Tsotsi (2005)

Sick Product of a Sick System

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Tsotsi who lives in a slum, Johannesburg pilfers with his friends. One day, he attacks a woman and hijacks a car. However, he finds that there is a baby on a rear seat of the car while driving. He puts the baby into a paper bag and takes to his house.I thought about poverty and racial discrimination again through this film.Also I realized the importance of education. If people don't receive enough education, they cannot judge between good and evil.I couldn't understand all of this film because I live in Japan peacefully, but I was able to deepen my understanding of problems in South Africa.I had thought that human beings cannot change so easily, but I came to think everyone has kindness by nature after I watched this film.Of course, what Tsotsi does is evil and cannot be permitted, but I think that his bad environment influences his behavior. We cannot change the environment where we grew up. However, I believe that we can change our future ourselves.

Greetings from Lithuania."Tsotsi" (2005) is another great movie by Gavin Hood. After recently watching his terrific "Eye in the Sky" i wanted to check out his first full feature. "Tsotsi" is a simple yet powerful story superbly told. Acting was great by all involved, script is very good and directing was superb. I'm not sure if there is a some sort of moral this movie shows us at the end, but for what it is - it's a great one. It is also superbly paced and shoot - at running time 1 h 29 min this movie never drags and is involving from start till finish and it's cinematography is gorgeous. Overall, "Tsotsi" is one of those movies you won't forget quick. Story is simple but very strong. I didn't felt any sympathy to main character anyway, well maybe a bit by the end but for what he has done (and surroundings from which he came does not make it any easier) he should get what he deserves. Great movie.

'Tsotsi' is about a teenage gangster called Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae) . He is the leader of a gang of three other criminals. After killing a man on a train he gets into a fight with Boston (Mothusi Magano), the most intelligent gang member. Tsotsi then runs off into the night. After seizing the opportunity to steal a car and shooting the female driver, he realizes her baby is in the back. He takes the baby back to his house in a township just outside Johannesburg. The baby changes his life and gives him the strength to do the 'right thing'. I found this entertaining because it's emotional journey keeps you stuck on the edge of your seat with murder, kidnap and assault. It is thrilling and you grow an attachment to Tsotsi and you gradually understand his emotions and you come to terms with the emotional trauma that has hardened Tsotsi to the world. For example, when Tsotsi is having flashbacks of his mother and father, you feel upset for Tsotsi because his mother is dying and his father has no regard for Tsotsi or his mother. The emotions that Chweneyagae shows, connects the reader with the audience's empathetic emotions, thus creating a stronger and more powerful bond with the audience.'Tsotsi' is powerful as Chweneyagae performs this with a very impassive face, however, all the emotion is seen in his eyes. This is seen prominently in the final sequence. A close-up of Tsotsi holding the baby is very emotional because of the tough outer which has earned him the title of Tsotsi - Thug. However, if you look closer you can see his insides which his past has pounded till it is soft. The desperation in Tsotsi's eyes can be seen in detail from the intensity of the close-up. Furthermore, Gavin Hood, the director, has not made this film into a proper tear jerker but he has kept it true to life and it's authenticity makes 'Tsotsi' powerful, realistic and iconic.The film's authenticity makes it powerful but also raises many questions about South Africa's society and it's population of poverty. The majority of which is black. This large social divide raises the question that do the shadows of Apartheid still govern society in South Africa today even after all it's recent improvements, still seems a hostile place for many. Another issue raised more subtly in the film is the massive problem of HIV and AIDs in South Africa at the moment. This issue is shown mainly by the 'We are all affected by HIV and AIDs' posters placed throughout the film. In addition, Tsotsi's mother is very ill, most likely from HIV or AIDs. Ramming home the fact that it does affect everyone even our hardened criminals. What I have learned about South Africa from 'Tsotsi' is that it is a country split in two. Not by color but by attitudes to life. Like Miriam's (Terry Pheto) and The beggar's positive attitudes to life. The beggar lives just to feel the sun on his skin even though he 'lives like a dog'. On the other hand, there are attitudes to life like Tsotsi's and Butcher's who do not have a positive view on life but live just because they do. This contrast can be seen when Tsotsi is at Miriam's house. He is in a dark costume made up of a dark leather jacket and black trousers contrasting with Miriam's bright, light costume of oranges and yellows. Each character's colors represent their outlook on view on life.I would recommend this film because it as a film that involves it's audiences and the emotion connects them even deeper with the characters. For these reasons I would recommend it to those who love a realistic story and a lot of emotion , however it is very different in some ways to mainstream Hollywood but also very similar in other ways. So I would also recommend this film to those who want a break from the typical formulaic Hollywood films.

Tsotsi directed by Gavin Hood was a story based in Africa, showing a different side that many people do not realize that a lot of that country has many issues that are addressed throughout this movie. In Tsotsi we start off following Tsotsi, who is a young adult probably around the age of sixteen or eighteen, and his buddies Aap, Boston, and Butcher. These four partners commit crimes to makes money called "jobs", the first job we as the viewers get to witness is when Tsotsi and the three friends follow a high roller man into a subway and rob him, and while robbing him they kill this innocent man. Later on through the story Tsotsi is on his own, alone and kind of nervous, he sees a lady pull up in a nice house and is locked out of her gate, so while she isn't paying attention Tsotsi steals her car as she runs toward him he shoots her. Little did he know that a baby was in that back seat, at first Tsotsi was about to leave the baby, but decided to take him to his house. As the movie progress you see that Tsotsi grows into a different young man, with the responsibilities of the child he has taken, has shaped him in a way that helps him understand life and the meaning to it. However, Tsotsi has to make the biggest decision of his life, which is to take the baby back to its rightful family. In doing this he decides to take the baby to his mother and father, by turning himself in, but as you witness something new in Tsotsi as the parents ask for the baby it is hard for him to let go, because how attached he had become to the baby or "his new life".