“Moffie” is an Afrikaans slur, used to describe a gay man. For those of us who haven’t grown up hearing it, the term can read almost affectionate, its soft syllables suggesting a sweetness. In reality, there’s violence in the word, spat out with cruelty. This tension pervades the fourth film from Oliver Hermanus, regarded as one of South Africa’s most prominent queer directors. Moffie tells the story of Nicholas Van der Swart (Kai Luke Brümmer), a closeted 18-year-old drafted into his mandatory military service in South Africa in 1981, when the country was still in the throes of apartheid. Adapted from André Carl van de Merwe’s novel, Moffie tells a brutal tale with moments of beautiful respite.
Even though the movie ends on a note that’s somewhat hopeful, by virtue of most of the conscripts making it out alive, you can’t help but think of the trauma they will live with—and are likely still living with in real life. After all, the novel is a fictionalized version of van de Merwe’s own life, which he documented in the diaries that he kept as a soldier. The book has been seminal in opening up conversations about the violent legacy of the South African draft, where only white men served under the racist apartheid regime.
Given that South Africa’s compulsory conscription ended in 1993, the film serves as a reminder of those terrible times, and exposes the psychological ruthlessness employed to train young white men with a toxic mixture of white supremacist, nationalist, misogynist and homophobic ideology in the country’s battle against the perceived scourge of communism.
There’s a sense of foreboding right from the opening scene. Nicholas’ family has gathered for a farewell dinner before he goes off for his training. The forced bonhomie is palpable at the gathering, as Nicholas’ mother makes a short toast to her first born.
“Let’s hope he comes back in one piece,” his stepfather shouts in Afrikaans, while his mother and biological father exchange tight smiles. Nicholas doesn’t say much either. His own reluctance for this rite of passage is evident in his diffidence, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Moments before, his mother called out for him. “What were you doing?” she asked. “Planning my escape,” Nicholas replied, half-jokingly.
As his father bids him goodbye, he hands Nicholas a Playboy-like magazine. “For ammunition,” he says. “If you need it.” As he drives off, he leaves Nicholas illuminated in the headlights. You can’t help but marvel at Nicholas’ beauty—his chiseled face, mop-top and piercing blue eyes—even as you see a flicker of fear pass through him.
All of this happens within the first five minutes of Moffie. The sparse dialogue, accentuated by the tense background score, sets the tone for the emotional onslaught that’s yet to come. Soon Nicholas is on a train full of boorish young white men and military instructors who constantly yell in Afrikaans. He ends up in a compartment with another good-looking teen, Michael Sachs (Matthew Vey). Unlike the other recruits, tousle-haired Michael seems equally disenchanted with his surroundings, and is thankful that Nicholas—despite his Afrikaans-sounding surname—seems pretty normal. We come to learn that Nicholas has had to take on his stepfather’s surname. Nicholas delivers this information with a grim smile, and you can see him set his face like flint for what’s about to come.
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