Tsotsi
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Movie Reviews of Tsotsi
Movie Review: Needy for the Milk of Human Kindness
Summary: 5 Stars
'Tsotsi' is a great story--not only because of the universality of love gone wrong and the experience of jaundiced youth, but it is also a nice update to post-apartheid Johanesberg, South Africa. The title character is a tense and tough member of a group of criminals who hangs out at a local bar and goes to rich neighborhoods to rob vulnerable mansions under the protection of iron gates. Tsotsi is quiet with an undercurrent of raw violence that is ready to erupt at the drop of a hat. At one point, he pummels in a friend's face after having a disagreement at the bar.
One day he and a friend rob a wealthy man's house, and he is caught by the wife whom Tsotsi shoots and steals her car. He flees without his friend, only to find her baby in the back seat of the car. Gentle as a presence but complicating his life, the baby brings feelings of tenderness to the surface, so he uses his gangster methods to force a neighbor to take care of the infant. The experience also elicits his own memories that show his own vulnerablity, and so by taking care of the baby, in some ways he recognizes his own needs.
'Tsotsi' is by all means an absorbing movie with tense and believable performances all around. While it goes to the heart of every urban culture, the update of post-Mandela South Africa shows that, even when social justice is presented, some needs go unmet and bubbling below the surface.
Movie Review: "Tsotsi" deserved its Oscar
Summary: 5 Stars
Tsotsi is one of the intense films I have ever seen. In every moment an emotional explosion is in the making. The story concerns a young, ruthless, petty gangster in the poor settlement of Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Without giving too much away, the movie begins with a senseless and brutal murder and Tsotsi is introduced as a vicious thug without a trace of remorse. But, when he accidentally acquires a baby, a wellspring of memories of a tortured childhood open up for him.
The young man playing Tsotsi is not a professional actor, but does a superb job in the role. Another star of the show is the ghetto of Soweto with its patched- together houses, long lines at communal wells, drugs and drink -- in short a mass of seething humanity. A redemptive feature of this environment is a young mother Tsotsi meets who is decent, pleasant and will probably slowly make her way out of the worst of ghetto life. The prospect is not one of unrelieved pessimism.
White people play little role in this movie. A police inspector on the trail of Tsotsi is the only major white character. Tsotsi and his colleagues prey on their own kind, who appear for the most part to be "colored" in the racial parlance of South Africa. "Tsotsi" is beautifully made, with not a wasted moment. The atmosphere is one of steadily building tension toward an nail-biting climax.
Smallchief
Movie Review: Grasping for "Decency"
Summary: 5 Stars
Tsotsi ("Thug"), the namesake of the movie, is a predatory teenager living in the shantytowns of modern Johannesburg, South Africa. He and his gang prowl the subways., searching for rich victims to rob and (when it suits them) kill. Yet beyond Tsotsi's sullenness and menacing glare, there is pain and perhaps even a soul. His conscience stung by a gang member's lecture on "decency," Tsotsi strikes out on his own. One night, while stalking a rich black neighborhood, he steals a car and (unknowingly) an infant in the back seat.
"Tsotsi" is a film that could easily have descended into cliche. But often as not, it plays against type. The police who chase Tsotsi are white and black, with the more compassionate cop played by the white man. Tsotsi's victims are all black -- some poor (even by South African standardss) and some very wealthy, even by Western standards. The stage is set for a crisis of conscience that is extremely personal and is set against -- not within -- the larger story of the aftereffects of South African apartheid.
Fabulous performances by Presley Chweneyagae, who plays the haunted title character, and Terry Pheto, who plays the courageous woman Tsotsi forces to care for his charge. Kudos to the filmmakers who dared to see a human story in the life of a boy scarred by the brutality of his own upbringing.
Movie Review: Predator Redeemed
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first review. I had to share with regards to this movie.
Tsotsi ("Thug") is a story about the redemptive power of innocence (a child's innocence). When Tsotsi finds the baby he begins the journey of finding David - his given name. Even the members of his gang don't know his "real" name or - it seems - his story.
I was, personally, disturbed by my affinity for Tsotsi. He had just brutally beaten one of his "friends" yet I felt for him. Presley Chweneyagae's portrayal of Tsotsi made me wonder what could have happened in Tsosti's life to make him fear his own humanity. Through flashbacks you are given glimpses to what happened.
Presley Chweneyagae's physical transformation is heart wrenching. You see no life in his eyes when the film begins. When he stalks a cripple man all night (he is so focused he misses his appointment with his friends) you cringe at his predatory vengeful nature; yet he goes home and tenderly removes ants from a baby - that he keeps in a paper bag under his bed. The dichotomy is brilliant. By the end you feel and see the transformation. His tears are cleansing Tsotsi and re-birthing David.
This is a must see. Especially for the lock 'em up and throw away the key crowd.
Movie Review: No wonder Gavin Hood's adaptation of Fugard's novel won the 2005 Oscar
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow. It's no wonder why Gavin Hood's adaptation of Athol Fugard's classic novel won the 2005 Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. I was completely transfixed from beginning to end. Presley Chweneyagae is outstanding as the scowling, young Tsotsi (aka, David), whose hardened exterior covers a soft, vulnerable core. It's this essence which is exposed when David comes into inadvertent possession of an infant.
The DVD extras give you some real insight into Mr. Chweneyagae's acting ability - in the behind-the-scenes featurette, we see him chatting intelligently, accompanied by a broad smile, about how he read the script and expressed an immediate desire to do the role. To transform that engaging presence into David's initially malevolent, glowering presence on screen...well, that is a fine piece of acting.
Another actor worthy of note is Mothusi Magano as 'Boston.' His failed academic dreams sliding under the weight of alcohol, his lectures on 'decency' are the among the film's best moments. In truth, the entire cast excels under Hood's direction and script, but Chweneyagae and Maguno are who stand out in my mind two months after seeing the film.