Five new films release in South African cinemas today, including Bollywood action thriller Yodha. However, with most of the new debuts screening in limited release, you’ll have to check what is available, or not, at your favourite movie house.
Real-life sports drama The Iron Claw centres on the Von Erich family, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s, but are also considered cursed due to the tragedies that befell them. Zac Efron heads up the cast in this A24 release, with other familiar faces including The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Holt McCallany and Lily James. The movie was named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the National Board of Review.
Also dealing with a physically gruelling sport, and a true story to boot, is Arthur the King. Endurance athlete Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) adopts a stray dog called Arthur at the same time he kicks off his final attempt at winning the Adventure Racing World Championship alongside his teammates (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman). Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, Arthur’s presence redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.
Out of Hong Kong comes drama A Light Never Goes Out. Devastated by the loss of her skilled neon sign-making husband, a middle-aged widow (Sylvia Chang) decides to carry on his professional dream, taking over his workshop and collaborating with his apprentice. A Light Never Goes Out had its world premiere at the 2022 Tokyo International Film Festival, and was Hong Kong’s entry for the most recent Academy Awards.
Closer to home, and also featuring familial motivations, is South African crime actioner The Bush Knife. William Singh (Bruce Gounder) has his life destroyed by a local gangster known as the Skull (Ryan Mayne), who kills William’s wife and kidnaps his daughters. In response, William dons the persona of the Bush Knife, a dual-wielding vigilante, and pushes himself to to his limit in an attempt to bring down the murdering kingpin.