Tsotsi - Gavin Hood

The fact that the most touching stories come from some of the most chaotic places has almost become an established fact now in the world of cinema. So when a passionate and visionary filmmaker by the name of Gavin Hood from South Africa decided to make a movie on redemption, he was bound to make the world sit up and take notice. His Tsotsi, is not merely a thriller about a criminal’s transformation, it is a deeper realizations on part of a man, whose life is as much a turmoil from within, as it is on the outside.

As the camera rolls, Hood introduces us to Tsotsi without divulging any detail about him – even his name isn’t genuine (it is simply a loose translation of Thug). He is a man with no past and a constant steely frown on his face, with four hoodlums for chums and partners-in-crime, who gorge on stolen food and beer, eve-tease young damsels, and talk while brandishing dangerous weapons in their hands. Somehow this feeling of déjà-vu surrounds you - this seems to like just another ghetto movie on black guys gone all wrong - and you are fighting off the laziness to get off the couch and microwave some pop-corn. Suddenly you are jolted back by the ensuing chain of events that follow almost without any customary wait, engaging your attention and binding you in an ethereal spell.

In the opening sequence, Tsotsi and his gang – Aap, Butcher and Boston – shadow an old man, loaded with some dough, and demand money from him in an overcrowded train. Provoked a little too soon, a cold, ruthless Tsotsi stabs the man fatally, and runs away with the money without a display of so much as an iota of remorse. Following the murder, Boston, the conscientious one of the lot, instigates Tsotsi by bringing up the subject of his past, and his lack of “decency” (a word he constantly harps on), enraging him and getting beaten up mercilessly in the ensuing altercation.

After almost a murder and a half and in a fit of heightened rage, Tsotsi carries out a solo act of shooting a rich woman, and confiscating her flashy BMW, only to find that he got more than he bargained (or shot) for - An infant in the backseat. He abandons the vehicle but takes the infant to his shack, adopting the role of a surrogate father not quite prepared to take care of a child. Over time, he develops paternal feelings towards the child and distances himself from his gang. His anger metamorphoses into tender care for the baby, who becomes a part of his life. Enter Miriam, a beautiful, caring and loving Madonna of a widow with a child of her own, and it almost seems like the story is going to unfold predictably. A desperate Tsotsi follows Miriam, and orders her at gunpoint to feed the hungry child, which she does fearfully but willingly. If Tsotsi is the surrogate father (who almost believes that he is his father), then Miriam becomes the child's surrogate mother.

Tsotsi, however, does not end his vagabond ways, and goes back to the house of the child’s real parents, stealing money and toys for “David” (as he calls the child. Apparently Tsotsi’s real name is David). In the process, he kills Butcher, who is about to shoot the father in an indecisive moment. A terrified Aap, decides to go his own way after witnessing the fates of Boston and Butcher. After gentle persuasion from Miriam, Tsotsi, who has almost come to his senses anyway, decides to reunite the child to his parents and mend his erring ways – resurrecting himself from the filth of evil, submitting himself to the goodness inside him and restoring our faith in humanity.

As a director, Hood takes us on a journey of a man who emotionally speaking, is a walking corpse on the outside. On the surface, he looks like he is so dead inside that no level of brutality or compassion can move him (even for an old pitiable cripple). But like a river’s course is decided by the hospitality of the terrain through which it meanders, a man becomes what he does because of the circumstances in his life, and it is then we understand that had Tsotsi had the childhood of the child he “kidnaps”, he may never had to turn to a life of crime. Behind the veil of brutality and invincibility lies a face and heart of a traumatized child who’s only survived by fighting, and as a result has toughened up and become bitter towards the world. A man who can cry, a child who can play, a father who can dote, and a lover who can listen – he could easily be all of them, but somehow he never thought those were options for a drifter like him. At the end of the day, it takes a whimpering, needy child and a level-headed woman to infuse some humanity back into him.

Hood’s primary intention was to make a moving thriller as manifested in his words - “In bringing Tsotsi to the screen, our primary intention was to make a taut, well-paced, character driven, psychological thriller. We also wanted to transport our audience into a world of radical contrasts. Skyscrapers and shacks, wealth and poverty, violent anger and gentle compassion--all collide in a film that is, ultimately, a classic story of redemption.” With sheer aesthetic genius and an eye for detail a perfectionist would yearn for, he transforms his tale into a majestic saga of redemption.

Hood’s decision to cast young unknown native actors paid off as he chose perhaps the most apt actors – the young intense Presley Chweneyagae (Tsotsi/David) and the beautiful, tranquil Terry Phato (Miriam). Every close-up shot is full of so much heat and intensity and it was formidable for such young, inexperienced actors to do justice to their roles, and they do more than their share, especially when every scene demands it and they can’t let their guard down. Same goes for other actors as well.

The cinematography of the movie contributes enormously to its appeal too. The ubiquitous posters of HIV/AIDS adorning the dilapidated walls of the hood are as menacing and remind us that we are not in the hearts of New York – the city that never sleeps, but out there where the brutality of sheer reality doesn’t ever loosen its clutches. It’s “hardcore” survival out there where men fight to death over simplest of things, where cheap beer flows more freely than water, where women do not have husbands, and where money doesn’t provide retribution even if poor is your middle name. Hood made sure that the surroundings constantly kept the viewers aware of where they are by using widescreen aspect ratio on Super 35mm to capture the milieu with its most intricate details. He also shot extreme close-ups “to create a real sense of intimacy between audience and actor, to allow the audience to look almost directly into the actor’s eyes,” according to him and does so impeccably.

Watch this thriller just for the thrills, if not for far more that it offers.

Trailer