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TSOTSI
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If your budget post valentine day is tight and can onlyafford to watch only one film this year, you must watch Tsotsi. I say this notbecause it is an African Film or because it has been nominated for an Oscar. Isee this because it is truly compelling. |
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Tsotsi literally meaning ‘thug’ or ‘gangster’ in the
street language of South Africa’s townships and ghettos is set amidst the
sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto where survival is the primary, if not
only objective. The film traces six days in the life of a ruthless young
hoodlum (Presley Chweneyagae) and his gang of not so merry men who prey on
commuters and other innocent people on the streets of
Johaneesburg. One day, this ruthless hoodlum who happens to be the leader of his gang robs a car from an
affluent part of Johannesburg only to find out a few miles down the road that the
car contained a baby in the back seat. Beginning with his decision not to leave
the baby in the back of the car, the film follows him as he makes a crucial
series of choices - each one peeling off the veneer of his hateful character to
reveal a deep seated humanity.
The film is a gritty and moving portrait of an angry blackman experiencing urban deprivation in its extreme; his troubled mind
reflected in the raw energy of the mostly Kwaito Soundtrack featuring Zola, Vusi, Mahlasela and Mafikizolo.
As put succinctly by the writer/director of the film, ‘what I was trying to do with the film
is to say to audiences is, “here’s the guy you fear, be him, live his
life, experience his roll of the dice and see if you don’t find something human
in him”.
This film touches on important issues all to familiar
in post Apartheid South Africa-HIV/Aids and racism, making it resonate both on
a simple, personal level, as well as in the broader social context.
It takes a certain kind of film to dance on opposites
sides of a moral issue whilst remaining compelling and
taut. Tsotsi is one of those films.
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