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Tsotsi,
2006, 94 minutes, Rated R
By Ramona Prioleau
Children
do not choose the circumstances of their birth. But as they mature,
they adjust to their environment in order to survive. For those reared
without parental love, guidance or support in abject poverty, survival
may not be of the fittest, but of the toughest. Tough becomes cruel if
morals and tender emotions are ignored in the pursuit of a thug's
life.
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In Tsotsi, based on Athol
Fugard's novel of the same name, director Gavin Hood poignantly
captures a repressed soul's reawakening upon hearing the wail of a
child in need. The film is an engaging character study that stars
Presley Chweneyagae as a contemptible thug with a hair trigger who
rediscovers his humanity while caring for an infant.
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© 2006 Miramax Films
(l.
to r.) Terry Pheto as Miriam and Presley Chweneyagae as Tsotsi in Tsotsi
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In the slang of
South African townships, a tsotsi is a gangster. To the township and
the neighboring community, tsotsis are menaces that prey on society.
Yet, those choosing the tsotsi life are as varied as the solid
citizens who dismiss them as hopeless reprobates. In Hood's film,
the band of thugs is equally as distinctive, but the common thread
among them is the goal to reap financial gain by illegal means.
Leading
the film's featured mob is Tsotsi (Chweneyagae), a gangster who
abandons his name and his consciousness once he flees his troubled
boyhood home. On his own, Tsotsi settles in a two-story makeshift
"orphanage" on the outskirts of an impoverished township.
In time, Tsotsi improves his station and relocates to a dank,
dimly-lit tin shanty in Soweto where he and his cohorts often
meet to discuss their upcoming capers.
Aggressive,
street smart and bold, Tsotsi controls an odd assortment of
low-level hoods united by their friendship and a belief in Tsotsi's
leadership. Essentially stickup artists, the crew climbs several
rungs on the criminal ladder when a sinister threat evolves into a
senseless act of violence. As a result, loyalties are tested and
lives are re-examined.
Chweneyagae's
Tsotsi commands attention with his intense performance of the
unapologetic gangster who conceals a wounded spirit behind a mask of
impassivity and a cloak of brutality that shields him in a hostile
world. With equal care, Chweneyagae portrays the miscreant in the
throes of rediscovery as Tsotsi confronts his demons and allows
light and life to enter his somber corner of the world.
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The film, while centering on the title character, also
reflects the current social problems hindering progress in South
Africa with less emphasis placed on politics and more weight given to
the devastating reality of crime, poverty and illness. The soundtrack
features a pulsating assortment of Zola's 'Kwaito' tunes and Vusi
Mahlasela haunting ballads. The combination the Zola's
testosterone-infused rhythms and Mahlasela's melodies gives the film a
dynamic range and distinctive vibe that enliven the film viewing
experience.
M
February 2006
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