Tsotsi
by Gavin Hood
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Kenneth Nkosi, Mothusi Magano, Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Zenzo NgqobeDirector: Gavin Hood
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Audio: Afrikaans (Original Language); English (Original Language); Xhosa (Original Language); Zulu (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-07-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax
Movie Reviews of Tsotsi
Movie Review: A manipulative, calculated and inaccurate mess...
Summary: 1 Stars
One of those films that everyone seems to admire, `Tsotsi' is a film that I can't rally behind. I have to speak my piece here and contribute an opinion that differs from the masses that seem to have nothing but praise and admiration for this film. Gavin Hood's film is stylishly directed and shot, and it is pretty well acted; but the script is a very, very week point that brings the film down to a mediocre level, diminishing the very moral that Hood was trying to bring to the light.
It somewhat contradicts itself.
This may contain some SPOILERS so be forewarned.
In `Tsotsi', Hood tells us the story of David, a thug who enforces his status by killing mercilessly and even going as far as to beat his friends if he feels his dignity is in question. He has apparently no morals whatsoever so when we see him pull out a gun and shoot a woman for her car, it doesn't faze us because we expect this from him. What happens next is a tad unexpected. David realizes that there is a baby in the backseat.
Now, I'm not trying to judge because, well, I don't like to do that, but Hood creates a monster in David that he seems quick to try and dispel. David immediately decides to care for this child. This didn't make much sense to me, since David's personality was not of the nurturing kind, and all too often we read of actually people of this persuasion who would kill a child as apposed to care for it; so his decision makes little sense, especially in the immediacy of it all. What happens next though is an even bigger question mark. It's apparent that Hood has now changed our central character from a merciless killer to a nurturing would-be-father who apparently cares for the boy, but he then depicts David breaking into the home of the parents in order to rob them for necessary items to care for the boy. This is another headscratcher. So he starts off a monster, then he suddenly shifts into a caring person but then, in order to be `caring' he pains the same family he's already nearly destroyed by robbing them at gunpoint. It was at that point in the film that I lost any and all respect for the story. I was finally starting to wrap my head around the idea of this young man maybe being more conflicted than evil, more conditioned than anything else, and that maybe this young baby brought another side of him to light; but the decision to rob the boy's parents of all people was one that I could never understand. Then he pulls yet another one-eighty and delivers the baby to the parents. It's almost as if Hood wasn't sure what kind of person David really was.
He's a menace, but he's sentimental, but he evil, yet he's moral, but he corrupt yet he does the right thing...
Hmmmm.
Then, on top of it all, the final confrontation with the cops and the parents and David is presented in a way where we feel almost manipulated to actually feel sorry for David. This was a sick joke in my book, for if Hood actually thinks that this character is a representation of purity in a maniacal environment then he is sadly mistaken. Hood presents David's eventual decision as if it were the eraser taken to his actions, as if he was redeeming himself by presenting this baby to his parents. If he had never entered the families home with gun in hand in order to steal their child's belongings I would walk away feeling that maybe this young mans full-circle transformation was genuine, but actions speak louder than words, and Hood should have known that.
That said, Presley Chweneyagae does a fine job portraying David, and he shifts through the range of emotions (as unstable and uneven as they are) with ease, so I cannot knock him. He actually brings more to the table than the script called for, and so I actually praise him for his efforts. It's a shame that the script was not up to this young mans potential.
I cannot recommend this film, for to me it is an inaccurate depiction of a tragedy and it attempts to rationalize in a way that is nearly offensive. To sympathize with David, after all that he has done, is a crime in many ways for the script never allows us to truly invest in his transformation. He doesn't prove his heart to us, but Hood makes sure that we see his faux variation of change in those last few frames. If you are easily persuaded by manipulated expressions of redemption then you may very well flock to David's defense; but hopefully you're smart enough to see that Hood wasn't smart enough to make this work.
Summary of Tsotsi
Captivating audiences worldwide, this compelling story of crime and redemption has earned countless awards around the globe. On the edges of Johannesburg, Tsotsi's life has no meaning beyond survival. One night, in desperation, Tsotsi steals a woman's car. But as he is driving off, he makes a shocking discovery in the backseat. In one moment his life takes a sharp turn and leads him down an unexpected path to redemption ... giving him hope for a future he never could have imagined. TSOTSI is an extraordinary portrait of the choices that are made in life and how compassion can endure in the human heart. From Miramax Films, the studio that brings you the best in world cinema (CITY OF GOD, AM?LIE, THE CHORUS).Art House & International DVD Video
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