Best movies like Van der Merwe

Leon Schuster (Schuks) returns to prank unsuspecting South Africans. Helping him round up everyday victims are Rob van Vuuren, Lare Brink, and all-time favourite Alfred Ntombela.

Katrien (Cherié van der Merwe) is dumped by her boyfriend, high school rugby star Werner (Altus Theart), so he can focus his energy on the sport. To get even, she makes a bet with her friends that she can make a star out of the school's dorkiest boy, 'Wimpie' Koekemoer (Ivan Botha), by pretending to be his girlfriend. The awkward Koekemoer rises to the challenge but Katrien finds herself falling unexpectedly in love with him, until he realizes she is merely using him.

Juan returns to Cape Town with his family from their life in England when he discovers his mother is dying. She insists she wants her conflicted son to reconcile with his alcoholic dad, but all the younger man remembers of his childhood is disappointment and shame and although he wants to be with his mother he intensely dislikes his father, though it's probably more a case of Juan hating who he is himself, because of his father.

An Afrikaans story about a chubby 17-year old (Kallie) who struggles to fit in in his new school. On top of that, luck has it that he falls in love with the school bully's sister.

Abel is preparing for a special gift to himself on his 50th Birthday. He wants to find himself a new face, that of a beautiful young woman. Ella Nesser is the attractive, but inexperienced murder detective, in charge of the case to track down the serial killer who has been praying on the city's young woman. When Abel develops an obsession with not only her face, but also her tattooed skin - the Hunter becomes the Hunted.

The son of a banker decides to steal money from the bank to double it through gambling and then returning it. Unfortunately for him, he is being watched as he succeeds, and interesting events and twists follow.

Basson has five days to make it to his father's funeral in Cape Town, but needs to complete certain tasks on this trip before he can call the family company his own. On the road he meets free-spirited bohemian girl, Amory. As they journey across the breathtaking landscape of South Africa, they meet wonderful characters that allow for hilarious moments and life-changing experiences. Their trip takes a sudden turn for the worst when a villainous figure makes an appearance. Basson and Amory are faced with disappointment and heartache. On the road called life, it is inevitable that you will take some wrong turns. But no matter how hard the road might be, on route to true love is where you will find your true north.

A mother and her son are kidnapped by a group of rebel deserters. In a desperate attempt to rescue them, the father and his assistant ranger tracks down the group to save his family from being harmed.

When Hanky Pranky (alias Schucks), star of a candid camera TV show, loses his job to affirmative action, he applies for a job at a stress academy. It´s not long before Schucks discovers his new boss, Jack Paddaman, is as crooked as they come, but it´s too late: the employment contract is signed and sealed.A year passes, and Schucks is no better off. However, his candid camera videos, which poke fun at all sectors of post-1994 South Africa, prove a big hit with stressed-out government ministers. When the president asks Paddaman to make a movie to benefit street children, Schucks and his pals do all the hard work while Paddaman plans how he can get hold of the profits from the video sales. Add a scatterbrained secretary, a lovelorn traffic cop and a cunning street child and you have a roll-in-the aisles comedy with a distinctly South African flavour.

A young teacher from Oudtshoorn, Cybil Ferreira, will do anything in her power to ensure the success of her project at the small farm school, Kalfieskraal. Cybil dreams about establishing a centre at the school that will provide a safe haven for the local children. The problem is, Cybil’s dream is in danger of collapsing before it even gets off the ground. The land Kalfieskraal is situated on is for sale, and none of the possible buyers are interested in her project. Not even her wealthy fiancée, ostrich farmer Meyer Labuschagne, could be bothered about her project or the fate of the children. Then Frans Coetzee comes into the story. A filmmaker with a broken heart, he is in the Klein Karoo with his team to make a documentary about social upliftment work in the area - and in the process hopefully forget about women, love, and all the baggage that comes with it.

The story is about Poenie (Franscois Coertze) who burns his scrotum with a welding iron while working on his car and lands in hospital a few days before he is to marry the virgin Martie. This is the first mishap in a series of disasters and misunderstandings that provides many belly-clutching laughs. As Poenie's father Frikadel (Zak du Plessis) puts it, "Die seun sit sy voet uit die voordeur uit en dan is hy kniediep in die kak!"

The Unitas u/21 rugby team hero, Wimpie Koekemoer, is offered a contract to play rugby in England. Katrien rehearses a play with autistic children, while doing everything in her power to keep Wimpie in the country. Fanie is struggling to get used to Christie's post-high school chubby body and Japie is experiencing a very embarrassing problem in his sexual pursuit of Liezl... Muscle man, Werner "Killer" Botha joins the Unitas rugby team and threatens Wimpie's position in the team. (Written by Henk Pretorius)

The Fouchés, an Afrikaans family, arrive at the ATKV Buffelspoort resort for the holidays, only to find that their regular caravan spot has been taken over by the Khumalos. Much hilarity ensues as the two families engage in madcap tit-for-tat exchanges and shenanigans. Meanwhile the owner of the site is hoping to gain an extra star on his rating, with inspections due shortly. The last thing he needs is the chaos of two families fighting

The misadventures Vaatjie Venter, a talented pastry chef and the top student at the hotel school where he is training. Vattjie becomes the lead candidate to win a scholarship to train under world famous master chef Pierre Cousteau in Paris. But Vaatjie's charmed life is tested to its limits when his jealous classmate James tries to prevent Vaatije from winning the opportunity of a lifetime.

The original 1975 feature film about the mischievous young Trompie and the misadventures he and his gang of friends embark upon, based on the books by Topsy Smith.

Somer Son tells the story of a thirty something couple that decided to break away on a last gasp holiday to Mozambique in an attempt to get their marital spark back. Pieter and Sonja (played by Reynard Slabbert and Juanita De Villiers) still love each other, but question their relationship. Sonja feels the fact that they can’t fall pregnant is a sign that the relationship is in serious trouble. Pieter had a vasectomy because he chose to focus on his career as a successful lawyer but keeps this dark secret from Sonja. A dream holiday in paradise might be the answer… but an accident along the way sends them on an unexpected adventure.

After Fanie takes Dinky, a strong Zulu woman, to his Afrikaans family wedding, the two find an unexpectedly fun cross-cultural romance. But in order to marry Dinky, Fanie must negotiate to pay Lobola (a South African dowry).

When Clara Brand discovers that her husband is cheating on her with her friend and colleague, she plots her revenge, all the while juggling new friendships, new romances and the rediscovery of her passion for food.

Rugby hero, Wimpie Koekemoer, and his wild friends return to our screens in the third instalment of the successful Bakgat! movies. Newly engaged couple, Wimpie and Katrien, move to London where Wimpie has received a contract to play rugby. However, he has to face stark reality when he arrives and realises that his dreams of fame and fortune were only an illusion. His apartment is everything but the palace he had imagined - and his teammates make his life unbearable from the get go.

Treurgrond tells the painful story of a farming community in South Africa trying to survive the numerous farm attacks confronting farmers almost every day. These gruesome acts affect not just those closely related to the victims, but set in motion a chain of events. Amidst the pressure and anxiety increased by the growing number of farm murders, Lukas Van Staden tries to protect his family, his friends and his farm.

Follows the deterioration of an Afrikaner family isolated and shunned in the small community of Toorwater. Nothing seems to happen. Then a circus train loses its way and comes to rest in Toorwater, and a mysterious clown brings fresh magic to the stagnating family, but he also poses a threat to the rest of the community.

The traumatic experience of a standard 9 (grade 11) Elizabeth who feels the influence of her parents divorce, during a period of sexual awakening. Based on the novel by Maretha Maartens.

Faan se Trein is about a simple-minded man living in a tiny Karoo community. When his father dies, leaving all his possessions to Faan and the church, greed rears its head and divides the community... Until love restores their sanity.

Len van Jaarsveld used to be on the top of his game. As one of the country’s leading music producers he had it all: the stars, the hits, the connections and the. But it all came crashing down: his wife left him, his bands abandoned him, the creditors moved in and he found himself on the street with nothing. As he’s about to hit rock bottom Len is introduced to a rising new star Robbie de Wee. A shy young man with an amazing natural talent, this youngster has success written all over him. Len sees this kid as a ticket back into the music industry and he’s determined to make him a star. He takes Robbie on, organizing tours, publicity, music videos and helps Robbie climb the ladder to stardom while rediscovering his own formidable business talents. But when a young girl is found dead in the singer’s hotel room, Len goes into overdrive to protect his star from the media and the authorities.

I am Luna van Wyk. A 14 year old girl. This is the story of Mignon "Mossie" Van Wyk, my older sister. Oh and her best friend Adriaan Prinsloo, who I think she should marry. But that's just me. For some weird reason Mossie falls in love with older guys - enter Leon Rossouw - obviously without a shirt. This is a story about love, naturally, but it's more about being a teenager and how rough life can be. It's a story about monsters and running shoes. About letting go and holding on. About friendship. It's a story about my sister and how she learns to fly.

This multi-faceted drama, which depicts a group of intellectual Afrikaners struggling with pertinent moral, ethical and racial issues in apartheid South Africa, is widely acknowledged as one of Jans Rautenbach’s finest films.

This affirming story of one woman's struggle to free herself from the past, and how that affects the small fishing village where she lives, shows that faith can move mountains, or unmake them. When the seamstress Klara loses her father and her fiance at sea, she decides she never wants to see the ocean again. She builds her house behind a huge sand dune, and even refuses to eat fish. Several years later, however, she receives news that makes her start carting away the dune, bucket load by bucket load. It turns out her boyfriend is alive, and that hes been living in Cape Town for the past six years. He ran off because he made a local girl pregnant a pregnancy attributed to the local schoolmaster. As the villagers watch Klara move the dune, they begin examining their own lives, and the entire community undergoes a wondrous rejuvenation.

Rip van Wyk, a slow-witted Afrikaner, is transported from the 1850s to 1959.

This engaging Afrikaans comedy/romance is about the power of love and music to transport and inspire, and to make dreams come true – sometimes. Fanie (Frederik Burgers), a struggling producer/composer, needs to write a winning song to keep his agent happy and his company in work, but, alas, he’s lacking inspiration. Until, that is, his musical partner Ben (Al Debbo) starts dreaming – and singing in his sleep – about a beautiful girl, all in operetta style. Seizing this Cupid-sent gift, Fanie secretly tapes Ben’s songs. The delighted agent pushes for more songs to produce a full-scale musical, which means Fanie has to keep Ben dreaming, and stay awake to tape the songs. All goes well until Ben suddenly stops dreaming. Fanie’s attempts to restart the flow of inspiration fail until Cupid’s arrow comes to the rescue again – only this time, it is Fanie who falls in love.

Krotoa, a feisty, bright, 11-year-old girl is removed from her close-knit Khoi tribe to serve Jan van Riebeeck, her uncle’s trading partner and the first Governor of the Cape Colony. She is brought into the first Fort established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652. There she grows into a visionary young woman who assimilates the Dutch language and culture so well that she rises to become an influential translator but ends up being rejected by her own people as she tries to bridge the gap between the two cultures about to collide.

The name of the film, Liefling, says it all. This is a love story that's been told by using evergreen Afrikaans songs from the 70's up to the latest hits of today. This musical is mainly about the life of Liefling Marais, a girl with a passion for life, who loves adventure. Liefling lives on a farm with her father Simon, mother Linda, grandfather Karel, brother Kobus and house keeper Katy. Simon is a professor at the university where we meet the 3 friends, Jan, Pieter and Gert in one of his classes. They also live in Hartbeespoort Jan lives with his grandmother Elsa Ferreira. The story starts during the December holidays. A spoilt rich girl, Melanie von Staden has one thing in mind and that is to reel in heart throb Jan Ferreira who has his eye set on Liefling. Fate unexpectedly brings lovers, friends and so called enemies together. This is a love story full of tears and laughter, song and dance.

"The film is a rollicking Afrikaans musical set in the 50s. In the small, bright and vibrant town of Pretville, anything is possible and lots of interesting things happen all the time."

Lisa discovers a long-held family secret and heads to France looking for answers, which yield unexpected results.

The only cure prescribed for a broken heart is a heavy dose of love and some Christmas pudding. Dr Louis van Est is a professional when it comes to the anatomy of the human body, yet he knows nothing about the condition of the human heart. As a GP, he is not the stereotypical clean cut doctor; in fact he retreats home to his laptop where he escapes from his bland life to another world world. Ella Gouws, a straightforward, straight-speaking thirty year old, has been wounded by love one too many times and won't let anyone close enough to break her already broken heart, again apart from her online chat buddy with whom she shares her dreams, thoughts and philosophies.

After his wife's death, Maritz de Necker opens a law practice in Worchester. His father-in-law, Senator Scheepers blames Maritz for his daughter's suicide and institutes a legal commission investigation against him .