"The Wilby Conspiracy" is a strange film--there's no way around that. Now this isn't to say it's bad, but its unpredictability and very unusual plot left me feeling a bit bowled over by the whole thing.

The first portion of the film looked a bit like a re-working of the Sidney Poitier-Tony Curtis film "The Defiant Ones" and according to IMDb, the studio played this up to the hilt. Portier has spent the last ten years as a political prisoner in a South African jail and has just received his release. As he and his lawyer and Michael Caine (who has no discernible reason for being there) leave the court, they are attacked by police and he and Caine beat the crap out of the two cops. Naturally, this is NOT going to make the rest of the police happy and the two men are now on the run. But it's not exactly like the earlier film--they are NOT handcuffed together and the don't hate each other.

The film abruptly changes and moves into very strange territory. It then becomes a film all about the smuggling of diamonds to the rebels outside of South Africa. And, for much of the rest of the film there are plots, counter-plots and a lot of action near the end. It's all pretty interesting--just not what I'd expected. And while it is obviously an anti-Apartheid film, the message is a bit lost (at times) in the process. In other words, it's not as clearly anti-Apartheid as later films such as "A Dry White Season" or "Biko". This isn't a complaint--more just an observation about the overall tone of the film. I did enjoy it--it certainly was entertaining. My only complaint is that there were two sex scenes that seemed to have absolutely no reason for being there. I am not a prude--it just looked a bit sloppy and pointless. Still, with the rest of the film being rather strong, this can easily be overlooked.

By the way, if you care, this is Rutger Hauer's first non-Dutch film.

A précis of the plot suggests a political drama with lots of speeches and demonstrations of brutality on the part of the South African police during the apartheid era.

Well, there is some brutality towards the end, but it's not bathetic. The stern, sadistic, patriotic, and ironic agent of national security -- Nicole Williamson in a charged performance -- is unexpectedly shot through the forehead and slumps expressionless to the ground. Nobody feels any guilt, although they probably should. Williamson himself might not even care except that his anti-black-congress activities are now interfered with by his own demise. Also, his final thought may have been, "At last, I can quit smoking."

The first half is positively funny. Nobody is better at indignant shock than Michael Caine, who is given some witty lines. Poitier, on the other hand, is more grim and dedicated to the cause of ending apartheid. Some of the other characters add color. Saeed Jaffrey is a trembling Indian dentist. Persis Khambatta is a fellow dentist and a fox both stunning and cunning. I have no idea why she copulates with Poitier, a total stranger, in a closet while police are searching the house, though I understand why Poitier might chance it.

Moments of suspense and comedy, nicely woven together and directed with no particular poetry by Ralph Nelson.

It made me laugh aloud at times. You'll probably like it if you like up-tempo pursuits and intrigues.

A fun politically charged, fast-paced action drama. No politically correct dialog here, as the principals give no quarter when the name calling and racial badgering ensues. A White man and a Black man are thrown together on a political twist of fate and have to overcome their mutual disdain for one another if either of them is to survive. Caine and Poitier, in my humble estimation, do a bang-up job of fulfilling the requirements of their respective roles. Neither widely known nor often mentioned, Prunella Gee does a nice job as Caine's sweetheart and Poitier's legal/political confidant, especially as it pertains to her keeping the peace between them so that they can achieve the task at hand.

What is also interesting is to see that even though Indian people and indigenous Blacks were similarly discriminated against in S. Africa (esp. during apartheid),there is still racial friction between those two groups. Not particularly earth-shattering news to many people, but a subject not often underscored in most modern cinematic fare.

If you like political melodrama with good plot development and plenty of action, you should like this one.