reality here...

[jedipeacefrog · 3/10 · 20 March 2022]

The only thing really truthful about this movie is that Andre Stander was a cop who decided to rob banks. Most everything else is simply either blatantly untrue at worst, or whimsical fantasy at best. The movie wants to believe Stander's defense at his first trial, that we was negatively affected by the shootings of 176 unarmed people during the 1976 Soweto uprising in South Africa. However, if the makers of this film did even the most casual fact-checking, they would have learned that Andre Stander was not present in Thembisa where and when the shootings took place.

The manner and circumstances of Stander's death depicted in this film are also grossly inaccurate. The film depicts Stander attacking police in a brazen act of suicide...'death by cop', if you will. In reality, Stander was shot in the driveway of his apartment building after arriving on a bicycle after stealing his impounded Mustang earlier trying to evade capture.

It would be nice if filmmakers started utilizing truth and reality when they craft these movies.

Gets the feeling right - worth watching

[CocoMonkee · 14 November 2003]

As a South African who's had to sit through a bunch of films on South Africa(ns) that made me cringe, I have to firstly send congratulations to the actors and dialogue coaches on achieving what has to be the first believable South African accents by international actors. Bravo! (Michael Caine and Sydney Poitier can take the the cotton-wool out their mouths now).

André Stander was a young police captain who in the early 80's robbed a string of banks while still in the employ of the South African Police Service. Finally caught, Stander spent time in jail before escaping to form a gang and continue the spree. His flamboyance, charm and cheek caught the imagination of the South African public who followed his exploits excitedly in the press and on tv. Well known for outfoxing the police through trickery, elaborate disguises and plain disregard for risk, he had people on the edge of their seat - most hoping he'd never get caught.

The movie sticks with the basic story and adds the usual Hollywood glam that while pumped up to fit in with other bank-robber fare, does not ruin the plot. From a beautifully shot opening sequence of an aerial view of Johannesburg, the film immediately sets up the great contrast of this city as existed in the apartheid 80's in the living conditions of the rich pool-and-tennis-court-suburbia(almost totally white) to the poor townships(non-white). A situation that while changing is still present today. Inner-city Johannesburg is the perfect place for a film of this era. The city-centre is full of buildings, murals and statues erected during the 70's boom-time and the film makes great use of these landmarks that surround the car and foot chases through the streets and city markets. The wardrobe is spot-on, the stylists have got it right. Nothing is overdone and no-one looks out of place. South Africans will be delighted by the memories and cultural references. While the lead actors are British and American, they are surrounded by a very capable South African supporting cast.

The film makers probably take a bit of license with Stander's motivations as far as his disgust with the ruling policies, but they're never over the top and additionally make room for placing more political content into a story that would arguably be uncomfortably white for a youngish democracy such as ours. Following this, the protest scenes are believable and tense. The violence is hard-hitting and impactful. The humour and stereotypes will make you smile.

Style and acting aside, there are some awkward moments. Parts of the film struggle with context. We have scenes of hard country driving for no discernable reason other than a chat with the characters. We see little of the planning involved for the robberies and a couple of acts of redemption by Stander are hard to swallow. Sometimes it's as if the film makers wanted to fit too much into the two hours and instead let the pace slacken.

While a little long and at times slow moving, Stander was a real pleasure to watch. I laughed out loud many times, and felt really emotional looking back on a society that was in a bad place. The police clashes with protesters brought tears to my eyes and the attitude and motivations of the typical white male is genuine and appropriate. I think this film deserves a tighter overall edit and a possibly re-shoot of a rushed, unconvincing end scene, however I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it, if only for a spot-on glimpse of SA life twenty years ago.

Good but could have been so much more

[nolanjwerner · 7/10 · 18 February 2005]

I think that the film would have greatly improved had it spent more time delving in to Andre Stander's psychology or his double life as a police officer/bank robber. As it stands, most of the film seems to be about his bank robbery spree. The psychology of such a character is potentially fascinating but as it stands in the film, Andre Stander is not totally explored. He seems to do it more out of anger or thrills or boredom but it is never totally clarified which it is though it seems to be a combination of the three.

I know that there were a lot of real life events that constrained the ability to tell the story in the film and I understand that.

I wrote on another board that American actors could not do accents. I am not South African nor do I know all of the subtle minutiae of a South African accent but Thomas Jane seemed to pull one off. It didn't seem to disappear for a few minutes at a time or sound radically different from the other characters. Congratulations to him on an excellent performance.

Modern-day "Robin Hood" during apartheid-era South Africa

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 18 December 2015]

Released in 2003, "Stander" is based on the true story of Andre Stander, a police captain in South Africa turned bank robber in the late 70s/early 80's, dubbed a modern-day Robin Hood by the media. Thomas Jane stars in the title role while Dexter Fletcher and David O'Hara play his partners. Deborah Kara Unger is on hand as his wife while Melanie Merle plays the girlfriend of one of the gang members. Marius Weyers also appears as Stander's father.

While this is based on a true story, people dispute parts of it, like the idea that Stander occasionally gave some of the loot to impoverished black people and the idea that his disillusionment and fall into crime stemmed from an incident where he and other officers shot and killed over twenty unarmed black residents of Thembisa during the 1976 Soweto uprising. Nevertheless, the gist of the story is true and the depiction of apartheid-era South Africa is interesting. Moreover, the news media did indeed portray Stander as a modern-day Robin Hood and so the movie reflects this element and I wouldn't be surprised if he really did give some cash to blacks on a few occasions.

The score by The Free Association (aka David Holmes) is odd, but I suppose the filmmakers wanted something that would mesh with the time period and location. While this is a crime thriller, it's generally realistic and lacks the eye-rolling action sequences of conventional Hollywood thrillers. There's action, of course, but it's believable and mixed with the drama of the real-life players and events.

The movie runs 116 minutes and was shot in South Africa.

GRADE: B

very good, and based on a true story

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 7 July 2016]

"Stander" is the true story of Andre Stander, who was a police captain turned notorious bank robber in South Africa. The story goes that he participated in killing during a riot and in the line of duty and became disillusioned. In real life, he wasn't present during that riot. Some people think he simply became bored with what he was doing.

Stander(Thomas Jane) decided to rob banks, sometimes during his lunch hour, and he was pretty good at it - so good that he could return to the bank later as the investigating officer. Eventually, his own comrades on the force caught him and he went to prison. There he met Allan Heyl (David O'Hara) and Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher). After they escaped, they worked together in the robberies and became the most wanted men in the country.

What was so good about this film is that it displayed the incredible audacity of these men and especially Stander - the prison breakout, the robberies, stealing cars - remarkable and in plain sight.

The acting is superb. Thomas Jane is an American and I have to agree to comments about the accent - it was excellent. He portrayed a good-looking, disillusioned young man with a gorgeous wife who was looking for a different kind of high. He enjoyed going against the system, and one could tell that from the performance. The other actors were excellent as well.

Allan Heyl, by the way, was paroled in 2005.

A very exciting and absorbing film, sometimes outrageous, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and sometimes sad.

A South African policeman rebels against the repression of the state and becomes one of the most prolific bank robbers in history

[ocalldg · 8/10 · 11 July 2005]

This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, it really is a well scripted, acted and directed film. Thomas Jane is excellent in the title role of Andre Stander, a highly decorated Johannesburg detective who, after becoming despondent with his life in the oppressive South African police force, embarks on an audacious series of bank robberies. David O'Hara and Dexter Fletcher were also well cast as Stander's accomplices in this most enjoyable of crime capers.

The writing, script and dialogue were well crafted, whilst watching this film you might feel that Bima Stagg has a great imagination to spin such an unbelievable tale, incredibly though the film is a true story. Although the film is the tale of one mans rebellion against the system, it maintains an air of humour. Far from trivialising the story this reinforces the sheer audacity of the crime spree that ensues. I would highly recommend this film.

Flawed, but still a fairly interesting examination of the juxtaposition between good and evil

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 7/10 · 27 November 2005]

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

Horrified by the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians he witnesses as a police officer in South Africa, Andre Stander (Thomas Jane) becomes disillusioned with the law forever and carries out a series of bank raids. The film follows the exploits of his nefarious activities, from getting caught and locked up, to breaking out with a group of other cons and forming the now infamous Stander gang.

At first glance, I thought this would just be a sort of video follow-up to lead star Jane's growing action career following from his lead appearance in the recent adaptation of The Punisher. But like a lot of video works, it's a few years older than it really is and has probably just been released on the back of this.

It's a well known fact that fact is often stranger, and sometimes more interesting, than fiction, and this depiction of the true story of the Stander gang actually certainly does prove more intriguing than any other fictional actioner that could have hit the direct-to-DVD shelves. It's an interesting and sombreing look at a man who feels less of a criminal by actually being one than serving on the very force that's meant to protect society from them. But it's the style and presentation of it that proves to be a blessing and a curse.

It's a South African movie, not an American one, and the style of filming is a little funny. I would have found the story more involving if there'd been voice-overs provided by Jane and a more snazzy soundtrack, but it's all just very cold and sterile and I don't think the production values would allow it to be any other way. Plus Jane talks through-out in an awkward, funny South-African dialect that detracts even further from the more American movie I hoped it'd be.

Still, the film manages one or two effective scenes and as I said it's certainly more intriguing as a true story than another bland fictional one. ***

Surprisingly Engaging

[ellycat17 · 8/10 · 10 June 2006]

After picking up the movie almost solely for the purpose of watching Tom Jane the actual content and brilliance of the story was shocking. Even after I realized it wasn't my normal kind of movie I was compelled to watch, completely caught up in the lives and fates of the characters. Even more compelling due to the fact that it tells a true story there's a sense of real involvement with the people and their story. For people born after the 70's and far away from South Africa this era is something almost make believe but this movie brings it to glorious and heart breaking true life. Great acting, great story, well worth watching.

This was an excellent dramatization of a true life crime story.

[cgvsluis · 7/10 · 13 January 2024]

Surprisingly good big screen production of a South African true crime story involving the youngest police captain in Johannesburg's history and his life of crime.

This is a different but gritty look at an apartheid story about André Stander who remains one of South Africa's most infamous bank robbers. He is most famous for the audacity of his crimes, robbing banks on his lunch break and sometimes comings back to the scene of the crime as the investigating officer.

Some of the facts were changed in the retelling of Stander's life of crime, but for the most part all of the tough details are depicted covering a brief time right before his first bank robbery thru until his violent end.

If interested there is a wonderful podcast called Evidence Locker that does a nice job going through all of the real-life details called 73. The Stander Gang South Africa, and you can find transcripts on line.

I appreciated this portrayal and thought the action and acting was well done. The overall story was good enough to peek my interest into reading more about the real life André Stander. The brashness of the crimes and also some of the cleverness really made this a worthwhile watch. The two time wife, Bekkie Stander, was portrayed by Deborah Kara Unger, who was absolutely gorgeous and a bit aloof. As I understand it the real life relationship Stander had with Bekkie was pretty volatile.

Interestingly I only saw two actual South Africans amongst the main cast, it would have been nice to see some more...it may have helped with the accents.

Stander robbed some thirty banks while he was a police captain before he was caught by his friend and colleague Cor. Then he was sent to prison where he and another inmate eventually escaped and then came back to break a third prisoner out within two months. The three of them robbed even more banks getting dubbed The Stander Gang in the media where they became kind of folk heros in this volatile apartheid times when the population was getting behind the concept of "sticking it to the man". They were so brazen and fast that they could rob four banks in a single day. Eventually this came to an end for one in Johannesburg, for one Fort Lauderdale Florida and for one England.

This is a recommendation from me, especially since true crime seems to be so popular at the moment. This was an atypical story that was well portrayed.

Drama, humor, and a sexually charged performance

[rednikki · 9/10 · 19 August 2004]

Last night, I saw the film "Stander" in a sneak preview at the Kendall. It's been tragically mismarketed, and I've heard the distribution company, Newmarket Films, is pulling it from release for the moment.

That's a tragedy. The film is deeply flawed, but even with its flaws, it's a far better film than almost any that I've seen this year. It's the story of Andre Stander, a South African policeman who robbed over 40 banks in the late '70s and early '80s, at least 20 of them while a policeman, just to prove a white man in South Africa could get away with anything. It ratchets between humor and drama in a way that evokes the cognitive dissonance that living in an apartheid state must have caused. The cinematography is very self-consciously '70s; the film is a little washed out and the framing is frequently odd, but this only adds to the effectiveness of the film. Thomas Jane gives an incredible performance; I've seen him in other movies, but I've never seen him be as sexy, as charismatic, as magnetic or as powerful as he was here, and he manages to do so while rarely having sex or anything near it; it's just his presence. (In other words: Sex. On. A. Stick.) He fell into the category of "men who are not my type", and yet I found him incredibly hot.

I saw it for free. If I had paid $10 to see it, I would not have felt ripped off (and that's rare, for me). If you have the opportunity - if it gets re-released, or if it comes out on video - see it. It's a very good film.

Bad movie about a bad character

[willieb-52785 · 3/10 · 21 April 2021]

Stander was no hero. He was quickly promoted to the rank of captain because of his father who was a senior officer in the police force. He was most notorious for his bank robberies, leaving the country after each robbery and returning when the heat died down. He used segregation as an excuse for his criminal activities. He even returned to the scene of the crime as a policeman when he returned. His sociopathic antics eventually caught up with him in the USA during a traffic violation. As for the movie, I'll let the box office performance speak for itself.

"If you're a white guy, you can get away with anything"

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 7 July 2005]

So speaks Andre Stander the day after a massive riot in Johannesburg South Africa in which Stander as a police captain finds himself killing a Zulu man in a morally shattering encounter. This utter disillusionment with the police force and their responses to the Apartheid situation makes Stander withdraw emotionally and physically from the Riot Squad and eventually his challenge that the blacks are unduly mistreated leads him to break the white laws by initiating a string of bank robberies - not for money but for a bizarre sort of revenge.

Stander (Tom Jane) is good at what he does, both as a cop and as a criminal, but his clever bank heists eventually result in his being jailed where he finds two partners (David O'Hara and Dexter Fletcher) to join him in escape and in one of the longest bank robbery sprees in the history of South Africa. Stander remains conflicted: he loves his new wife Bekkie (Deborah Kara Unger), he knows what he is doing is wrong, but the money is often shared with the blacks of Johannesburg, and he is driven to leave South Africa to eventually locate in Lauderdale, Florida. The eventual results of this man's career bring this film to a close in an action packed yet very soulful way.

The film, as written by Bima Stagg and directed by Bronwen Hughes captures the atmosphere of the era in South Africa, and gives us a realistic look at the plight of the Africans in the Apartheid, offering insights to both sides of the conflict like few others have in film. He coaxes fine performances from his large cast of actors and extras, making this film less an action thriller than a character study of the enigmatic Andre Stander.

The true star of this film, a film that deserves far more attention than it has been given, is Tom Jane. Jane is a strong actor, able to take on language accents with the best of them, and able to make us understand the spectrum of personality in this fascinating character. There are many scenes in which he plays in full nudity, quite apropos to the story, but just an indication of his commitment to 'fleshing out' of his role. He is an actor to watch, an actor unafraid of tough roles in contrast to the showy Hollywood star parts. Grady Harp