Tsotsi

Set in the slums of South Africa, the film Tsotsi written and directed by Gavin Hood, shows us the life of a young hoodlum. A young man who goes by the name of Tsotsi, which means “thug,” lives a ruthless life of crime as the head of a small gang. Hardened by his tough life, Tsotsi seems to be heading down a bad path as he is shown stabbing a man in a robbery; striking one of his own gang members; and even degrading a crippled homeless gentleman. Continuing on his careless path he one night decides to highjack a car in a wealthy neighborhood. However, the owner of the vehicle resists his attempt to steal her car, and is shot in the stomach by Tsotsi. As Tsotsi speeds off in the car it comes to his attention that the woman left her baby in the back seat of the car. For whatever strange reason he decides to leave the car and take the baby back with him to the slums. As he develops the idea to take care of the child he forces a local mother, Miriam, by gun point to help him take care of the child. Eventually, after a series of events including Tsotsi returning to the home where he first stole the child and murdering one of his own gang members, Miriam becomes aware that Tsotsi stole the child and pleads with him to return it. Finally, the movie ends with a selfless Tsotsi, willingly returning the child to its parents and turning himself in the surrounding police.

Tsotsi, the story of a young man with a tough childhood striving to survive by any means possible. We watch as this cold; heartless individual is challenged by this child to develop a sense of sympathy and compassion; and in turn completely change his behavior all together.

I really enjoyed this film and highly recommend it to everyone. The storyline is really intriguing. In America today we see these movies about gangsters with hard lives that just seem more cliché than the next as it glorifies a criminal. Here is a film that really shows a young man with a hard life that struggles to survive. Tsotsi is not glorified nor meant to be a character the crowd is supposed to feel for. Yet, we can’t help but want for him to change his ways and succeed even though he’s nothing but a simple cold hearted criminal. The film is a must see for anyone who like the tough; street thug; gangster movie.