Beauty (2011)

Oliver Hermanus' Beauty (South Africa, 2011) - 2011CAN Queer Palm Award Winner. An impressively controlled study of a macho Afrikaaner and the secret he hides from his family, his friends and himself, Skoonheid (which translates as ‘Beauty’) is a slow-paced but effective portrait of a kind of apartheid of the mind. It’s also a dour and uncompromising arthouse product which will play to a wafer-thin audience at home in South Africa - where the director’s debut, Shirley Adams, barely made a dent in the box office. Further festival action looks like the most obvious next step after the film’s Cannes premiere, though resilient audiences in Europe and elsewhere may also be persuaded to take a look. 2011CANucr, 2011TOR, 2012OE, 2012ROTbf. RATING: 6