Film Information
Taking place around Albie Sachs' 90th birthday, Albie: A Strange Alchemy is a biographical documentary about the extraordinary life of anti-apartheid activist turned constitutional court judge. The inclusion of different forms of art, symbolism, and archive denotes a deep and surreal spirituality within Albie's perspectives on life, law and liberation, which are mapped across the linear tapestry of Albie's involvement in opposing racial segregation. These are augmented by concurrent elaborations of Albie's vivid dreams, and his influences from African contemporary art.
REVOLUTION TO RECONCILIATION
When young, Sachs was completely transformed and absorbed by revolutionary struggle, having been arrested for the first time at age 17. Now old, he ponders various thoughts about the value of South Africa's constitution, dreams of the metaphorical mountain of justice and the misconception of the valour of violence. In between was a great period of exile where Sachs formed a family, explored cultural groups, and began to develop the reconciliatory framework for which they are now known.
The film uses a linear arc to trace back the history of South Africa's "most durable exile" from an ideal-driven revolutionary, struck by an attempted assassination, to jurist committed to creating a democratic 'boring society' where such supposed banality is borne from the sacrifice, such as when Albie Sachs lost their arm from a car bomb. Visually, we are introduced to Sach's thoughts and dreams throughout this period, which are depicted as a surreal experience. Art is very important to the film, so much so that much of its attention is paid to the wooden sculptures which Sachs gently adores in various cut-out scenes.
His story matches the history of South Africa itself, parts of which are explored through archival footage. Beautiful and metaphysical current-day tassels are presented in the form of Albie's thoughts on the vagaries of life between the darkness of an explosion, the meaning of vengeance, and the objective of freedom. This is in the same way that South Africans today grapple with the ramifications of the apartheid system and the nation's nascent democracy.
THE STRANGE IN THE ALCHEMY
There is also a focus on the more philosophical component of Albie Sachs' beliefs. Shown are the 'township art' of a South Africa sculptor in exile and the human-centred paintings of a Mozambican artist. Albie Sachs has a deep appreciation for this 'strange alchemy' which served to create a foundation for African modern art.
Also mentioned is the history of Stephanie Sachs, an underground Marxist who organised against apartheid from London, and was married to Albie Sachs for a while. But Stephanies are scarcely shown on-screen, being present in her absence. Family, art and the psychic soul are brilliantly weaved into a story of struggle and liberation. These show the influence of these ways of life on Albie Sachs' determination, tenacity and outlook.
Restorative justice, as a response, may seem absurd given the atrocities of apartheid. But there is a dream, contestable but resilient, which sees the path forward as the path which alchemises our experiences into something vivid, durable, and just. The film shows us these dreams through vivid imaginative scenes. One might consider not being too overzealous in one's pursuit of freedom. "Perhaps the mission of those who love mankind is to make people laugh at the truth. To make the truth laugh". The film thus presents reconciliation as strange, but also transformative.
