RHUMBELOW FILM CLUB

ON THE BIG SCREEN

Cunningham Rd, Umbilo

A CASUALTY OF WAR  (1989)
Frederick Forsyth

David Threlfall. Tom Rowse ; Shelley Hack. Monica Browne ; Amanda Burton. Nicola ; Alan Howard. Sam McCready ; Clarke Peters. Grover T. Fleming.

6.30pm WED 28 FEB  2024  

(Venue opens 60 minutes before show for snacks/drinks) 

Running Time:  96 min (excluding 15 minute interval)

Public Screening licensed through
MPLC (Motion Picture Licensing Company). License No  5551

The Film & Publication Board -  Exhibitor License FPB8/2022/233051

David Threlfall stars as Tom Rowse, a retired British secret service agent turned thriller novelist who is brought back into the world of espionage for one last job. The mission - foiling a Libyan plot to supply the IRA with a massive shipment of high-tech weapons in order to wreak revenge upon the UK for their support and co-operation with the US during the 1986 bombing of Libya and the attempted assassination of Colonel Gaddafi.

Frederick Forsyth's thrillers are always impressive for their exactness in realism, as he always knows what he is writing about, his plot precision usually being impeccably convincing and at the same time both human, questioning and amazingly skilful in their construction. The dialog is always intelligent and precise, and usually all values of the cause being fought for are being doubted and questioned. That puts him above both Ian Fleming and Alistair Maclean, whose thrillers generally suffer from artificial construction. This thriller is a typical example of Forsyth's style, made after the Libyan crisis of spring 1986, speculating in the possible retributions of colonel Khadaffi after Reagan's bomb attack on his quarters on 26th April. What the film and story does not show is the reason for the American attack, which then was published as a revenge for a night club with Americans in Berlin supposedly blown up by Libyans, but that was widely questioned and never proved. We know today that Khadaffi's revenge became the Lockerbie disaster in 1988, but that was still unknown when this story was written. We have some great actors here like David Thelfall in the lead with Alan Howard as Sam MacReady, his employer, a character he played in many films, making the MacReady character his own. The story takes us from London to Hamburg, to Vienna, to Libya and to Cyprus, while the final rendez-vous is at sea. The tension, the sustained plot constantly increasing in higher gear, the confrontations, everything is first class, although you might object against the brutality, like David Thelfall's wife does, who perhaps never wants to see him again - we shall never know, that issue is left hanging. There are more casualties than one, towards the end they are doubled, but the conflict between the Libya of Khadaffi and America was no picknick row, and we all know how it ended - at least temporarily.

Food available at the venue.

Attendance is restricted to

 RHUMBELOW FILM CLUB MEMBERS ONLY (NO CHARGE)

Membership for JAN – JUN 2024 R 300-00 - GUESTS R 100-00 ea 

Limited secure parking available    

Booking is essential.  

Bar Available (no alcohol may be brought on to the premises)

Cell 0824998636           

BOOKINGS ON EMAIL PLEASE : roland@stansell.co.za 

Private Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/887792919282200

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