Hansie: Nothing to hide

"There was nothing that we felt we had to hide," says Frans Cronje.

"In fact, wanting to tell a story that people could learn from, we had to be very honest, very open, and if you're not open and honest about the mistakes, you can't learn from them," adds brother of Hansie and driving force behind the film about the disgraced former South African cricket captain.

Focusing on "Hansie's inner journey with the temptation of the bookies" and wanting to "portray his heart", the writer-producer also responsible for the Christian-themed film 'Faith Like Potatoes', loosely based his latest project on the prodigal son parable.

"Here there is someone who had the world at his feet, but he had made mistakes and he had lost a lot and then how did he rebuild his life after that. And that rebuilding is the inspiring part of the movie."

One of the reasons Cronje made the film was because there are lessons to be learned from the life of the sportsman considered a fallen hero by some, a common crook by others for his involvement with Indian bookkeepers.

"We all make mistakes, we all fall short. The question is just: when you sin, how do you deal with it? And I think ultimately the way Hansie dealt with it was right — rebuilding his life and going on was the right way to deal with it. And in that lies the biggest lesson in the movie."

Cronje learnt a few lessons about himself too during the four years it took to finish this four year project so personal it sometimes left him feeling as if he was "standing naked on the N1".

"I think I could identify a little bit with what he felt like during the King Commission when he was so exposed — there he was sitting in front of the worldwide media, this group of senior advocates who were questioning him — and he just had to open up his life to them.

"But in that opening up your life and being transparent with all your weaknesses, there's a tremendous freedom in it. Because once you've confessed, once you've admitted what you've done, then there is no more that can come out. And the great thing about it is that after all is said and done, you can still continue with your life which I think Hansie eventually realised."

That was but one of the things cronje learned about his brother.

"He was an incredible motivator of people – he could get the best out of people around him. I think was his most special talent.

"Then there were the smaller things, like his extremely mischievous sense of humour – he was very naughty. I think that was one of the things that got him into trouble in the end – he had too much of a sense of adventure and cricket tours can get very long and boring and I think the lure of the bookies and what that represented gave some kind of adventure out there. I certainly don’t believe it was the money because the kind of money he accepted was not that big when you compare it to what he was earning in any case and what he was capable of earning."

Ah, money. 'Hansie' the film ran into financial troubles when, towards the end of 2007 a R55-million financing deal from the US fell through and, says Cronje: "I felt like I'd let everybody down, in a similar way to Hansie. He wanted to make a difference in the world so badly but he'd made these mistakes and he'd felt like he'd let everybody down. I think I felt similar to that in November, December last year."

A deal was made, allowing filming to continue and creditors to recoup their investment through box office receipts.

"'Hansie' was a journey of grace. The movie itself is about grace and forgiveness, but the production itself was also about grace and forgiveness."

But based on comments in the press, the cricketer's former colleagues aren't feeling as forgiving, with former team-mate Fanie de Villiers in particular coming out about issues like the film's neutrality.

"He's entitled to his opinion," Cronje says simply.

"If you think because I'm Hansie's brother I wouldn’t tell a well balanced account, go and see the movie and make up your own mind. I think we did, but then that's me.

"It's pointless to predict how the public will react. The public will react the way they will react, and we'll see on 24 September what that reaction will be like."