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The Dispatch
May 26 - June 1, 2000
By Entertainment Reporter
If you see one film this year, make it Yellow Card.
This locally-made drama about a young footballer who must face the consequences of his actions has been generating enormous buzz since its premiere screenings, and it is easy to see why.
The film works on multiple levels. As a drama, it is pacy, well-acted and visually striking. As a social commentary, it holds up a mirror to the lives of young Zimbabweans with uncomfortable accuracy. As entertainment, it delivers laughs, tears and edge-of-your-seat football action.
Director John Riber has assembled a remarkable cast of young actors, many of them making their screen debuts. Leroy Gopal, in the central role of Tiyane, has the kind of easy charisma that cannot be taught. He lights up the screen.
But the real hero of Yellow Card is its script. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with Zimbabwean teenagers, it captures the rhythms and concerns of young people with remarkable fidelity. These characters do not speak in the stilted language of social education films. They talk like real people with real problems.
The film's message about responsibility and the consequences of unprotected sex is woven so naturally into the story that it never feels heavy-handed. You absorb the lesson without ever feeling lectured.
Parents should see this film. Teachers should see this film. And most importantly, teenagers should see this film. It might just start the conversation that saves a life.
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