Feature film: Gebokste liefde
Love delivers a knockout blow in the movie Gebokste liefde. Zoë Laband wrote this romantic comedy and Annelize Frost was in the director’s chair.
Tarryn Wyngaard portrays Suma-Lee, a divorced single mother who loses her job as a fashion designer. To make matters worse, her shady ex-husband, Dries (Roche Kilian), is about to get married to a model, Katinka (Emma van Heyn). To deal with her frustrations, Suma-Lee reluctantly takes up boxing lessons and falls head over heels for her coach, Clive (Jandre le Roux). But his life is as messy as hers, and his ex-wife Cheryl (Megan Oberholzer) is a nutter. They must decide whether they should flee or fight for their love.
Zoë and Annelize told us more about Gebokste liefde.
Zoë, what was the inspiration behind Gebokste liefde?
I am addicted to the way romantic comedies make us feel inspired and enthusiastic about love, and the possibilities it holds for one’s life.
I thought us thirty-plusses needed a story about getting a second chance with this relationship thing. We were perhaps expecting to live ‘happily ever after’, but before we knew it, life happened and now we are hoping for a second chance.
This story was inspired by a divorced friend of mine who started dating a middle-aged bodybuilder. They had absolutely nothing in common, but he introduced her to all sorts of things she never would have experienced on her own, like canoeing, and it genuinely unlocked surprising opportunities in her life.
Why do you, as an English writer, enjoy it to create Afrikaans characters for Afrikaans audiences?
I love writing Afrikaans series and movies because it offers me great creative freedom. But make no mistake: I work together with wonderful translators, because I am not bilingual.
My first Afrikaans project was Hartklop, the medical drama I created for kykNET and was head writer of. It was the most fun I have ever had with writing.
I love creating Afrikaans characters and seeing how excellent Afrikaans actors brought them to life in this movie, gives me immense pleasure.
Annelize, why do you think viewers should watch this movie?
Zoë’s screenplay is very original with lovely characters, and the storyline is finely balanced between humour, drama and sincerity. I could relate to Suma-Lee’s fighting spirit on a personal level, because I also took up boxing in my thirties to get over heartbreak.
I believe that any woman, young or old, can identify with the female characters. We all are somebody’s best friend, we are career-driven mothers with big dreams while we struggle to balance our personal lives with our careers, and also to cope with unreasonable bosses. We all have been an ex in a story, at some stage we fall for the wrong guy, and our hearts get broken.
Zoë, Gebokste liefde represents a range of different women and the relationships between women. It also shows that we all need a second chance. Tell us more about these aspects of the movie.
As a woman, I am past the stage of thinking a romantic relationship is the ultimate goal in life, and I wanted this film to reflect this message. Suma-Lee doesn’t only fall in love with a man who truly loves, respects and admires her for who she really is, the most important thing is that she learns to love herself.
Having meaningful and fulfilling relationships with other women is an important aspect of this. Friendship is extremely important, and I think it is underrepresented on television and in movies.
Tarryn Wyngaard possesses that special quality a leading lady should have. Please tell us about her acting career, how she made Suma-Lee her own and what it is like working with her.
Annelize: This is Tarryn’s first romantic movie. She is a fiery, vigorous person and an impressive actress.
Her preparation and commitment were incredible. She had to learn to box in a very short time and we were adamant that her and Jandre’s boxing scenes should look authentic. She trained for hours on end with a coach.
She was scheduled to appear in every single scene that was shot over eighteen days, so we had to work fast. We also couldn’t shoot the scenes consecutively, so Tarryn had to jump around portraying the character’s development: from fashion designer to amateur boxer, from being unfit to having a six pack! She showed up breezy and committed every day, and it took her only a few seconds to understand exactly what I wanted from a scene.
Tarryn and Jandre have a wonderful chemistry between them – did you know from day one that they would be your lead actors?
Annelize: When Tarryn and Jandre met for the first time as Suma-Lee and Clive, all the pieces of the puzzle came together.
One can’t help but like Jandre instantly; he is funny and a gentleman who wears his heart on his sleeve. Tarryn is beautiful and exceptional, and she stands her ground in a conversation. The chemistry between them was real. They also immediately grasped their characters.
Zoë, how does it feel to observe these actors as they bring your characters to life?
It was an unbelievable experience. I couldn’t be happier with the casting. I wanted them to be extreme opposites – they come from totally different backgrounds, and I think we succeeded in capturing that visually.
Jandre is so big and tall, and Tarryn so petite. They are such an unlikely couple, but when you see them together, it all makes sense. I think it was a luck shot.
The soundtrack contributes significantly to the storytelling. How did you decide on it?
Zoë: I think music and romantic comedies go hand in hand. The soundtrack becomes part of the story, and we wanted to achieve this in the movie. I wanted a very local and region-specific soundtrack that says: ‘Cape Town 2024’. The music gives a local, raw energy to the film.
Annelize: Helmut Meijer composed the theme song for the boxing scene and the soundtrack, and we approached South African singers for the commercial music. Spoegwolf’s ‘Bokser’ and Riku Lätti’s ‘Smoorverlief’ were some of my favourites.