kagablog

Title: SMS Sugarman

Director/Writer: Aryan Kaganof

Review: Mary Corrigall

Shooting a film with cellphones is obviously going to result in a unique cinematic experience but it is not just the unconventional medium that makes SMS Sugar man novel. Director and writer Aryan Kaganof has produced a film with a visual and ideological character that is not readily associated with South African film-making. It doesn’t deal with any of the clichéd South African themes and it has an extraordinary visual texture that sets just the right level of sombreness required to relay a twisted contemporary fairytale.

Centred on a pimp, Sugar man (Kaganof), and his clique of prostitutes, dubbed ‘The Sugars’ (played by Leigh Graves and Deja Bernhardt) the narrative delves into the underbelly of Joburg, where sex is a precious commodity and violence a form of communication. But it’’s not a gritty reality that Kaganof presents; mostly set in luxury hotel rooms and starring a trio of prostitutes who look more like Sandton schoolgirls than skanky Hillbrow hookers, it’s a glamorised rendition of a seedy counter culture. And with Sugarman decked in a retro suit and cruising around the city in a dated Valiant, SMS Sugar man exudes a Quentin Tarantino-esque vibe.

However, as much as the film parades a cool and alluring superficial façade it has substance; it is more like Tarantino-meets-early-David-Lynch. Belying the attractive veneer that the visuals exude beats a dark plot about a maladjusted society searching for fulfillment - and not just the pimps and the prostitutes but the eclectic array of disturbed clients that they service. A consequence of the troubled society in which they inhabit, each client possesses their own peculiar fantasies, for one client this means dressing like woman and then being put to bed like a child. Their desires, however, all seem to be united by a impulse to retrieve or reconnect with something which they have lost. So while this movie features a lot of sex, these sexual acts are a manifestation of some kind of deep-seated psychological longing.

For ‘The Sugars’ or prostitutes that cater to these yearnings, engaging in sex is about a lesson in emotional detachment. As intimate as the act of sex is, they must divest it of its closeness. Naturally, this leaves them hanging in some kind of emotional wasteland, rendering them unable to connect with anyone. Sugarman isn’t emotionally well-adjusted either; from the start of the film we learn that he is fatherless, rendering him a rootless character grappling for control. And this is probably where ‘the sugars’ come into play; they provide him with a domain over which he has authority - or so it seems.

Most of the story plays out in sumptuous, elegant hotel rooms, which seems at odds with the depraved and desperate sexual acts that take place. But these impersonal locales do serve to underscore the characters emotional detachment.

Set on Christmas Eve a time associated with warm and loving family get-togethers, only serves to emphasise not only the corrupted nature of this society but the meaninglessness of Sugarman and his Sugars existence. So even though their relationship is destructive, with no one else but each other to turn to they are bound to each other.

The world that Sugar man and his Sugars inhabit is a base world, stripped of the rules that govern more conventional societies. It is a place where gender stereotypes are perpetuated; the men are ‘the wallets’, the money makers and the women the objects of desire. Surviving is the only motivator - no matter the cost. While these realities should make for an unpalatable film, Kaganof has sugar coated the ugly truths; the settings, prostitutes and visuals are all aesthetically pleasing,which keeps the audience distanced from the real grime that would define this society.

The twist at the end of the film doesn’t come as a surprise and the plot is not terribly scintillating. But SMS Sugar man is not a plot driven film, it is about the twisted nature of human relationships; the push and pull between intimacy and detachment.

But, ultimately, it is the visual texture of the film that seduces. Certainly the shooting with cellphones has imparted a novel character to the film; the characters are framed within more intimate shots, they fill the screen, engendering a personal ambience. The closeness that this facilitates with the audience not only engages with the central motif but creates a voyeuristic relationship with the characters that recalls the reality TV genre. There are instances where one feels as if one is actually filming the scene with one’s cellphone, which can be exhilarating and distressing.

In this way one is always constantly aware of being an observer and the pixelated effect that results from the medium functions as a reminder that the story is mediated - with conventional cinematography one isn’t aware of the presence of a camera.

Shooting with a cellphone also allows for the screen to seamlessly flip from one angle to the next which Kaganof uses to invite the audience into a scene. The soundtrack, courtesy of Warrick Sony, is outstanding and melds in seamlessly with the action.

To be sure, SMS Sugar man is experimental and in need of some ruthless editing but is evidence of a great directing talent in the making.

this review first appeared in the sunday independent of 6 july 2008