SnoopyStyle
In the slums of Johannesburg, Tsotsi is the ruthless leader of his small gang of Butcher, Aap and Boston. Butcher kills an old man during a mugging. Boston starts questioning Tsotsi's brutality and Tsotsi beats him up. Tsotsi shoots a woman during a carjacking and finds a baby in the backseat. He takes the baby back home to the slums.The lead Presley Chweneyagae is an amateur actor. I'm fine with him at the beginning, and I love the location. In the end, I don't think he's hard enough. I imagine Tsotsi would be more fun as a big hard guy trying to take care of a little baby. He's more of a little guy. He does have a little psycho edge to him but he could be crazier. Evenutally the amateur acting fails to raise the movie to the next level.
Dale Haufrect
"Tsotsi" is a truly unforgettable film from 2005. It is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The director is Gavin Hod. The novel is by Athol Fugard and the screenwriter is Gavin Hood. Actors include Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi and Mothusi Magano. Tsotsi is gorgeous, riveting, poignant, and thrilling. Not only is it a first-rate piece of storytelling, but it also takes the viewer into a world of South African poverty and crime that he has never seen before. Director/writer Gavin Hood offers us a tale of tragic redemption and uncommon poetry in a subculture of the most abject immorality. Truly unforgettable. The only work in recent times to which this movie can be compared is City of God. There, too, the viewer is brought into a world of poverty and crime he probably never knew existed. It is a world so bleak that it forces the viewer to examine his own morality and wonder how much of the civility he takes for granted in his life is merely the luxury of the well fed and comfortable. These characters live on the edge and their primary passion is survival. I gave it 8 stars. Dale Haufrect
otieno-nimesota
This film describes problems that the Republic of South Africa has from the view of the main character, Tsotsi. South Africa has many serious problems like high crime rate, HIV, and high unemployment rate. Tsotsi is one of the people who suffer from such problems, and he needs to commit crimes to live. He takes up arms, and attacks people by force.However, one day he finds something stronger than force. He cannot wound the baby and the woman who cares his baby. Tsotsi had not been loved, but he finds he wants to love somebody. He regrets what he did, and finally he tries to make up for his misdeed with his all possible efforts. His look changes dramatically after he found the baby. At the beginning of the story, Tsotsi was just a delinquent boy, but he changes a man who can love somebody. All of actors, especially Presley Chweneyagae who acts Tsotsi, put on splendid performance. They and awesome story make us be moved.
Jackson Booth-Millard
I obviously saw this listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, and I was mistaken into thinking the image of the lead character was a female LOL, he is a handsome guy, and then I read what it involved and I had to see it, from director Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: X-Men). Basically Tsotsi, real name David (Presley Chweneyagae) is the teenager, small time criminal, gang leader and sociopath who has no emotions and feelings as he has been so hardened by a troubled tough life living in Johannesburg, South Africa. One night he and his gang of friends, Butcher (Zenzo Ngqobe), Aap (Kenneth Nkosi) and Boston (Mothusi Magano), get onto a train and surrounded by the crowd manage to stab a man for his money, and Boston gets a bad injury from Tsotsi hitting him. Next we see Tsotsi trying to steal the car belonging to a rich resident, he shoots young woman Pumla Dube (Nambitha Mpumlwana), and he is shocked after getting away to discover a three-month baby in the back seat, so he quickly strips the car of valuables and goes back to his shack with the child. Pumla survived the gunshot, but has been made disabled, unable to walk ever again, and with the help of the police investigating a composite sketch is made of the thug which runs in the newspapers. It is obvious that Tsoti is unable to care properly for the child, with bad sleeping conditions, trying to hide the baby, and unable to provide the right food, so he forces his way into the home Miriam (Terry Pheto). He makes her feed the baby with her breast milk, and meanwhile his gang members are approached by rich gang leader Fela (Zola) to be recruited and work for him. Tsotsi visits Miriam a second time and again has her feed the baby, and she offers to take the child and raise him in the better conditions he needs, as she has a baby and knows how to care for one, he agrees. When he returns home he decides to take care of Boston, aka Teacher Boy, after the injuries he gave him, but he also wants to help him take the teachers' examination he wanted to, but this may mean another robbery. Tsotsi joins Butcher and Aap back to Pumla's house where her husband John Dube (Rapulana Seiphemo) returns from hospital where she is recovering, one keeps an eye on him tied up, one raids the house, and Tsotsi collects some things from the baby's room. John activates the alarm, and when Butcher was going to shoot him dead Tsotsi stop him with a gun shot, they escape and Aap was shocked to see him kill their friend. The traumatised Aap stays away from Tsotsi, who returns to Miriam, she knows he got the baby, who he nicknames "David" after himself, from the wealthy couple, and begs him to return the child to his parents. He goes to the house of John and Pumla saying on the intercom he will leave the baby outside the gate, Captain Smit (Ian Roberts) and other police officers show up quickly pointing their guns. In the end Tsotsi tearfully gives the baby back to John after eventually being convinced to hand it back, and it ends with him ordered to raise his hands for the police. Also starring Jerry Mofokeng as Morris, Percy Matsemela as Inspector Sergeant Zuma, Thembi Nyandeni as Soekie, Owen Sejake as Gumboot Dlamini, Israel Makoe as Tsotsi's Father, Sindi Khambule as Tsotsi's Mother and Benny Moshe as Young Tsotsi. In the role as the title character Chweneyagae gives a remarkable underplayed performance that sees almost no emotion and it all being in the eyes, he obviously starts as a threatening young man, but he grows as he finds his softer side, it is a compelling story with thought-provoking material, great urban Kwaito music soundtrack, and on location scenery, all adding up to a fantastic crime drama. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, it was nominated the BAFTAs for Best Film not in the English Language, and it Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer for producer Peter Fudakowski, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Very good!
