By Miv Evans
DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT – a South African Memoir
This is a vivid portrayal of a dysfunctional family’s struggle to survive the Rhodesian Bush War. Unfortunately for them, they’re living in turbulent times both inside and outside their home. As their country flounders, then so do they The narrative is intimate and confident and has a foreboding charm that paints South Africa at its most haunting. It’s hard to turn away for a moment.
The war began in 1964. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight is set in the summer of ‘79. It’s just before an election, with white minority rule under threat and folk getting nervous. Among them are the Fuller family, made up of Tim (Rob Van Vuuren), his wife Nicola (Embeth Davidtz); daughters Vanessa (Anina Reed) and Bobo (Lexi Venter). Home is a sprawling farm and the occupants enjoy the privileges their race begets. The parents have an undying conviction that their status is justified, but their eight-year-old offspring isn’t so sure. And it’s through her eyes that this tale is told.
Bobo shares with her audience the version of Rhodesian history she has been taught, which is glaringly racist. But no sooner have her words tumbled out than they are turned on their head. Somehow, and against all odds, Bobo’s parents’white supremacy brainwashing has failed. Their 8-year-old has also dismissed the hierarchy rationale and in its place is a scorecard.
Unsurprisingly, Ma and Pa aren’t doing too well. Sure, Bobo believes there are bad black terrorists, but that has nothing to do with Sarah (Zikhona Bali) and Jacob (Fumani N. Shilubana). As she explains, her family “live with” these two people – and thus the dynamic of the film is born. At some level, Bobo believes it’s their farm; not her family’s. It’s an eviscerating moment.
Our heroine spends her time whizzing around on a motorbike with an air rifle slung over her back. Her mother sleeps with her weapon of choice laid snugly by her side. If Tim has to leave the farm overnight, he hires a bodyguard to take his place. To get from A to B, residents book a slot on a convoy with an armed police escort. Surrounded by so much danger, tragedy is expected when a hissing snake shows up in the Fuller kitchen. But instead, a nightdress-clad Mrs.Fuller casually blasts the intruder to kingdom come while reminding Sarah she’s waiting for her morning tea. It’s comedy at its most timely.
The passion that drives this story is matched by the restraint with which it’s told. In daylight the land is tinged with gold, where the blood of South Africans has spilled, yet victory was not won. When a radio comes on, it plays the protest song that inspired the white anti-apartheid movement, but no comment is made. And when the final curtain falls, Bobo sheds no tears, but we know she will pine.
So it’s a silent farewell for a tale where so little was spoken, but so much was said.
Directed and written by Embeth Davidtz*
*The film is actress’ Embeth Davidtz(“Junebug, “Schindler’s List,” “Matilda”) directorial and screenwriting debut, and is based on Alexandra Fuller’s bestselling 2001 memoir of the same name.
“Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight”; a memoir by Alexandra Fuller*
*Fuller’s novel won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize in 2002, was a New York Times Notable Book and a finalist for The Guardian’s First Book Award.
Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in theaters in NY and LA on July 11, 2025before expanding wider over the subsequent weeks.
For more information on this film please contact:
Block-Korenblot
Public Relations
Phone: +1 323 634 7001
Fax: +1 323 634 7030
6100 Wilshire Blvd
Ste 170
Los Angeles, CA 90048
USA
