In The Bang Bang Club, Ryan Phillippe plays Greg Marinovich, one of the real-life combat photographers whose pictures of rioting in South Africa in the 1990s, during the days of apartheid. By Jay Stone

A Canada-South Africa co-production (and directed by Steven Silver, who holds dual citizenship), it shows the harrowing courage of the photographers who would stand in the middle of violent mobs to get pictures of violence - people being hacked to death or set on fire - that helped tell the world about what was happening.

"I wouldn't give paparazzi the same respect I would a combat photographer. I don't think there's nearly the same thing at stake, or the same jeopardy," Phillippe says. "But what it did for me was re-illustrate the importance of a person being in an area of turmoil or conflict in the media capacity and getting the word out, opening people's eyes."

The photographs taken by the movie's heroes helped bring about the change of government by galvanizing international pressure, although it took a toll on the men themselves. The Bang Bang Club, as they called themselves, was winnowed down by suicide and death. Marinovich and another photographer, Joao Silva (played by Neels Van Jaarsveld) lived through it, and Silva is still a combat photographer in Afghanistan and Iraq, places where such images have become rare.

"Without those visual reminders, people forget that it's still really going on, and it very much is," Phillippe says. "It's very much a choice that's been made, because look at all the junk we get in the media every day, non-stop barrage of celebrity photos."

The Bang Bang Club - which co-stars Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch as photographer Kevin Carter - is shot in almost documentary style, using a cast of thousands to re-create the frightening street battles. Sometimes the photographers stood by and took photos of people dying, torn about whether they should help or just do their jobs.

"To get too involved, you not only put yourself at risk, you put the job you're there to do at risk," Phillippe says. "I don't know if it's a position I could take, to not get involved and not help a person in need, but I think the position they have to take is that they are a device, to some extent. They are the eyes. They are there to document."

Since the real Marinovich is alive - he co-wrote a book with Silva about the Bang Bang Club that is the basis of the film - and was frequently on the set, Phillippe could ask him specific questions about how things really were. What continues to fascinate him is the bravery of the men with cameras.

"I've played soldiers in the past, so you get in the psychology and the mindset of what it's like to be on the ground with a weapon, when you have as much chance of killing or being killed as the guy you're opposing. These guys go in with no protection, in the middle of crossfire. You have to be crazy to do that."

Phillippe says he was attracted to The Bang Bang Club because he's something of a history buff, and the movie tells the kind of story he enjoys. At 36, he's gone far past the heartthrob roles (I Know What You Did Last Summer, or Cruel Intentions) of his early years, instead turning up in movies like the war dramas Stop-Loss and Flags of Our Fathers, and the real-life spy drama Breach.

"As an audience member, I like to be challenged by material, I like to learn something whenever possible and I like serious movies," he says. "I can have a good time at a movie like MacGruber (the comedy in which he had a role) or a Will Ferrell movie, but I think really what I crave is something a little more substantial, something that makes people think."

The Bang Bang Club was like that; indeed, he had nightmares while shooting it because of the many graphic and violent images. But he became fascinated with South Africa - "it's one of the most complex places on the planet" - and he wants to return with his children, 11-year-old Ava and six-year-old Deacon.

"I want to take my children to see what it's like there, for better and worse. It's just a fascinating place. To see Soweto and see what life in the townships is like, and take them on safari. It's going to be a real eye-opener."

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