I went into this movie not really knowing anything except the title but I was blown away by the beauty and truth of the movie.
We start out meeting Tsotsi's gang playing dice and deciding what they are going to do. We then progress to them finding a rich target, an older gentleman, and the not only stab him in the subway, but steal his money as well. The only one to feel any guilt about killing some one is Boston and Tsotsi beats him up for it (as well as asking personal questions about his family and so on). The next job Tsotsi does by himself. He steals a woman's car and shoots her. As he's driving away he hears something and there's a baby in the car. He strips the car and takes the baby with him. The rest of the movie we see Tsotsi progress and change. He begins to have some decency (as Boston might put it) and he allows for people to get close and allows himself to have emotions. Naturally the cops are looking for him to take the baby back to his mother. Tsotsi by the end is no longer the hardened criminal and he begins to feel guilt and love and all of the normal emotions that people have that he lacked in the beginning. It's a great transformation.
The setting, in South Africa, is beautiful as well as contrasting. There is such a difference between the wealthy and the poor. There's one scene where Tsotsi is walking away from the city and it's such a strange sight as the city is surrounded by desert. Another interesting thing I noticed was that we only see the city or the wealthy part of town in the nighttime whereas normally we see Tsotsi's village during the day. I'm not sure if this is supposed to show the dichotomous relationship, but it emphasizes the poverty that most of South Africa live in. The city, for Tsotsi, represents the dark side of his nature where he steals and murders people. But his village is where he takes care of the baby and where we see him as a real person. Eventually these two worlds overlap and though Tsotsi will never be able to afford a big house and expensive cars, he begins to understand his life a bit more.
The acting was superb. This was Chweneyagae's, Tsotsi, first motion picture and he did an incredible job capturing the spirit of young Tsotsi and of his struggle to set aside the past and forge a new future for the young children of South Africa (maybe not all, but at least for the baby and for the other orphan children). His crew does a great job as well. The Butcher is a stupid killer and Aap is the loyal friend. Boston is the well-educated misfit who, had he the money, would have taken the teacher's exam and led a proper life. They are all characters we can relate to in one way or the other, people who we can care about and who we gradually begin to understand. Even the homeless guy that Tsotsi harasses at the beginning is some one we can relate to, and everyone has a reason to stay alive and to continue there existence despite being poor be it a baby, friendship, or because of the feel of sun on one's shoulders, everyone has the right to live and I think that's what the movie is trying to say. No one is beyond saving.
I walked away from this movie upset because I had such a coughing fit that I missed the last two minutes of the movie, but overall impressed. It was a great story and it had a timeless feel to it. Not only that but it seemed more a fairy tale than a hard hitting drama. We see the transformation of Tsotsi, much like Cinderella, and he goes from a street urchin to a man with hope for the future and for himself. Even the scenery and the different shots and angles gave it a fairy tale-esque feel. Overall, it's a great movie. I'm not sure if it's playing everywhere, but if it's playing in a theater near you then spend the money to watch it, it's a truly beautiful and riveting film.
"Tsotsi" opens February 24, 2006 and is rated R. Crime, Drama. Directed by Gavin Hood. Written by Athol Fugard, Gavin Hood. Starring Israel Makoe, Mothusi Magano, Presley Chweneyagae.
