Semi-Soet (2012) Poster

(2012)

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8/10
For anyone who has waited to see a good Afrikaans movie.
jhpstrydom11 June 2012
Finally an Afrikaans movie that does the very thing I've wanted other films to do for so long, to be more precise, past Afrikaans films had the knack for having characters with less personality than paper plates and a dialog that is so outdated their characters talk in ways that Afrikaans people haven't talked in years and they use words that are probably not even in the dictionary anymore, basically what I've been saying what Afrikaans film makers should do is develop characters and give them a personality and dialog that fit in with how people are today, of course I always get shot down by people telling me "you have to cater for older audiences as well." If that's the attitude of every film maker then he or she should stop before they start because film making can be an ungrateful business if it wants to be, its better to be ahead of the pack then to be treading in their footsteps.

SEMI SOET does everything perfectly in terms of character development and dialog it is absolutely flawless in that aspect, each of the characters are so well developed you can immediately tell who's likable and who is not, the acting is probably best I've ever seen in an Afrikaans movie and even though the plot bares a little resemblance toward THE PROPOSAL and COUPLES RETREAT, a lot of the jokes and situations are very inventive and it has a certain charm to it that the other two films don't completely have.

All in all, its a must see for anyone whose waited to see a good and very entertaining Afrikaans movie.

Plus, if you're an aspiring Afrikaans film maker that wants to get into the business, watch 7DE LAAN on how not to develop a good story, I know its South Africa's favorite soap opera but it should actually be called a plastic cheese opera to emphasize the plastic acting and the cheesy dialog, its also a good example of what film makers are doing wrong in the Afrikaans market.
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7/10
Not Bad ... Not Great, But Not Bad!
alexthewriter9 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Sometimes when I travel to South Africa for business, I pick the worst movies to see while I'm there. With Semi-Soet, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, you've probably seen much of it before and American audiences of Sandra Bullock's "the Proposal" will be picking apart the similarities, but all in all in had its own brand of charm that was quite refreshing.

What was especially fun about the lead characters is that while they both had an agenda, neither was so self-absorbed that you felt a distaste for them along the way. Too often movies try to make characters interesting by making them selfish so that by the end, you really don't care what happens next. In Semi-Soet, I was glad to keep watching them and had no problem keeping up.

Very clever of the movie makers to set part of the movie in South Africa's wine country, a great advert for tourists but it was nothing that was distracting in any way. The beautiful scenery was just what was needed to give the audience a breath of fresh air. All in all, not a bad afternoon at the cinema and a something I hope to see more of from SA filmmakers.
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8/10
romantic comedy yay waited for this
RedRainbowUnicorn2320 January 2015
This was a GOOD Afrikaans movie.with a GOOD Cast anal Alexander,Nico Panagio,Sandra Vuaghn en Diaan Lawrenson. This is the type of movie I was waiting for in Afrikaans and it was not cheesy at all it was just plain good comedy and you laugh through out the movie form beginning to end the intro to the movie is Hollywood standard as well as the ending good job!!!! This movie is about Jaci a workaholic who just lives for her work a mindless businessman want to take over her company and the only way she can save it is to win another contract.But in order to be able to qualify for the contract is for Jacki to be In a relationship.So she hires a. Model to play her fiancé but mistakenly take the mindless businessman for the model. You can only imagine what follows. A hilarious comedy. Loved it!!!!!
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10/10
South African comedy/romance comes of age!
mark-296-18365119 February 2012
I thought it was just great....lots of fun, great wit, stunning scenery and a clear sign to me that the SA movie industry is moving forward at pace...congratulations!! it's a must see, don't forget the biltong, popcorn and Koeksisters !! Anel Alexander and Nico Panagio were just the biz, and for someone who can't speak Afrikaans - thanks for the sub-titles ; )

I thoroughly enjoyed the humour and capers, and the Vrede en Lust wine farm setting did more than add an important dimension to the movie, it was a great advertisement for the beauty of SA...reminds me that it's time for another tour of the wine lands !!

Finally, and perhaps most important, its' becoming clear that South Africans are more willing than ever to poke fun at themselves, a sure sign of maturity....long may that continue !
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6/10
Cheesy, funny, delightful!
paulclaassen28 June 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this! From the actors to the interesting concept, I loved every minute! There were a few cheesy moments and events that were unconvincing and for the sake of the plot only, but despite this the film in general was thoroughly enjoyable.
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9/10
Simply one of the Best!!!
moosthuizen9 October 2012
Warning: Spoilers
By far the best Afrikaans movie I have ever watched!

Semi Soet perfectly balances the comedy we've come to expect from the actors playing in the movie, with the seriousness the storyline requires for such a production. Although it may be a bit on the slapstick side, the well written script in my opinion more than makes up for this, and the cast & crew pulled the job off perfectly.

Beautiful scenery of the wine-lands, as well as references to common practices found in such places just adds to the realism of the movie- although in a couple of scenes I'd say it would have been better to have left the slang used for punchlines in English- rather than translate the word(s) to Afrikaans and causing them to lose their effectiveness.

Still, I cannot help but recommend this movie to everybody who prefers a good movie for (almost) the whole family.
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8/10
Bitter-soet
soezaan11 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not very much a fan of Afrikaans film as it is usually too painful to watch how hard the film-makers try to emulate Hollywood.

Unfortunately with Semi-soet this occurs once again. Especially with the directly translated or rather Anglicism cliché's here and there; if the writers of Semi-soet did their homework thoroughly this film could have been close to perfect.

This all said, Semi-soet is one of my go to films when I'm in the mood for something light hearted and I'm missing home, as it is fun and sweet with a delightful storyline.

I suppose it is also because of the rather wonderful and talented cast that plays their roles in a very convincing manner despite a sometimes corny dialogue.

The music was also very cleverly chosen and well suited to each scene.

Semi-soet is one of the better Afrikaans movies available. That is if you are looking for some easy entertainment.
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1/10
Absolutely terrible, follows Afrikaans films plothole production method
omerdvir8 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The movie is so predictable yet so out of tune. The movie constantly goes out of its and logics way to make sure they get the setting they want. A wine company that needs their advertisers to be in a relationship. A women hires a model to be her husband but she never in fact meets the model only her enemy yet this never comes to her attention perhaps when the agency calls to say there is no model or the actual model comes in to meet her. How does it turn out she's competing with her ex-fiancé and how doesn't the owner fix the issue. What's worse is that after all of this plot rigging they resolve it in the least imaginative way possible. The man feels betrayed and leaves from an unpredictable event destroying her chances and securing ownership of the business but somehow he does secure ownership of the business and he doesn't destroy it as previously expected he makes their lives better so what was all the nonsense about. More than that they secure the contract that would have ensured he can't buy them out yet if still happened. This is a tremendous case of the movie ended so make it all better and no one will pay attention. Absolutely disgusted.
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