The Smell of Apples review highlights apartheid-era privilege in white South Africa
Reviewers describe the film The Smell of Apples as a depiction of affluent Afrikaner family life in mid-1970s South Africa.
Visual style and setting
Production designer Birrie Le Roux created a detailed one-way time capsule to the mid-1970s. Director John Trengove uses soft lighting to show summer-burnt perfection in the scenes. The production features specific details like short school uniforms and patterned kitchen tiles.
Narrative perspective and tone
The story is told through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy who lacks innocence. His growing awareness reveals how much he does not know about his surroundings. The film avoids nostalgia while showing egregious abuses supporting that family life.
Context and literary source
The movie is drawn from a 1993 novel by Mark Behr that serves as a set text in schools. It joins other recent adaptations articulating experiences of white people living inside an Apartheid bubble. The narrative provides peripheral views of the black majority during this era.
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