Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema Review
By Rich Cline
Very Good
Bold, energetic and extremely complicated, this epic thriller is an eye-opening exploration of how a warped free-market turned Johannesburg into the crime capital of the world. It's long and exhausting, but strikingly well-made.
Lucky Kunene (Mamabolo then Seiphemo) grew up in poverty in Soweto with his pal Zakes (Mahloko then Nyakale). Usually in trouble for something minor, local criminal Nazareth (Zekele) takes them under his wing and teaches them more serious stuff, which they take to naturally. But Lucky's conscience keeps getting the best of him, and he eventually ends up in Johannesburg, where being the victim of a crime inspires him to combine charity with money-making. As he builds an empire as a "property developer", he makes enemies on both sides of the law.
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