Spoor

A monumentally hamfisted movie set in 1901 South Africa, when the British under Kitchener were fighting the insurgent Boers. A neurotic, Sandhurst-starched captain (Ridley) obsessively tries to hunt down an elusive guerilla general. With him go a brooding Afrikaaner scout, the Observer correspondent who shudders at the notion of 'participation', and two gin-swilling, recalcitrant privates. In addition to their hysterically wooden performances, an insulting script, misuse of location, and extremely laborious pace make this a must to avoid.