David O'ConnellTsotsi
October 30th 2008 01:14
This simple but poignant film from South Africa is a revelation, offering a humane glimpse into the darkest corners of the Soweto slums near Johannesburg.
Based on a book by Athol Fugard, Tsotsi has been adapted by director Gavin Hood, taking us into the shanty towns of the impoverished blacks, where a young man, born as David, but known mockingly as ‘Tsotsi’(thug), and played by Presley Chweneyagae, convinces himself that he’s a rising star amongst the town’s criminal elements.
He hangs out with a local group of hoodlums but flees one night after being taunted by one of them, reacting with a violent outburst. In torrential rain he stalks houses in a more affluent part of the city, away from the townships, and shoots a young woman who tries to prevent him from stealing her car.
A shock waits in store for Tsotsi a few kilometers down the road when wails from the back seat alert him to the presence of the woman’s infant son. Despite his hard exterior, the cries of the baby affect him, and against his better judgement he flees home with the child concealed in a large shopping bag.
Without a single clue as to how to feed or care for the child, Tsotsi forces a young single mother in the community, Miriam (Terry Pheto), to provide breast milk; after a couple of days of diverting the attentions of his curious friends, he leaves the child in her care.
Whilst the police search for him, a process of rediscovering his connection to humanity begins. Having the innocent child in his possession seems to erode his toughened outer shell of protection against the world - the same harsh world that seized his mother at a young age with a horrible sickness.
Tsotsi has since been deprived the guidance and love of a maternal instinct, and he softens when perceiving that quality in Miriam.
The young boy, with his innocence at Tsotsi’s mercy, proves to be a life-affirming symbol of the childhood denied to him by his mother’s passing. The baby also represents for Tsotsi another chance at that life, for the ‘ghost’ of his former self as David.
I think Tsotsi also comes to understand, rationalizing on an internal level, that the child also represents a wound – one he's without the skills or life experience to heal with his own hands, and so he takes the necessary measures to protect him.
Tsotsi is a very powerful film, with a great performance by first time actor Chweneyagae, who exhibits a natural charisma and screen presence.
Ultimately, I think a basic belief in the goodness of humanity is what shines through most strongly in this film; dragged under by circumstance into an oppressive enough environment, Tsotsi finds his redemption - hard earned though it may be - and the process feels like a wholly convincing transformation, and a very moving one too.
Based on a book by Athol Fugard, Tsotsi has been adapted by director Gavin Hood, taking us into the shanty towns of the impoverished blacks, where a young man, born as David, but known mockingly as ‘Tsotsi’(thug), and played by Presley Chweneyagae, convinces himself that he’s a rising star amongst the town’s criminal elements.
He hangs out with a local group of hoodlums but flees one night after being taunted by one of them, reacting with a violent outburst. In torrential rain he stalks houses in a more affluent part of the city, away from the townships, and shoots a young woman who tries to prevent him from stealing her car.
A shock waits in store for Tsotsi a few kilometers down the road when wails from the back seat alert him to the presence of the woman’s infant son. Despite his hard exterior, the cries of the baby affect him, and against his better judgement he flees home with the child concealed in a large shopping bag.
Presley Chweneyagae as Tsotsi
Without a single clue as to how to feed or care for the child, Tsotsi forces a young single mother in the community, Miriam (Terry Pheto), to provide breast milk; after a couple of days of diverting the attentions of his curious friends, he leaves the child in her care.
Whilst the police search for him, a process of rediscovering his connection to humanity begins. Having the innocent child in his possession seems to erode his toughened outer shell of protection against the world - the same harsh world that seized his mother at a young age with a horrible sickness.
The luminous Terry Pheto as Miriam
Tsotsi has since been deprived the guidance and love of a maternal instinct, and he softens when perceiving that quality in Miriam.
The young boy, with his innocence at Tsotsi’s mercy, proves to be a life-affirming symbol of the childhood denied to him by his mother’s passing. The baby also represents for Tsotsi another chance at that life, for the ‘ghost’ of his former self as David.
I think Tsotsi also comes to understand, rationalizing on an internal level, that the child also represents a wound – one he's without the skills or life experience to heal with his own hands, and so he takes the necessary measures to protect him.
Tsotsi's gang in an early scene
Tsotsi is a very powerful film, with a great performance by first time actor Chweneyagae, who exhibits a natural charisma and screen presence.
Ultimately, I think a basic belief in the goodness of humanity is what shines through most strongly in this film; dragged under by circumstance into an oppressive enough environment, Tsotsi finds his redemption - hard earned though it may be - and the process feels like a wholly convincing transformation, and a very moving one too.
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