Fishy Stones

A blaxploitation film from South Africa, director Tonie van der Merwe’s Fishy Stones was made in 1990 for black audiences who were denied mainstream entertainment under apartheid. Unfortunately, it is a ludicrous comedy-drama with few redeeming qualities, although stars Popo Gumede and Hector Mathanda make a classic dumb buddies team. The two play thieves who pull off a diamond heist and are chased by cops into tall weeds. Tossing the bag of jewels, they break out of prison later to retrieve their loot, only to discover that two teenagers found it first and have hidden it. Many of the scenes are roughly competent—an early car chase makes liberal use of camera angles, although the action takes far too long, as if milking the movie’s running time. But overall the lapses are in the script, where the story ignores potential golden moments of comedy or scares and simply grows monotonous. Not recommended. (T. Keogh)