Tsotsi (2005) January 14, 2007
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Gavin Hood
Last years ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ Oscar went to a country with little previous exposure at the event. South Africa has only ever had one nomination in the category (the previous year with Yesterday), which made this win all the more important.
Based on a novel by Athol Fugard, the story revolves around the leader of a gang in Johannesburg. Nicknamed Tsotsi (the rough translation of which is ‘thug’), he and his small crew steal and even kill to survive. But when a dispute in the group spills over, Tsotsi is forced to flee towards the upper class city. There he steals a car from a woman at gunpoint, shooting her in the stomach when she tries to apprehend him. It is not until he runs the car into a ditch that he discovers why she risked her life – there’s a baby in the car. Tsotsi has a moment of clarity, and takes the child with him as he returns home. His situation forces him to rethink the past, and discover how to take care of a life that is not his own.
The movie is certainly well written for the most part, and beautifully directed at times. Director Gavin Hood makes full use of the frame, shooting Johannesburg in a glorious way, despite the slums and hard conditions. There are some great performances on display too, especially central lead Presley Chweneyagae, who holds the balance of a dangerous street thug and caring individual with great skill. The story of a ‘bad guy turned good’ is not too overplayed either, and Tsotsi’s criminal roots are not quickly forgotten, even as the story moves towards its resolution.
If there’s one problem I had with the film, it’s that I didn’t quite take to the central premise. I kept wondering why Tsotsi kept the child, since he clearly could not give it a better life. We learn that he had lost his mother when he was young, and that his father was quite abusive, but does that really lead to him taking a baby away from a comfortable upbringing? He knew how to get back to the house, so I couldn’t quite understand what was stopping him. For me, that eroded the point of the movie slightly.
However, it is no less of an emotional tale despite its inherent problems. As director Gavin Hood said in his Oscar speech: “our stories are the same as your stories”. Tsotsi certainly proves that human emotion is global, and not even language barriers can stop a good character-story from being effectively told.
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