Tsotsi

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The film Tsotsi is directed by Gavin Hood and takes place in a Soweto slum, near Johannesburg, South Africa. Tsotsi is also the nick name of the main character in the film, which means gangster. He is the leader of a small gang. One day, he steals a car from a woman. While driving the car he discovers a baby in the back seat. He takes the valuable items in the car and takes the baby as well. The film shows Tsotsi trying to raise the child and in doing so he becomes a different person.

I believe this film is trying to expose that much hasn’t change in South Africa. The film highlighted that poverty, crime and AIDS are still major issues in Africa. Tsotsi character faces each issue during the film. Tsotsi lives in a little shack; he takes the baby to his old home which was construction pipes where kids were living in at the moment. Tsotsi is involved with crime because he steals in order to survive. The last issue is shown in one of Tsotsi flashbacks. He was watching his mother die of AIDS when he was a little boy, this is also where we find out his real name is David.

Overall, I think Tsotsi is a great film. In the beginning of the film my impression of Tsotsi is that he is a dangerous and heartless thug; especially after I witnessed his gang kill a man as they robbed him. Then afterwards when his friend Boston confronts Tsotsi about the man they murder, Tsotsi goes off on his friend and beats him up badly. At this point I was disgusted with Tsotsi; I was hoping something bad would happen to him. After Tsotsi took the baby he found in the car he stole I began to feel different about him. He could’ve abandoned the baby or even killed it. I liked the fact that Tsotsi didn’t make a drastic change as soon as he found the baby for instance, when Tsotsi held the women at gunpoint making her breastfeed the baby. Even though he is committing an unjust act I wasn’t that upset about his actions because he was doing it for the baby. Tsotsi not having such a drastic change right away and still resorting to his old ways made the film more believable. I couldn’t believe I was sympathizing with a thug that has helped murder someone and nearly killed two other people. The flashbacks of his childhood and his progression of becoming a better person in the film aided to why I felt sympathetic for him. At the end of the movie when Tsotsi returned the baby back to his parents I felt that represented him starting his life over as a new person.