In South Africa, although Apartheid is officially over, the divides and inequalities it created are far from history. The 'coloured' community in Cape Town, once displaced under Apartheid to live on wastelands, continues to suffer from a historical lack of education, infrastructure and security.
Two rival gangs control the Cape Flats, of South Africa's most notorious coloured communities, where it seems inevitable that countless youths are sucked into joining either the Americans or the Hard Livings gangs. Young people see the extravagant gangsters as role models, and many join gangs find a sense of belonging, while more still join to find safety in numbers. Odd Number tells the story of one such man's decline into gangsterism and eventual redemption as he starts a new life as an artisan plumber.
The documentary focuses around the dramatic turnaround in the life of Rashaad Adendorf, who discovered his faith whilst in jail for murders he committed as a gang hit-man. The story is driven by Adendorf's recounting and reenactment of pivotal events in his life. Reenactment tends to be a risky strategy in filmmaking, but in Odd Number, these scenes are performed by Adendorf himself, which not only lends a sense of genuineness to the film, but brings a raw, believable quality to the already shocking moments.
The film explores the oxymoronic humanity of gangsters, and leads the audience through the constant contrast of the current, gentle Adendorf, who narrates the film, and the violent, unfeeling Adendorf whose story unfolds. This contrast is beautifully set up in the opening scene ; two perfectly shot sequences of Adendorf's hands caressing first pieces of cut plumbing pipe, then a handful of bullets and a gun. This opening scene serves as a perfect summary of the rest of the piece; it is well-shot, believable, and at times explosive and shocking. The film contains a great deal of violent material, but the film is not melodramatic. The socio-economic situation of the gangsters is explored, but the film does not present them as mere pawns in history; they are presented as having agency and held accountable for their actions.
After watching Odd Number, many audience members may feel ambivalence towards Rashaad Adendorf. However, I doubt that there will be any ambivalence about the quality of this incredibly watchable film.