Romantic comedy starring Christina Storm and Kurt Darren. Lisa Sneiders is a hot-headed and tempestuous model who is engaged to superstar and musical genius Dirk de Jong.
Ek Lief Jou had its South African premiere in 2011, starring two top South African celebrities. Christina Storm is a fashion model and actress better known for her much publicized and turbulent relationship with South African Springbok player James Small. She plays the role of a hot-headed and tempestuous model, named Lisa Sneiders, who is engaged to superstar and musical genius Dirk de Jong. Kurt Darren, meanwhile, portrays her fiancé. He is one of South Africa’s most popular and loved musicians, having emerged in the local music industry in 1995. Since then, he has released 21 albums and starred in four movies. Between 2007 and 2011, he also won seven South African Music Awards. Twelve of his hits were also released in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, a trait he shares with his fictional character, Dirk de Jong.
The movie begins at a wedding ceremony, with a rather superficial Afrikaans narration about the meaning of love. Viewers are then taken to Belgium, where Flemish is the spoken language. There, audiences are introduced to journalist Anna de Clerck, played by Belgian actress Ilse de Vis, who expresses that she would rather cover a significant story, like AIDS, poverty, or racism in Africa, rather than a casting contest for an egotistical South African musician. As is common in typical romantic dramas, Dirk de Jong happens to be standing right behind her and he overhears these hurtful comments. It is striking to notice the similarities between Afrikaans and Flemish. It’s almost comparable to a cockney Englishman hearing the Queen’s English: one cannot speak the other’s language, but both can certainly understand what the other is saying.
Dirk returns home to his tempestuous yet lovely fiancé , Lisa . Lisa is his personal manager and his right hand in business affairs, but she has her own hidden agenda, motivated by greed and lust for her secret lover, Dirk’s business associate. A twist occurs when Lisa, much to Dirk’s dismay, recommends Anna, who has traveled to South Africa to report on the contest, as a dancer for Dirk’s music DVD. She saw Anna dance when the latter was watching auditioning contestants. Lisa gives Dirk sound business advice and wins over his trust, but their home affairs are bleak. In order for Lisa to get her hands on fifty percent of Dirk’s earnings, she needs to marry him urgently, so she pressures Dirk to marry her, constantly planning the wedding and finding his nonchalant manner most annoying. Dirk, then, finds himself momentarily alone with Anna. He sings some songs to her with his guitar and pours his heart out, explaining how the small things he loved about Lisa have become serious irritations since their engagement.
Andre Frauenstein stars as Dirk’s half-brother and sound engineer, Danie. He dislikes Lisa and continuously plays tricks on her, and since Lisa is his manager, she gets back at him by adding to his workload. Danie, in turn, records proof of Lisa’s true colors. Meanwhile, Anna finds Dirk to be a charitable musician and reports so to her office. However, she is told to investigate him for corruption. Anna records her findings but does not report them, in order to talk to Dirk first, and when Lisa finds this recording, she reveals it to Dirk in order to expose Anna as an untrustworthy reporter. Dirk, stymied by this discovery, leaves with Lisa in an open game range vehicle, followed by Danie and Anna. Eventually, Anna reveals to Danie that she has feelings for Dirk and they head back to the lodge. However, Danie rolls his vehicle and, simultaneously, Dirk’s and Lisa’s ride overheats and breaks down, further complicating this dramatic love story.
Although Ek Lief Jou has two of South Africa’s top celebrities, the story itself is a rather pointless romance. The screenwriter, Deon Meyer, also wrote Jakkalsdans, with which he won major acclaim in 2011. Supposedly, the main plot of Ek Lief Jou revolves around a DVD being produced by Dirk de Jong, but this is somehow forgotten. The movie is either for people who enjoy sappy “chick flicks” or for Kurt Darren’s audience, as he sings the majority of the soundtrack, performs on stage, and even intimately plays his guitar around campfire scenes.
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