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Clip description
The ship’s engineer, a South African racist called Klipper (Richard Carter) has a plan to blow the ship by wetting the barrels of carbide, and using his model aeroplane as a trigger. In the galley, the cook (Yaw Glymin) tells him it won’t work. Sparrow, the youngest of the crew (Joel Edgerton) agrees. Klipper turns nasty, provoking a silent showdown with the Ghanaian cook.
Curator’s notes
While the film is generally well acted, there are many mysteries left unresolved – such as the lingering look that Klipper gives the cook here, after he suggests a homosexual relationship between other crew members. Is there a sexual history between them – we never find out, although it seems unlikely, given Klipper’s antipathy to other races. This element of race and sexual tension may be what the film is really about, although it’s never very clear.
