An amoral teenager develops an unexpected paternal side in this powerful drama from South Africa. Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae) is the street name used by a young Johannesburg delinquent who has taken to a life of crime in order to support himself. Tsotsi comes from a blighted upbringing -- his mother died slowly from AIDS-related illnesses, and his father was torturously abusive -- and he has developed a talent for violence borne of necessity as well as taking strange pleasure in hurting other
people. One evening, Tsotsi shoots a woman while stealing her car, and only later discovers that her infant son is in the back seat. Uncertain of what to do with the baby, Tsotsi takes the boy home and tries to care for it -- going so far as to force Miriam (Terry Pheto), a single mother living nearby, to nurse the baby. With time, Tsotsi learns the basics of child care, and the presence of the baby awakens a sense of humanity in him that life on the street had stripped away. Tsotsi was adapted from a novel by the award-winning South African writer Athol Fugard. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
It is a first peek at a South Africa that doesn't need a Hollywood studio or Hollywood stars to present itself to the world, or to come to grips with itself at home.
The picture can be squishy and obvious. Yet it works, thanks to Gavin Hood's straightforward, sensitive direction and his star's emotionally charged performance.
It's a redemption song that could be stripped down into a Hallmark-esque distillation of "City of God." Instead, it retains a minor key, with bullets, blood and beatings illustrating a descent into dangerous living while a baby's presence suggests hope.
Gavin Hood's Oscar-nominated tale about a young South African gangster who gets an unexpected chance at redemption is literally a world apart from anything produced by Hollywood.
Un drama urbano duro y conmovedor, si bien algo previsible, con un estupendo protagonista. Una película realmente atendible que nos acerca al infrecuente cine sudafricano.
Amazing, intense perfomance in the lead role - reminded me of Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come - the setting was fascinating, the direction solid and dynamic, killer tunes... but... i think Charlie Chaplin actually passed on this script back in 1918 - citing the "transparent, hack sentimentalism".
This is an alright movie to be honest its completely in subtitles but dont et that put you of! If i compared it to anothr movie it would be similar to kidulthood/adulthood just that its based in south africa jonaahburg, but along te same line its just about a poor group of lads who have no way of iving apart from
resulting to crime and this one day tsotsi steals a car which turns ut to have a baby in the back and he must do the right thing so it leads him on a journey of rights and wrongs and we see th horrible unbringing hes had in life and its quite a captivating heartwarming movie and its worth a watch though i didnt particualy like the ending but apart from that yu get to see what its like for poor people in south africa an troubles life gives tem really worth a watch!
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