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Review #75 of 365 Film: Tsotsi [R] 91 minutes
WIP: $14.00
When 1st Seen: 26 March 2006
Where Viewed: Esquire Theatre, Denver, CO
Time: 7:00 p.m.
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DVD | soundtrack |
If you have not heard of Tsotsi, you might be among those that use TiVo® fast-forward too indiscriminately and, therefore, you missed the nominees and the announcement of the winner of this year’s Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language film. It has taken a while for Tsotsi to reach my hometown, and for that, believe it or not, I am thankful. Often there is little worthy of seeing mid-week that I haven’t already seen, so, I was thrilled to find Tsotsi available for viewing. Obviously, it has won high praise from other critics and the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences. It has also won the Audience Award from the Edinburgh Film Festival, the People’s Choice Award from the Toronto Film Festival, and the AFI Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature Film (Tie). Needless to say, I wondered upon arriving at the theatre, if Tsotsi, at least for me, might fall victim to the TOEOP effect (see Night Watch review for clarification). Well, I am pleased to report that I endured no residual TOEOP effect to speak of. Quite the contrary, the film kept me glued to the edge of my seat. This was an incredibly powerful and poignant film with moving and relevant performances, brilliant direction, and gritty cinematography that really captured the township life of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Director Gavin Hood adapted his screenplay for the film from South African playwright Athol Fugard’s only novel. The story is about a boy who calls himself “Tsotsi” and who, while we don’t see much about this in the film, was obviously the victim of tremendous strife, violence, and pain to have grown up into young adulthood the callous, emotionless, morally bankrupt young man we meet in the opening sequences. The culmination of the opening scenes results in him shooting a woman for her fancy sports car outside her gated home, not realizing until too late that the car contained a passenger—in this case a darling baby boy (actually played by twin babies, of course). Down the road, he is faced with what to do—abandon the baby, kill the baby, take the baby. He must make a decision. He makes the seemingly unfathomable choice, and in that instant, everything that was, is, or will be Tsotsi (played by the incomparable Presley Chweneyagae) was changed forever. This defining moment casts the rest of who or what he is unleashing it upon the history of human kind for ultimate reconciliation. And, trust me, there will be much for you and for Tsotsi to reconcile. For, in effect, Tsotsi in that moment represents the dual-edged nature of all human beings wherein we may not comprehend how perilously we sit atop the knife blade of morality where the slightest tip can plummet our lives toward terrible, inhumane acts or launch us toward the footsteps of the enlightened ones such as Gandhi and Mother Theresa. From his decision, we see something startling and nearly surreal occur in Tsotsi, and as the events of his future unfold we witness the struggle faced as he works to face new and old demons head on. For me, one of the single most important aspects of a truly great story is that we see some sort of growth in the main character. In this story, which takes place in all of a few days, we see Tsotsi’s life undergo a complete purging and reformation. While shocking, highly disturbing, and incredibly sad, the transformation of Tsotsi provides anticipation that no matter how terribly cruel life can be, there is always hope. It is very easy in times when things are so bad, so awful, so seemingly pointless, to forget this. The inklings of the potential for things to get better are essential prerequisites to real change. Without them, there is only darkness.
There is much to be said about Presley Chweneyagae’s performance as Tsotsi. From opening segment to final scene, he reveals the facets of Tsotsi like a buried diamond that is shined back to perfection. I was struck by how little talking he actually does in the film, but there is never any doubt as to what he is thinking, feeling/not feeling, and planning. His performance is stirring. Other members of the excellent cast worth mentioning were Tsotsi’ crewmates Boston (Mothusi Magano) and Butcher (Zenzo Ngqobe), his main victims Pumla and John Dube (Nambitha Mpumlwana) and (Rapulana Seiphemo), and the woman who starts to crack away at the ice gripping his heart, Miriam (Terry Pheto). Together, this cast works to support and challenge Tsotsi as he wrestles with who he is and what he has become. The characters serve as guides, foils, foes, and friends, but mostly as the conduits for Tsotsi’s occasional joy and certain pain. The story itself is without equal on some levels for its shear audacity and ultimate stark relevance. I would highly recommend seeing this film followed by the Academy Award®-winning Best Picture, Crash. Together they serve to shake the senses and bring a dose of reality yet hope to the world stage.
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Tsotsi [DVD](2005) DVD
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