Tsotsi
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| Tsotsi | |
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 |
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| Directed by | Gavin Hood |
| Produced by | Peter Fudakowski |
| Written by | Athol Fugard (novel), Gavin Hood |
| Starring | Presley Chweneyagae |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films (USA) |
| Release date(s) |  18 August 2005 (premiere at EFF 23 December 2005 23 February 2006 24 February 2006 (limited) 17 March 2006 |
| Running time | 94 mins. |
| Language | Tsotsitaal (Isicamtho) |
| Budget | ~ US$3,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
- This article is about the film Tsotsi. For the language, see Tsotsitaal.
Tsotsi is a 2005 Academy Award-winning dramatic film directed by Gavin Hood and set in Soweto, near Johannesburg, South Africa. It is based on a novel of the same name by Athol Fugard. The soundtrack features Kwaito music performed by the popular South African artist Zola as well as a score by Mark Kilian and Paul Hepker featuring the voice of legendary South African protest singer/poet Vusi Mahlasela.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Tsotsi/David
Tsotsi is a young gang leader of four that resides in the slums of Soweto, Johannesburg. Having run away from home due to an abusive father, Tsotsi spent his entire childhood living in a large pipe with Aap, his best friend. As a result, all he cared about was survival, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to get money. Tsotsi accidentally kidnapped a three month old baby while he was stealing a car and had to take care of him. His experience in the days after the kidnapping reveals his humane side. Later in the film, he remembers his real name to be David. Regretting what he did, David returned the baby to his family, and surrendered to the police.
[edit] Boston
Boston is a short-sighted alcoholic member of Tsotsi's gang. He is nicknamed Teacher Boy because everyone thought he used to be a teacher. He lectured Tsotsi on decency when his gang killed a man while mugging him on a metro train, and was subsequently beaten up by Tsotsi. Later, he reveals that he was never a teacher. A deleted scene shows that he ran to the slums to hide because he had raped a girl while in college.
[edit] Aap
Aap is Tsotsi's best friend, having been together since childhood. Aap tends to be an extremely obedient person, never questioning what Tsotsi does. He has a happy-go-lucky attitude, never looking back at past failures. (Aap mentioned an incident where two former gang members were shot dead.) Aap is also greedy, many scenes in the film show Aap with food in his hand. His greed proved costly when he raided John Dube's fridge while he was supposed to guard John, allowing John to raise the alarm. He leaves Tsotsi after he shot Butcher dead when the alarm was raised.
[edit] Butcher
Butcher is the fourth member of Tsotsi's gang. He is always seen brandishing an ice pick. Butcher is dishonest and rude, always cheating in craps. He made fun of Miriam when her baby cried. Apart from this, Butcher is very violent (hence his name). During the mugging on the metro train, he stabbed the victim to death. When the gang and him are robbing John's house, Butcher intends to kill John, but was only stopped when he himself was shot in the head by Tsotsi.
[edit] Morris
Morris is a disabled man in a wheelchair who begs for money in the Park Metro Station. Morris was a gold miner. He became permanently crippled when a beam fell on him. Morris spat on Tsotsi's foot when he tried to vault over his wheelchair on his way to meet his friends. Tsotsi confronted Morris under a flyover, but fortunately he is not hurt. In the end, he receives some money from Tsotsi a few days later.
[edit] Miriam
Miriam is a widowed mother living in Tsotsi's neighbourhood. Having lost her husband, Miriam sews for a living and sometimes sells ornaments made from broken glass. She is asked to take care of the kidnapped baby by Tsotsi. Miriam's words helped Tsotsi rediscover his humanity. When she found that the baby is the one reported missing, she convinces Tsotsi to return the baby.
[edit] Captain Smith
Captain Smith is the police captain in charge of the investigation of the baby's disappearance. Smith faced many difficulties in finding the culprit, namely because Tsotsi is a nobody, and lives in a crowded township of a million people. Fortunately, he is told what Tsotsi looks like. Tsotsi and his gang's activiies in John's neighbourhood causes the police to station an officer in John's house. When Tsotsi comes to return the baby, Smith and his men are alerted and arrive just in time to surround Tsotsi.
[edit] Synopsis
The film centres on the life of a young Johannesburg small time gang leader named Tsotsi – a colloquial term roughly meaning "thug" in Tsotsitaal (translated as "thug lingo"), the township patois in which the movie is filmed.
The story begins with the introduction of Tsotsi and his friends. Aap and Butcher are playing craps while Boston reads the newspaper. Butcher and Aap ask Tsotsi what they will be doing that night.
The gang of four heads to the Park Metro Station, looking for a target to mug. They find a rich man and follow him onto a train, where they steal his money. In the struggle, Butcher stabs the man to death. That night at a bar, Boston expresses his disgust at that day’s events and the gang’s lack of decency. He asks Tsotsi whether he has a real name, parents or even a dog. The latter question angers Tsotsi, causing him to brutally beat up Boston in front of everyone before running off. He eventually arrives at a rich man's house.
As he shivers in the rain, Tsotsi has flashbacks of his childhood: Him running away from home, and living in a large hollow pipe. He sees a woman driving up to the gates. The woman, Pumla, rings the bell and asks her husband John to open it for her. Tsotsi takes the opportunity to steal the car, shooting Pumla in the leg before driving off. He discovers a baby in the back seat. Tsotsi hastily strips the car of its valuables and takes the baby with him.
The following morning, Tsotsi changes the diapers of the baby, using a newspaper in its place, and feeds him with condensed milk. He tries to hide the baby from his friends when they knock at his door. He is told that Boston can no longer work for him. Tsotsi tells Aap and Butcher to meet him at the station that night.
Meanwhile, the police, led by Captain Smith finds Pumla's car with its wheels missing. Since Tsotsi is a nobody, fingerprints cannot help them in tracking him down. All they can do is to create an artist’s impression of his appearance.
In the station, Tsotsi bumps into a disabled man on his way to meet up his friends. The man spits at Tsotsi’s feet before moving away. This causes an enraged Tsotsi to follow the man. He confronts the man beneath a flyover. Having controlled his anger, Tsotsi asks why the man continued to live on if he could not walk anymore. The man, who was permanently disabled in a mining accident, explains that even though he cannot walk, he cherishes small pleasures in life.
The following morning, Tsotsi finds the baby covered with ants, and begins to look for someone who could take care of the baby for him. Tsotsi spots Miriam collecting water from a public tap. He follows her to her house and forces her at gunpoint to feed the baby. Having seen her homemade decorations, Tsotsi is impressed.
Back at the bar, Aap and Butcher chat with Fela, the rich gang leader. The barkeep Soekie shows Aap a newspaper article reporting the crime Tsotsi has done. Aap refuses to believe that it was Tsotsi, since he cannot even drive. A badly bruised Boston states that since Tsotsi never went to school, he does not have decency. Meanwhile, Butcher intends to work for Fela.
Tsotsi lays down the baby in his bed and begins to sleep. In his sleep, Tsotsi has another flashback of his childhood. He remembers his real name, David. His mother was dying of a serious illness, but his father forbade him from coming near her. His father even brutally kicked David's dog when it barked at him. As a result, he ran away from home and spent his childhood living in a large pipe.
All of a sudden, David is awoken by Aap, who is “just stopping by”. Aap is worried that Butcher wants to work for Fela. David criticizes Aap for not being able to make decisions on his own and tries to convince him that he does not want to commit any more crimes. He tells Aap to join Fela's gang before slamming the door in his face.
The baby begins to cry again, David asks him if he wants to go back to his big house, and takes him to where he had lived as a child and meets with the kids currently living there. Afterwards, he drops the baby off at Miriam's house, and lets her take care of the baby for him. He learns that Miriam lost her husband earlier on. David then decides to take care of Boston himself. He lets him sleep in his bed. Boston explains that he was never a teacher because he never took the examination. David and his friends decide to help him get some money so he can pay for the examination.
The three head back to John’s house. They follow John into the house and tie him up. Aap is assigned to watch John. While Butcher ransacks the house, David enters the baby’s room and steals a baby bottle and a large can of milk powder. Aap goes to raid the fridge, and John raises the alarm. In panic, Butcher threatens to kill John. However, David shoots Butcher dead before fleeing with Aap. The two escape in John’s car, just moments before the security company personnel arrive.
David hands the car over to Fela. Aap finally decides to leave David and work for Fela, fearing that David will one day hurt him. David then heads to Miriam’s place, badly shaken by the experience. Miriam tells David that having read the newspaper, she knows who the baby is. She says that David may have permanently disabled the baby’s mother, and begs him to return the baby.
Having rejected Miriam’s offer to return the baby on his behalf, David sets off on his own with the baby. He reaches John’s house, and places the baby at the gates. He then tells John over the intercom that he has returned the baby. Meanwhile, officer Steyn is watching David, and alerts Captain Smith. David is about to walk away, but he is overcome by his feelings with the baby when the baby begins to cry. He tries to pick the baby up and comfort him.
All of a sudden, the police arrive and surround him. The police train their guns on David, ordering him to return the baby. However, John urges them to lower their weapons so that he can retrieve the baby himself. David emotionally returns the baby to John, and bursts into tears. The police aim their guns at David. Captain Smith orders him to raise his hands. David does so, hence he has surrendered to the police.
[edit] Alternate endings
In the Bonus Features of the DVD, there are two more endings, in which Tsotsi/David either gets killed by the police or manages to escape.
In one of the endings, David dies. The police aim their guns at him and Captain Smith orders him to raise his hands. David does so, and Captain Smith smiles proudly at Sergeant Zuma. Suddenly, David hears the baby crying. He reaches for a baby bottle full of milk in his pocket. This makes Steyn think that he wants to draw a weapon. He shoots David in the chest. David drops the bottle in pain, and it shatters into many pieces. David collapses, his eyes still focused on the baby. Captain Smith and Steyn appear very sorry for shooting him by mistake. A smile appears on David's face as he loses consciousness.
In the other, David escapes. The police aim their guns at him and Captain Smith orders him to raise his hands. David does so, and Captain Smith smiles proudly at Sergeant Zuma. Suddenly, David hears the baby crying. He reaches for a baby bottle full of milk in his pocket. This makes Steyn think that he wants to draw a weapon. He shoots David in the right shoulder blade. David drops the bottle in pain, and it shatters into many pieces. He clutches his shoulder, and looks dazed at the police and John then turns and runs away. David jumps over a wall, dodging Captain Smith's bullet much to the surprise of the family. David runs back to the township, he has escaped.
[edit] Awards
Tsotsi won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards. In 2005, Gavin Hood was nominated for the Screen International Award at the European Film Awards for his work on the movie. It also received a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006. The film also won at least five "audience" or "people's choice" awards at film festivals.
[edit] Cast
- Presley Chweneyagae - Tsotsi
- Mothusi Magano - Boston
- Israel Makoe - Tsotsi's father
- Percy Matsemela - Sergeant Zuma
- Jerry Mofokeng - Morris
- Benny Moshe - Young Tsotsi
- Nambitha Mpumlwana - Pumla Dube
- Zenzo Ngqobe - Butcher
- Kenneth Nkosi - Aap
- Thembi Nyandeni - Soekie
- Terry Pheto - Miriam
- Ian Roberts - Captain Smit
- Rapulana Seiphemo - John Dube
- Owen Sejake - Gumboot Dlamini
- Zola - Fela
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Read an review of Tsotsi at Fly
- Tsotsi at the Internet Movie Database
- Channel 4 interview with actor/kwaito star, Zola
- Soundtrack at Milan Records
- Interview with Tsotsi composers Paul Hepker and Mark Kilian
- Review by Markus Scheuermaier from Harvard University
| Preceded by The Sea Inside |
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2005 |
Succeeded by n/a |
