Tsotsi

            Tsotsi is a South African film that won an award in the states for best foreign film. It’s really a masterpiece and I enjoyed It a lot. It makes me want to see Freedomland for the similarities in the plot devices. Tsotsi (Presley Chenemayenge) is a young man in the squattercamp township. His childhood and real name are a mystery, slowly revealed throughout the film.

            Tsotsi means “thug” or “criminal”, and symbolizes the new life he has made for himself. Stealing cars, holding up people, and the general life of a South African criminal. There is a look in his eyes, somber and true, yet lean and hungry. He carries on with a gang, his best friend Aap, the bloodthirsty Butcher, and a former teacher turned alcoholic named Boston.

            Throughout the film, they interact on different levels, and after murdering a man in the subway, Tsotsi loses it and runs off to steal a car. The car he takes has a baby in the back, and he spends the movie trying to figure out what to do with it, how to care for it, etc.

            The climax and the change in Tsotsi is remarkable, similar to that of Judah in Genesis 39-46. It’s also a tremendous picture if fallen man, knowing good from evil, and even pursuing good, but all the time falling further and further into his own iniquity, Tsotsi is a modern day Babbitt in South Africa.

            The acting is tremendous, especially for a non-industry film, the title character is a classic, and I definitely would seek to own this. A 2, without a doubt.