‘Silverton Siege’ Review and Ending Explained – Silverton Siege is set in the 1980s and takes a lukewarm approach to its subject matter, which will undoubtedly disappoint viewers who want to learn more about this intriguing period in South African history. The film makes a gallant effort to present a balanced perspective by showing us both sides of the story. The film is directed by Mandla Walter Dube and lasts about 100 minutes.
It is based on the Silverton siege of 1980, which was one of the most spectacular occurrences in anti-apartheid history. It’s difficult to picture cliches and plot twists being injected into this story, but some claim that it was that occurrence that made America realise that violent black militancy was not going away.
Air Date: 27 April 2022
Director: Mandla Walter Dube
Production design: Chantel Carter
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The oppressed speak in a violent language. “For violence, like Achilles’ lance, can cure the wounds it has inflicted,” stated Frantz Fanon. ‘Silverton Siege,’ directed by Mandla Walter Dube, is an Afrikaans-English multilingual historical thriller film that immerses audiences in a mainly segregated South African socio-political environment. Separatists Khumalo, Masego, and Terra traveled to Silverton’s Seahorse Oil Depot on January 25, 1980.
However, their plan is jeopardised due to a snitch in the squad. As a result, they kidnap many people from a town’s central bank. The novel eventually shows the racial undercurrents that underpin people’s lives throughout the country. The ending is a little open-ended, as it leaves a lot to the imagination.
If you’re looking for answers, let’s examine the closing minutes with a magnifying glass.
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Silverton Siege (2022) Movie Plot Synopsis
Calvin Khumalo introduces himself and his group, uMkhonto we Sizwe, in the early panoramic scenes (or MK). By the end of the 1970s, the MK was no longer as dominant, and most of the country’s leaders were rotting in political prisons. They target areas like the Rooiwal Power Plant, which cause infrastructure damage but do not result in human deaths, amid rising racial tensions.
On the morning of January 25, 1980, they steadily moved into Pretoria, aiming for the Seahorse Oil Depot. However, as Khumalo and his associates Terra and her beau, Masego, arrive at the oil depot, he realises that their secrecy has been compromised.
Masego is killed in the police chase, which leads the militants to a taxi stand. With their backs against the wall, Khumalo and Terra join forces with Aldo to break into a Volkskas Bank branch in the city and kidnap a number of victims. While Captain Langerman and Inspector Schoeman begin the negotiations, a white nationalist Brigadier arrives, causing further problems.
Christine, a bank employee whose father happens to be the Minister of Justice, is the police’s top priority. The militants, on the other side, demand that they be transported to a safe location via chopper. However, as soon as Khumalo discovers that the helicopter is a trap, he considers embracing the opportunity to promote Nelson Mandela’s release.
Who Is The Informant In The Silverton Siege? Are Khumalo and Terra alive or dead?
Khumalo suspects there may be an informant in the gang after their initial operation goes bad. Otherwise, the authorities would have had no way of knowing MK was planning an attack on the Shoehorse Oil Depot ahead of time. They are unable to escape the police pursuit and enter the bank, putting the concern aside. Khumalo, on the other hand, makes it clear from away that their objective is not to take money from the bank since they are ideological fighters, not petty thieves.
They acquire a helicopter shortly after, as Captain Langerman complies with their request (an anachronistic one). However, Khumalo quickly discovers that the pilot is armed. Khumalo and the party, feeling deceived, return to the bank, dragging the pilot behind them.
Khumalo blackmails the pilot into exposing the informant’s identity. The pilot, on the other hand, assures them that he knows very little and is merely following orders. However, at a later encounter in the restroom with Aldo, the pilot reveals that he knows Aldo is the genuine informant.
To maintain secrecy, Aldo kills the pilot on the spot, telling Khumalo that he did it in self-defense. Later, when Captain Langerman goes through the doors to see if everyone is okay, Terra recalls Aldo mentioning the captain’s name, despite the fact that he wasn’t supposed to know it.
Terra kills Aldo on the spot as a result of the revelation, while the Captain informs the Brigadier that the rebels’ morale is at an all-time low. After Christine’s death at the hands of the sniper, Khumalo and Terra finally agreed to let the hostages leave the bank. The SWAT team storms the location, and the crimson tint adds to the ominous atmosphere.
With their rifles, Khumalo and Terra wreak havoc on the state militia, killing several of them. The movie, however, ends as they go out the front door. As the screen switches to the credits, we hear gunshots. Both Khumalo and Terra are said to have died in the battle, which is supported by historical evidence.
Can Nelson Mandela be Set Free in ‘Silverton Siege’ Movie?
Initially, Khumalo and his colleagues consider obtaining a helicopter from the deal and surviving the chaos. However, when they step through the bank’s entrance, they quickly discover that they have forfeited their liberty. As a hostage informs them, they only have two options: death or captivity. Then Khumalo comes up with the brilliant notion of turning a routine hostage scenario into a national movement.
As a result, he walks out in front of the onlookers, makes a spectacle of burning money, and yells, “Free Nelson Mandela!” Nelson Mandela co-founded the militant organisation uMkhonto we Sizwe to lead the anti-apartheid movement (apartheid being a sophisticated structure of social segregation). He was serving a sentence at the infamous Robben Island Prison in 1980.
Captain Langerman hands Khumalo a letter from the state president near the end of the film, confirming Mandela’s release. Since Nelson Mandela was not released in 1980, the letter is most likely a forgery. The Silverton Siege, however, sparked a worldwide Free Mandela movement, which culminated in Mandela’s release on February 11, 1990, as the concluding title cards state. The legendary leader would become the country’s first black president, ushering in a new era of reconciliation.
Should you watch it online or skip it?
The film attempts to be a thriller, but the tension is stifled by long and tediously on-the-nose discourse about the African National Congress (ANC) and its goals. The scenario is shown in a way that nearly ignores its revolutionary roots: the ANC is portrayed as a group of enraged young men who aren’t particularly idealistic and are bitter of their previous white colleagues in arms from their days in MK.
They claim that the reason for the bank’s seizure is to bring attention to the apartheid regime’s atrocities. However, it appears that there is another motive at work here.
Netflix is currently showing Silverton Siege.