David R. Walker

Archive for July, 2026

No Good Men

Director: Sahrbanoo Sadat

Cast: Sahrbanoo Sadat, Anwar Hashimi, Yasin Negah

Running Time: 1 hour 43 minutes

Countries of Origin: Norway, Denmark, Germany and Afghanistan

Festival: Durban International Film Festival

Language: Pashto and Dari with English Subtitles.

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Afghan director Sahrbanoo Sadat both stars in and directs an autobiographical tale of a female TV reporter for Kabul News in the heady and catastrophic months before the fall of Afghanistan in April 2021 to complete rule by the Taliban after the untimely withdrawal of American troops by the Biden Administration in her new film No Good Men, which premiered at the Berlinale in February 2026.

Sadat plays the outspoken TV journalist Naru in a completely patriarchal society where even the thought of a female camerawoman is frowned upon. In No Good Men, Sadat paints all the men in Afghanistan as violent, dominant and in complete control, which is not far from the truth since the Afghan women had no rights at all. Even when Naru has to navigate looking after her three year old son Liam played by Liam Hussaini, his father, the wayward womanizing husband of Naru kidnaps the son from play school and Naru has no way of getting her child back except through complete submission to her husband.

Naru meets TV anchorman Qodat played by Anwar Hashimi, a mild mannered by strong principled handsome man who strikes up a fondness for this feisty female journalist in a society which was about to be ruled by complete patriarchy.

No Good Men with it’s vibrant beginning and  dazzling insight into Afghanistan before the Taliban took over is beautiful tale of one woman whose destiny changes forever when she meets Qodat who makes the ultimate sacrifice at the critical moment when her life undergoes a full upheaval.

With flashy scenes of Kabul News footage of wedding bombings and disastrous interviews with the inept Afghan government which simply abandoned the country the moment the American troops withdraw from Kabul, No Good Men is a poignant and funny tale of Naru and her lover Qodat whose love is never fully explored due to a country on the verge of collapse.

With funding from Norway, Denmark and Germany, No Good Men directed by Sahrbanoo Sadat is worth seeing providing an interesting romantic comedy about constrictive gender relationships, doomed love and a vibrant society on the verge being destroyed forever.

When Margaret Atwood wrote the brilliant dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale about a society in which women’s rights are completely nullified by a toxic male dictatorship she based her ideas on visiting Afghanistan in the 1980’s before the Russian invasion. No Good Men, without the pity or sadness, shines an expert light on Afghanistan before the fall and how even in these extraordinary circumstances, love can flourish.

No Good Men gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is worth seeing. Director Sahrbanoo Sadat does a brilliant job of shining a cinematic light on a forgotten country whose vibrancy has now been extinguished. Recommended viewing.

Fosta

Director: Eldon van Aswegen

Cast: Thulani Headman, Valentino Barrioseta, Black Coffee, Richie Hawtin, Ed Sheeran, Skrillex, Themba Fassie, Siphe Fassie

Running Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Languages: English and Xhosa

Country of Origin: South Africa

Festival: Durban International Film Festival

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Please note this film is a documentary.

South African cinematographer and film maker Eldon van Aswegen makes his feature film directorial debut with his film Fosta which had its world premiere at the 47^th Durban International Film Festival on Friday 24^th July 2026 and is a superb documentary about Cape Town based DJ Thulani “Fosta” Headman, who was a former gang member who effectively turns to electronic dance music as a means of transforming his life.

Expertly directed by Eldon van Aswegen, Fosta is a fascinating and relevant documentary about the successful trajectory of a former ex-convict as it traces his journey from his township roots in Langa, Cape Town to his chance meeting with Barcelona based events promoter Valentino Barrioseta who visits Cape Town to take a break from the hectic dance scene on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza.

While Barrioseta is in Cape Town he takes a tour to Langa where he meets Thulani and recognizes Thulani’s talent as an electronic music DJ. Before long the Spanish events promoter invites other international DJs including American DJ Skrillex and British Canadian DJ Richie Hawtin to Cape Town to meet Thulani “Fosta” Headman and witness his talent.

After revitalising the dance scene in Langa, Fosta recognizes the possibilities of working with an international promoter but is reluctant to just disappear overseas and not bring anything back to the community.

Fosta as a documentary has high production values and features great interviews with Fosta and the other international DJ’s as the non-fiction film follows him as he travels first to Amsterdam and then London and Glastonbury, whereby Barrioseta introduces him to some influential music festivals and exposes him to the international DJ scene.

Together with some international fundraising, Fosta, Skrillex and Valentino Barrioseta give something back to the community of Langa by building the Bridges for Music academy – https://bridgesformusic.org/ and registering the DJ and Talent music development school in the UK as a charity.

Eldon van Aswegen choses to make a vibrant documentary about Fosta combining elements of taped interviews with touches of bright yellow animation and tells a compelling story about positive transformation and skills development and the potential for the South African electronic dance music scene to shine on the international stage.

Fosta is a fantastic documentary, uplifting and innovative and is highly recommended viewing.

Fosta gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and will interest 21^st century contemporary DJ and dance music lovers. Worth seeing.

The Odyssey

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Corey Hawkins, Logan Marshall-Green, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, Samantha Morton, John Lequizamo, Benny Safdie, Himesh Patel, Jovan Adepo, Andrew Howard, Lupita N’yongo, Shiloh Fernandez, Elliot Page

Running Time: 2 hours and 52 minutes

Film Rating: 9 out of 10

After winning the best director Oscar for Oppenheimer back in 2023, Christopher Nolan takes on the daunting and dazzling task of bring Homer’s The Odyssey to the big screen and he succeeds in a majestic epic worthy of every accolade available come awards season.

The Odyssey is truly breath taking, horrifying and riveting held together by a plethora of stunning performances mainly by Matt Damon as Odysseus the lost king of Ithaca who goes away and fights in the Trojan wars and leaves his wife Penelope and young son Telemachus alone and unprotected.

Odysseus does go an epic war adventure from the bloody and ruthless capture of Troy using the infamous Trojan horse to travelling to a series of mythical islands along with his brave group of warriors as they collectively encounter cyclops, son of Zeus and the witch Circe, a terrifying performance by Oscar nominee Samantha Morton (Sweet and Lowdown, In America) who deserves another Oscar nomination, before Odysseus is washed ashore on another island and held by Calypso played by Oscar winner Charlize Theron (Monster).

He has no memory and has no idea what is happening back in Ithaca or what happened to his soldiers.

Back in Odysseus’s homeland, his now grown up son Telemachus expertly played by Tom Holland is trying to pacify the group of vicious suitors as they feast nightly at his mother’s palace. Penelope fantastically played by Oscar winner Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) is regal and unrelenting for she will not succumb to the wishes of these men who sense her vulnerability while her legendary husband is lost in the Aegean Sea. The Odyssey is as much about an adventure as it is about the family: a mother, father and a son who is trying to salvage his inheritance while clinging onto the dream that his kingdom will survive.

Anne Hathaway is extraordinary as Penelope especially in the scenes with her and her primary suitor the ruthless Antinous brilliantly played by Robert Pattinson who also deserves an Oscar nomination.

Will Odysseus come back and save Ithaca? Has the ancient world truly recovered after the Trojan wars or has the very foundations of ancient Greece been undermined causing the Gods to seek vengeance?

Christopher Nolan is a master at world building and antiquity is no exception, from the beautiful costumes by Ellen Mirojnick to the production design by Ruth de Jong, the aesthetics of The Odyssey are visually astounding accompanied by the pristine cinematography by Hoyte van Hotema in an epic poetic narrative which is as much about war and betrayal, as it is about love and vengeance.

On every level The Odyssey is monumental, an unmatched cinematic achievement which will draw the audience in from the sapphire ocean voyage among strange islands to the final climatic scene in the palace of Ithaca whereby Penelope has to test the mettle of her lustful suitors. For she knows that in the world of men, she has to show her own strength.

Possible acting Oscar nominations for Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Samantha Morton and Robert Pattinson but definite nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Sound.

See The Odyssey for the Battle of Troy. See the Odyssey for the vengeance of Odysseus. See The Odyssey for an imaginative retelling of Homer’s classic epic poem about the voyages of a strategic warrior and the impending fall of an empire.

Highly recommended viewing The Odyssey gets a film rating of 9 out of 10 and is absolutely essential viewing on the biggest screen possible.