John Greyson Jack Lewis
Canada/Afrique du Sud 2003 35mm 105min. english/afrikaans v.o. english s-t.

Proteus is a portrait of forbidden love richly drawn from the historical records of a 400-year-old sodomy trial in South Africa. The film tells the story of Claas Blank, a young Khoi herder, who in 1725 was found guilty of stealing cattle. Blank is sentenced to hard labour on Robben Island, a penal colony off the coast of Cape Town, where he is assigned to work in the prison garden helping to cultivate the rare ‘protea’ flower. Here Blank meets Dutch sailor Rijkhaart Jacobsz, who is serving time for sodomy. Despite mutual prejudices, it’s not long before the men embark on a heated affair that transcends cultural taboos and lasts for more than 10 years. A sodomy scandal back in Amsterdam triggers the politically motivated arrest of Blank and Jacobsz on charges of "mutually perpetrated sodomy" and they are put on trial. With their lives hanging in the balance, the lovers must choose between sacrificing their lives or their love for one another. - SF