Five Fingers for Marseilles

2017 South African film by Michael Matthews

Sean Drummond
Michael Matthews

Produced by

Asger Hussain
Yaron Schwartzman
Sean Drummond
Michael Matthews

StarringVuyo Dabula

Kenneth Nkosi

Zethu DlomoCinematographyShaun Harley LeeEdited byDaniel MitchellMusic byJames Matthes

Production
companies

Game 7 Films
Be Phat Motel Company

Distributed byIndigenous Film Distribution

Release dates

8 September 2017 (2017-09-08) (TIFF)
6 April 2018 (2018-04-06) (South Africa)

Running time

120 minutesCountrySouth AfricaLanguages

Xhosa
Sesotho

Five Fingers for Marseilles is a 2017 South African Neo-Western thriller film written by Sean Drummond and directed by Michael Matthews.^[1] It stars Vuyo Dabula, Zethu Dlomo, Kenneth Nkosi, Dean Fourie, Jerry Mofokeng and Warren Masemola, It was screened in the Discovery section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.^[2]

Synopsis

A member of The Five Fingers returns to colonial Marseilles after fleeing a police aggression about two decades ago, and finds his town under a new threat.

Cast

Vuyo Dabula as Tau
Zethu Dlomo as Lerato
Hamilton Dhlamini as Sepoko
Kenneth Nkosi as Bongani
Mduduzi Mabaso as Luyanda
Aubrey Poolo as Unathi
Lizwi Vilakazi as Sizwe
Anthony Oseyemi as Congo
Jerry Mofokeng as Jonah
Ntsika Tiyo as Zulu
Kenneth Fok as Wei
Warren Masemola as Thuto
Garth Breytenbach as Officer De Vries
Dean Fourie as Honest John

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80%, based on 15 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10.^[3]

Popular culture

Five Fingers for Marseilles was enlisted as one of the 8 "reimagined versions" of Western films American singer Beyonce drew inspiration from for her 2024 country studio album, Cowboy Carter.^[4]^[5]

References

^ Vourlias, Christopher (16 June 2016). "South African Thriller 'Five Fingers' Launches Production With All-Star Cast". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
^ Pond, Steve (22 August 2017). "Toronto Film Festival Adds International Films, Talks With Angelina Jolie and Javier Bardem". TheWrap. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ "Five Fingers for Marseilles (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
^ Harrison, Scoop (29 March 2024). "Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter: The Western Films That Inspired The Album". Consequence of sound. Archived from the original on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
^ Rose, Jordan (29 March 2024). "7 Things You Need To Know About Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter'". Complex. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.