Sons of the Sea: a gritty indie thriller about hope, greed and perlemoen

Sons of the Sea is a bag-of-cash thriller with a deceptively simple plot. The winner of Best South African Film at the Durban International Film Festival, this haunting, gritty and award-winning film serves as a cautionary tale about smuggling, brotherhood and greed’s power to corrupt the soul.

The film has an ecological slant, exposing an illegal fishing industry responsible for clearing some 100 million abalone, paying poachers R500 per kilogram and going for up to R8 000 a plate in China. While this is an important aspect and even frame for Sons of the Sea’s portrait, the character-driven crime drama thriller immerses itself in the lives of two brothers who become embroiled in a crime involving a stolen duffel bag.

Ordinarily, a “bag of cash” becomes a central storytelling device to link an array of usual suspects with a common goal and pit them against an unlikely hero whose mission is to recover, protect, sell or even destroy the precious cargo. Much like the ocean, Sons of the Sea is deeper, a slow-boiling local seaside caper based on the Mexican legend of El Mechudo. Writer-director John Gutierrez realises parallels in the tale of the La Paz pearler’s curse and trials of Cape fishermen who have been restricted from the ocean’s commercial treasures. In the case of Mechudo, the diver overturned a custom for the first pearl to be reserved for the Church; in Sons of the Sea, for Gabe and Michail, the “pearl” they want to prize open is a dead man’s bag of abalone.

Stumbling upon a Triad member’s bounty lying up for grabs alongside his lifeless body in a hotel room, Gabe calls his street-smart brother for a tainted second opinion. It’s not long before the brothers have convinced themselves it’s their lucky break and an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to haul in “the big one”. Taking the bag of valuable perlemoen, the two soon find themselves on the run from an eagle-eyed government official who wants to recover the loot for his own purposes.

Centred on a concierge with a bright future and his scheming brother, Sons of the Sea transforms into a suspenseful morality tale as greed motivates the young men to make a quick buck by flogging a poacher’s stash. When their dirty secret eventually bleeds out, it’s not long before a corrupt government official turned bounty hunter, Peterson, begins to catch up with them.

Sons of the Sea stars Roberto Kyle and Marlon Swarts as Gabe and Michail. Going for an unclouded sense of authenticity, Gutierrez cultivates their brotherly love/hate chemistry as the two get in over their heads. Ironically, the idiom about family and fish becomes their reality as their clean getaway is bogged down and spirals out of control. Sons of the Sea maintains a gritty docudrama edge, which is further embroidered by naturalistic performances. Nicole Fortuin supports as Gabe’s devoted girlfriend Tanya and Brendon Daniels musters as the surly Peterson in a perfectly cast role that pivots on the seasoned actor’s dexterity when it comes to playing cops and gangsters.

Set in a small fishing village on the outskirts of Cape Town, Sons of the Sea captures a slice-of-life against its iconic backdrops. Simon’s Town and Kalk Bay are world-renowned destinations where the train separates the coastline from the mountain, offering pristine views of False Bay. The spectacular sights and sounds extend from the harbour to the historic town and beyond. These moody locations cleverly juxtapose an equally divisive history and fuel Sons of the Sea’s driving undercurrent. Tapping into deeper issues stemming from colonialism, the film leverages art and history to offer greater subtext and poetry to this indie thriller.

Focussing on the characters and their ever-worsening situation, they’re brought to life by authentic, earnest and empathetic performances. Grappling with a moral dilemma through the lens of a biased history, Sons of the Sea takes on more significance and political heft, reaching beyond the confines of pure popcorn entertainment. While the duffel bag plot is fairly straightforward, its rich texture and layered social commentary make Sons of the Sea thoughtful and its characters compelling.

Gutierrez opts for a sombre and poetic mood to the drama, steering away from polished and sleek Hollywood action thrillers for a contemplative film. Through non-judgemental storytelling, the filmmaker presents Sons of the Sea on its own terms and within its own moral universe, giving it a docudrama edge. In spite of this being his directorial debut, Gutierrez wields this spirited film and passion project with self-assurance. It’s further complemented by his artful eye with some epic shots, getting the most out of the Cape of Good Hope setting from the claustrophobic seaside village’s alleys and stairways to the wide open wilderness of the nearby mountains.

While deceptively simple, Sons of the Sea offers an authentic tale, complex themes, insightful drama, solid performances and a picturesque setting anchored by a rich social commentary about greed, systems of power and the Earth’s once bounteous natural resources.