An uncommunicative, vicious thug roving the impoverished shantytowns of South Africa, Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae) has been hardened by years of parental abandonment and his cold-blooded crimes. After beating one of his crew nearly to death, Tsotsi runs away, eventually carjacking a rich woman, shooting her, and unknowingly taking off with her infant son. Captivated with the purity of spirit in the child, the criminal is soon confronted with his own conscience, taking Tsotsi on a journey of profound regret as he tries to change his criminal ways, looking to the baby as a second chance at a life of decency.
Gavin Hood's "Tsotsi" (based on a novel) succeeds not only as a drama, but also as a piece of modern film-making that gives a new urgency to the stories that are still to be told from South Africa. While not hipster, flashy film-making found in the similar "City of God" or "Kontroll," "Tsotsi" feels alive in every frame, at first through convention, and then through a gradually revealing and heartfelt storyline of redemption.
Seen through the eyes of actor Chweneyagae, Tsotsi is a road map of trouble. Here is a man at first unrepentant about his crimes, willingly prowling the streets looking for victims that he and his crew often end up killing in the process of trying to squeeze a few bucks out of them. In his film debut, Chweneyagae is outstanding, able to convey the despondency of a criminal life with the smallest expression, powerfully captured by Hood and his production crew.
With the introduction of the baby in Tsotsi's life, Chweneyagae and Hood resist shortcuts through the film that would take the character to greener pastures quickly. Tsotsi's journey to enlightenment is much more deliberate than that, and the audience can feel every lingering razor blade the character swallows as he comes to terms with the terror of the man he's become.
Hood offers some explanation for Tsotsi's behavior, but doesn't romanticize the character. In Chweneyagae's interpretation, Tsotsi is finally able to confront his dark childhood through the infant's presence, and uses this time for personal inventory not to lament past horrors, but to find a new path for his wrongly directed life. It's a disturbing, yet achingly poignant character arc.
Hood offers very little Disneyfication of the "Tsotsi" world, with most of the characters enraged and suffering in their own unique ways. While boosted at times by a lilting African choral score, "Tsotsi" remains a violent film, with characters that are not easily swayed by sentimentality. Hood creates a very vivid, almost apocalyptic world for this story, and his commitment to strong characterization is what keeps the film such a special viewing experience. "Tsotsi" can be abrasive stuff, but the fierce, internalized salvation of the title character is a true inspiration, and makes for a resoundingly compelling South African treat.
A-
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