Friday, October 5, 2012
Tsotsi - An examination of Township life in South Africa -
After viewing the film your task now is to write a film review based on what you saw. Be sure to focus on the following:
1. Describe life in the Alexandria township in which the film is set.
2. An attempt to explain how Tsotsi fits into modern South African life.
3. Contrast his life with that of the father of the taken child. Why do you think their lives took such different paths?
4. Mention if you think that Tsotsi was sufficiently reformed to re-enter life in a South African township by the end of the film. "Step out" of your own society with its morals and ethics, before answering this.
5. Mention how Gavin Hood (The director) could have made a better film for foreign audiences.
6. An overall impression of the film.
Authentic from start to finish
ReplyDeleteIt's so great to finally see a major feature film that shows Africa from an African perspective, as opposed to through the prism of Western eyes. Another recent well-deserved Oscar winner (Best foreign language film) I just had to have in my collection; this is a violent and uncompromising look at life in a Soweto township.
Presley Cheweneyagae plays the lead, a Johannesburg small-time gangster whose nickname Tsotsi means "thug". I read somewhere that Presley was discovered playing Hamlet in a Soweto theatre group. He's a find in a million, as his performance is mesmerising.
Tsotsi finds a baby in the back of a car he's just jacked off a suburban black woman as the woman waited for the security gates outside her home to open. He doesn't do the expected and simply dump the baby at the side of the road - surprisingly, he decides to take it home and care for it. He hasn't a clue how to care for a child of course and he turns to a local woman who makes decorative mobiles from glass. She's a nursing mother herself, and - under the threat of death, mind you - Tsotsi gets her to look after the child while he goes back out there to do his thing.
It's an interesting study of how complex life is for people who don't have much and while the movie doesn't make excuses or descend into sentimentality at any point, it's engaging to gradually see the heart of the man called Tsotsi - a man who at first glance seemed utterly heartless - emerge for all to see. It's a great story, based on the novel by South African playwright Athol Fugard, and the final scenes had me (literally) on the edge of my seat the first time I watched it. Gavin Hood makes good use of Johannesburg's urban setting and the natural beauty of South Africa. I strongly recommend this movie. For anyone who might not know and who may have an interest, this is an authentic slice of African life. Olukayoda Bologun
Watching this movie for the first time I was completely shocked with the delivery in each scene and the way the director chose how to display South Africa. This movie really opened my life to the way blacks live in the townships and what they must do to get along in the world.
ReplyDeleteIn the first few scenes of the movie, it shows Tsotsi with his gang members walking through the township about to go on a job. Just in that scene it shows so much about the life style the Tsotsi and others whom live the township must go through everyday. Throughout the movie there is a lot of violence, killings, but most importantly the personality change of Tsotsi.
When Tsotsi runs away from the township after beating up Boston, he runs into the suburbs where he is found crying in the rain against the tree. Through this scene it flashes back to his childhood when he was running away from home. As a child, Tsotsi’s mom died of AIDs and his dad was an abusive drunk; Tsotsi ran away from home and lived in pipes with other children whom had run away. From such a young age Tsotsi was on his own and had to make his way through life. As Tsotsi sits against the tree, a car pulls up into the house across the street. The lady gets out of her car and gave Tsotsi the chance to steal it. He points his gun to her gets in the car and attempts to drive away. The lady tries to stop him and she ends of getting shot.
After a while Tsotsi crashes the car into a pole; he was in the process of stealing everything in the car when he looked in the back seat and saw a baby. Tsotsi decides to take the baby and throughout the few days he has it he cares for it. The baby taught Tsotsi many things about life and decisions that he did not understand before but he also keeps his old habits. To feed the baby, Tsotsi held a woman in the township at gunpoint and doesn’t leave until it’s fed.
After a few days he goes back with his gang to rob another person. Tsotsi this time takes them to the house where he shot and stole the baby. Wondering why Tsotsi would go back to the house is interesting. Tsotsi instead of stealing money and jewels, he steals supplies for the baby. As they leave, Tsotsi shoots one of the members in his gang and doesn’t shoot the husband whom set off the alarm. A shocking twist that left me speechless.
After seeing that seen, I see how the baby has changed Tsotsi and even though he stole from the baby’s family he did not want to destroy his family. Back in the township, he goes to the women’s house that feeds the baby and he gives her toys and supplies. The women tells Tsotsi that he needs to give they baby back to his actually family. Tsotsi takes the baby in the middle of the night back to the house. Crying in the street with guns point at him the husband walks over to him and takes he’s baby back.
Throughout the movie Tsotsi struggles and makes mistakes; and in the end we should not be supporting Tsotsi because of his decisions, but because in the end he did the right thing a returned the baby makes us root for him.
The director of Tsotsi did a really great job of capturing a different view of townships in South Africa.
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ReplyDeleteThe life in the Alexandria Township was definitely sad and devastating. I could not even imagine living in an area with that much violence and crime. Not only trying to survive from day to day, the emotional aspect would be unbearable. Tsotsi fits into the modern South African lifestyle because he is strong and brave enough to defend and take care of himself. Since the lifestyle is in an “every man for himself” environment, Tsotsi had no other choice but to live the life displayed in the movie. Without theft of money and weaponry, Tsotsi could not have provided for himself and pursued his fearless lifestyle. Although Tsotsi is not happy about the life he is pursuing he knows that it is the only way he will survive in such a cutthroat environment. Tsotsi’s life ended the way it did because Tsotsi never had a loving and caring father like that of the baby in the film. I definitely do believe that the baby with the dad will be more emotionally stable and possibly more successful because of the guidance from his father. On the other hand, Tsotsi did have to grow up and learn life lessons the more difficult way, which in turn could possibly make Tsotsi a better person. I do think that Tsotsi was sufficiently reformed to re-enter life in a South African Township by the end of the movie, because through his 4 day adventure he developed a new perspective of not only people who live in the township, but also those who are more economically stable. I believe that Tsotsi now understands the tribulations a mother faces when they are not with their baby, which in turn has given Tsotsi a keen appreciation for mothers looking out for their children. I do not think that Gavin Hood could have made a better film for a foreign audience. He definitely hit all the appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. I was personally touched and would not change any scene in the movie. I would highly recommend this movie - mainly to broaden people’s perspective of what others face on a day-to-day basis.
ReplyDelete1.) We live in a place with accessible clean running water, are fortunate enough to be able to go to school everyday, and have a relatively safe life. From the perspective of someone who lives in suburban California with vastly different circumstances than someone living in the townships in Alexandria, the differences in the townships are somewhat hard to grasp. After watching this film I cannot admit to fully understanding what life in the townships is like, but I can say that after watching this film I have a better understanding of some of the struggles people in Alexandria need to endure.
ReplyDeleteIn the film, we get a good understanding of the geography and layout of the townships. The houses seem to all be constructed out of rusted corrugated pieces of aluminum. Most houses look uninhabitable as they are falling apart. To make matters worst all of the shacks are built on top of each other. Like sardines in a can, there is little to no space between each place. As a result of the extremely high population density, the streets are covered with litter, trash seems to be burning everywhere, and there are many people milling about. Overall Alexandria seems to be a crowded place with unfortunate high rates of poverty.
2.) Tsotsi seems to fit in to the South Africa in which he lives. Tsotsi lives in a township where the living is tough. As a result of the tough living conditions, Tsotsi is pushed into doing some awful things. Notably, he frequently steals from people and threatens others in order to get what he needs. Although we would like to think that these cruel actions of Tsotsi’s are just unique to him, these type of things happen daily in the townships. Therefore, we can say that Tsotsi fits into the life of a young man living in a township quite well. In essence, Tsotsi fits into the niche of South Africa that he has been put in.
3.) The father of the child Tsotsi takes lives a vastly different life than Tsotsi. Tsotsi struggles to get by in daily life in Alexandria. In fact, Tsotsi has resorted to stealing as a source of his only income and lives in a run down shack with hardly the essentials. Whereas, the father lives in an affluent suburb. In fact, at one point in time the father is seen driving to his expensive looking house equipped with a wine cellar and modern amenities in a Mercedes and BMW. Essentially, there could not be a bigger divide in the current lives of the father and Tsotsi. While watching the film, the viewer gets a sense that the two somehow have a connection. The way the father looks at Tsotsi is evidence of this. Perhaps, the father grew up in a township like Tsotsi and eventually got out. If the father once lived in a township like Alexandria it is hard to say how he escaped. Perhaps he received aid from someone outside the township or got a good job and worked his way up. Thinking about this further, it is hard to say what would account for his escape from the townships, since the townships seem to inflict a barrier that is passed from generation to generation.
4.) After Tsotsi’s experience with the child he has become a different person. Before he threatened people, physically intimidated them, and stole constantly. After caring for the child, Tsotsi becomes more sensitive. This is evidenced by the way he cared for Boston or even how he conducted his robbery on the child’s home. With this in mind, the question arises whether or not he is ready for life in the townships. I can’t say for sure if he is ready or not. It is clear that life in the townships is ruthless and unforgiving. If Tsotsi led a life where he didn’t steal he may not be able to survive. The way he has provided for himself is by taking advantage of other people. So if he has transformed into someone caring that does not steal, he may not be able to provide for himself anymore. On the other hand, the lady that help Tsotsi with the baby in the township appears to be caring and does just fine for herself in the township. In essence, Tsotsi has known nothing else other than to steal so living in the township may be a struggle in the future.
ReplyDelete5.) I thought this film was very effective in displaying many aspects of South African life and most specifically the life in the townships. As I said earlier, life in the townships may be hard to grasp for a foreign audience as it is drastically different from the norm in many places. With this being said, I thought the director did an excellent job of making the content “accessible” to a foreign audience. If there was one thing I thought the director could have added for a more effective message it would have been more footage of the city or developed affluent areas to really show the contrast between the poor in the townships and the wealthy.
6.) Overall I thought the film was very good and displayed life in the townships very well. The director as well as actors did a very good job of allowing the viewer to connect with the content in the film. This was good as it made the hard to grapple with concept of a township easier to understand. I also thought Tsotsi did an outstanding job. Although we saw him do some awful things, by the end of the film I began pulling for him.
Engaging and heart wrenching till the bittersweet end.
ReplyDeleteThe day starts and the day ends, much the same. In the township of Alexandria there is really no break from the constant grind of daily life. The people must overcome the hardships and struggles that present themselves. There is really no break from the corruption and lawlessness that occurs. Unfortunately, what is revealed in this movie is just how important crime is to people who have to support themselves. The Tsotsi director paints the township in a way that portrays the truth behind life in the township. Even the type of camera used by hood to film this movie captures the exact lighting and details that can be found in the actual slum.
The main character Tsotsi puts himself in many different kinds of risky situations as a means to try to fit into the modern South African person. However, there is a big difference as to what it means to be a modern South African living in the townships and what it means to be a modern South African living in the wealthier areas. As a means to make money and to support himself, Tsotsi lives the common gang life of theft, crime, and violence.
The real ethical and moral dilemma comes for Tsotsi when decides to steal a car from a woman who was trying to enter the security gates of her house. Tsotsi shot the woman and drove off with her car, completely unaware of what lied ahead of him, a baby. The moment Tsotsi really started to change from a thug into a more moral and ethical individual was when he decided to take the baby with him instead of leaving him on the streets. Throughout the four days that the movie follows the life of Tsotsi the viewer gets to watch how Tsotsi transforms and leaves his old ways, all in account of this baby. It could be said that the baby saved his life.
The interesting aspect of the movie is the comparison between the father of the stolen child and Tsotsi. The father, with his family, are living in a very high end house, which is seemingly the complete opposite of the life that Tsotsi lives. However, the way Hood directed this movie, the viewer starts to wonder how the father ended in the situation he is in. It appears as if the father was once living a life similar to that of Tsotsi and was able to escape the Townshend life and become successful.
Tsotsi enters the movie as a notorious thug who was infamous for his wrong doings in the Townshend. However, once Tsotsi chooses to take care of the baby and starts to actually care for him he changes. Tsotsi draws many connections from his past to this baby and is able to grow morally and ethically. In the end Tsotsi is faced with the hardest decision that he has had to make in his life and he morally thrived.
Hood did an amazing job directing this film for audiences who are well educated about South Africa. I think that a little more background information would suit the movie for those international viewers.
The movie Tsotsi is a true heart-wrencher and a must see! The viewer will be captivated with the detail, truth, and reality found within this movie.
The director, Mr. Gavin Hood, built Tsotsi into a must see film. I was moved by the story line, and had to force my tears back throughout the experience. The movie was filmed as if you were a part of Tsotsi’s gang. Essentially, the camera was at the same level as the actors, making it very personal and heavy.
ReplyDeleteThe film takes place in the township of Alexandria, just outside of Johannesburg. It follows a young man named David or “Tsotsi” (street name), as he evolves from a merciless gangster, into a loving sympathetic father figure. It is very difficult to escape crime in a township, as it is first nature to steal and commit crime in order to survive. The movie illustrates just how Tsotsi digs deep down into his heart to find his “decency,” commonly said by his friend, Boston.
The turning point for Tsotsi was when he went to do a “job” in the suburbs of Johannesburg. These jobs consist of various means of crime, usually ending up in death/violence and stealing for a profit. He waiting outside of a home for a woman, whom he stole a car from and shot. As Tsotsi did not know how to drive, he ended up crashing and was forced to abandon the car. Once he gathered various items in the car, he found a baby in the back seat. Immediately seeing this, I assumed he would just bail the car and the baby, carrying on with his struggling life. Interestingly, he felt connected to this child, and hearing the desperate cries as he attempted to walk away did the unexpected.
Tsotsi went on to take the child, housing it in a paper bag within his tin shack and feeding it with condensed milk. The new home for the child is a completely different than the previous house, as the baby’s parents are economically fortunate and can afford expensive home furnishings. (Later in the film he sees this difference when he is performing another job at the same house, ultimately to take items for the baby, not for himself) Despite these drastic difference, Tsotsi and the family that he robbed, are ultimately very similar deep down. Both have a connection to the baby, and I truly sympathized with Tsotsi when he ended up returning the baby back to the family. This act was encouraged by Myram, a local woman that was forced to feed the baby at gunpoint earlier in the story.
The baby truly changed Tsotsi for the better and I feel that was the main message the author wanted to convey. A simple cry from an infant completely changed a mans life, showing that Tsotsi in fact has a moral compass, it was simply just not exposed yet. The baby in turn, excavated this true love and compassion within Tsotsi, expressing the underlying message since the beginning, decency.
It’s difficult to understand what the Alexandria township is actually like because it is so different from our lives here. However, the movie seemed to portray the culture of the township in an accurate way since it was set in actual township, with actors who actually live there. Particular moments in the township that stood out to me were when people waited in line for water, holding dirt-encrusted buckets. What’s worse, is that the fear of lacking water seems second to the fear of being robbed, raped, or shot at any moment. I noticed how easily murders and robberies could take place. It shows that people living there have to worry about different things than outside of the townships.
ReplyDeleteTsotsi was forced to essentially raise himself after becoming homeless as a child. Unfortunately, his means for survival included criminal activity. He is known in town for being what his name suggests, a “thug.” I think the movie makes it obvious that at heart, Tstosi is a person who would not normally do these types of heinous actions unless he lived in the townships. His lifestyle and family backgrounds are what make him do what he and many other people living in townships do. Therefore he fits in with modern South African township life.
Tsotsi lives in a small shack in a township and the father of the child lives in a wealthy suburban neighborhood. The man in the suburb has everything he could ever want including cars, material items, etc, while, Tsotsi has very little and resorts to robbing in order to provide for himself. The reactions between Tstosi and the baby’s father suggest that they might have had similar lives at one point but the baby’s father was able to escape the horrors of the township and eventually worked his way to becoming as wealthy as he is. Tsotsi essentially had to raise himself while living in the deserted cement barrels
I feel that Tsotsi definitely became more sensitive and caring after attempting to take care of the baby. However, he still performed crimes quite often but I think that this time, he was doing it to retrieve money to care for the baby on his own. I think that the baby definitely helped Tsotsi change his ways. He even apologized to Boston and offered to take care of him as well. I think Tsotsi would have always been this way if someone had taken care of him as a child. The baby helped him find his way and determine his own moral compass.
The director did a great job of portraying life in townships by using an actual township to film in and actors who live there. However, I feel that to people who are uneducated about South Africa, and its history with Apartheid, there needs to be a little more examples into why things are this way in South Africa.
I thought the film was wonderful in the fact that it could teach someone so much about life in South Africa and the dramatic differences in lives between people who are so similar. It was entertaining, informative, and tugged at the audience’s emotions perfectly.
Katie Nardo
1.Poor people live in the shacks near the town Alexandria, gang activities are everywhere, many people died because of the gangsters. Crimes seem like illegal but the police cannot do anything except the people who is among the criminal expose that person. Rich people live in the town with nice house, quick police protection, even though the police protection seems like nothing in the movie.
ReplyDelete2.Tsotsi looks very young, he may even younger than me. In that tough environment, he did everything to protect himself, to try to fit the township. Crime is the biggest problem in the township, he tried to avoid to be killed, so he became the criminal, he threated, killed people for money, for living. When he was young, he ran away from his family, he found companies, they faced tough situation together, he led them went through the hard time. The way he did, he just tries to become a member of this township, to protect himself from the harm.
3.From the film we can see the father whose child was taken lives in the house which has police protection, he has nice cars. There is no doubt he is rich, he seems have high education. I think he was born in a rich family. Tsotsi was born in a poor family, his father is an alcoholics, he ran away from his family, no money for school, worried about the next meal, there is no way he can get a high education. Family situation shape the children’s heart, one is rich, the other one is poor, they all get involved in the same township, but total different paths.
4.In the movie, Tsotsi was changed by the baby, his life, his personality, things all changed for him. It is no wonder he will come back to township with a new reformed life, he killed the mean guy, it seems like he killed the mean side in his heart, he brought Boston back to his house, he brought his kindness back. I think when he come back to the township, he will total change to another person, he will work, he will fed himself with the normal way, just like the lady, she can live well, I believe he can too.
5.This movie is about a young man live in the Alexandria township, but in the end just talks about he got arrested (we can guess), the baby changed him totally, the director should talk about what happen later, that can make this movie more attractive.
6.I think this movie is excellent about describing township in South Africa, because the director used local people to perform, they did excellent jobs to show us how they went through their lives. It is an impressive movie, it is intense too, and it helps us to know South Africa better.
The Academy Award- winning film, Tsotsi, casts a light onto the disparity, complexity, and the harsh reality of the townships. Those of us who have not experienced the townships first hand have a blurred vision of what life there is actually like. We all imagine run down shacks, crime, poverty, and rampant HIV/AIDs, but that is just what we see on the surface. What about the people? We do not know anything about how complicated and intricate their lives are.
ReplyDeleteAside from the amazing performances and the artistry in Tsotsi, this film brings people from the Soweto town-ship to life. The main character, Tsotsi (which means “thug”) is introduced to us as a boy from the township that has been forced into crime, presumably because he has no other option. He is a very intriguing character. Not only because of the incredible subtlety used by the actor who plays Tsotsi, Presley Cheweneyagae, but also because of how his character acts as almost a bridge between new and old South Africa by constantly making the jump from town-ship to city. This makes for a very interesting contrast in the film.
Another interesting aspect in this film is the contrast between Tsotsi, and the father of the baby that he accidentally kidnapped while stealing a car. The father of the baby is well off, and he and his wife live in a very affluent neighborhood. However, it can be easily mathematically calculated that Tsotsi and the baby’s father were both born during Apartheid, and both began their lives in a township. So what could have let one leave the town-ship, and one stay in the town-ship? It is quite difficult to answer this question because of the many different factors that could play into the direction that both of their lives took. However, one thing that could be one of the largest factors is that the father of the baby is older than Tsotsi, and has had more time and maybe more drive to get out of the township than Tsotsi has.
As mentioned earlier, Tsotsi finds himself with a baby. Something about the child (maybe the fact that Tsotsi is still very much a child himself) changes him significantly. This baby turns him into a completely different Tsotsi than the Tsotsi we met at the beginning. The love that he develops for this baby is beautiful. We see him genuinely smile for the very first time when he learns how to feed the baby from a can of condensed milk. He goes from storing the baby in a paper bag beneath his bed to gently tucking him under a blanket, and kissing him good night. This type of change happened in many other areas of his life as well. It may seem wrong that he essentially kidnapped this child, but it changed Tsotsi for the better. What he may have thought to be a mistake turned into something that completely changed his life, and it allowed him to get in touch with his more vulnerable side again.
Gavin Hood, the director of Tsotsi, brilliantly delivered this film. I thought it was an excellent choice to use Zulu and Afrikaans instead of English. Because the goal of the film was to give an real representation of the life and the people in the Soweto township, and to use the language that people who live there actually speak makes it all the more real and accessible (even to audiences who do not speak the language). That is what I love about Tsotsi. How real, raw, and genuine it is. There is no dancing around the content addressed by Tsotsi; this film delves straight into it.
Tsotsi is a must see. Some of the best acting and movie making that I have ever seen is in this film. By the end of this heart-wrenching story, I was in tears, and anyone who has any scrap of humanity in them will be too.
1. Life in the Alexandria township according to the movie was difficult. I don’t feel that the movie really did it justice though. Although the film was actually filmed in a township it still seems too hollywood to have really portrayed the townships. I feel like everyday life in the townships would have been much more chaotic than the way it seemed in the film. Maybe it is impossible to accurately portray a place as complex as Alexandria in a film besides a documentary. Although the overall movie was phenomenal it was just missing that sort of raw component that could have depicted Alexandria in a more natural form.
ReplyDelete2. City life provides an outlet for crime for Tsotsi. It always him to steal from the rich. He does not really belong in the city or suburbs though. It is a different world that he is not accustomed to. In the townships the mentality is close to kill or be killed. So if Tsotsi goes into modern South African areas with this same mentality it is going to get him into trouble like it did in the film.
3. The father of the taken child and Tsotsi are one generation apart. The father is probably around the age of Tsotsi’s own father. The chief difference between Tsotsi and the father though is the ways in which they have adapted. The father most likely grew up in a township (during apartheid), so Tsotsi’s and his upbringing should be pretty similar. The father must have been smart and willing and once apartheid was abolished he must have decided to get out of the township and create a better life for his family. Tsotsi on the other hand only had himself to worry about and could thrive in the township, so he had no reason to flee to a “better life.” Tsotsi is a product of Apartheid. The father of the taken child is a product of the new improved but not finished South Africa. This is odd because Tsotsi is younger than the father so he should be the one thats part of the new wave of educated black South Africans. Tsotsi’s upbring is really the reason for his hardened mentality and ruthlessness before he found the baby. All the decisions Tsotsi made in the township were his, but they were governed by his awful beginnings.
4. No, I believe he wasn’t. He was a wreck by the end of the film. His shell came of in a drastic manner at the end. His character at the beginning of the film was perfect to thrive in the township but now that he has become so soft It would be difficult for him to make money. He would turn away from crime and have no way to make a living. The baby has morally changed him for the better but has made him less adaptable to the way of life in the townships.
5. I honestly think he did a great job. The only thing is he could have made it more realistic by adding more violence and showing a bit more of how awful the townships really are, but then again it’s hollywood. I think his main goal was for the audience to eventually sympathise with Tsotsi and he was successful. I truly believe that people like Tsotsi really don’t know any better and are just trying to stay alive and make a living for themselves. Like when Boston mentions decency. No one even knew what it meant. The most important thing I learned from the film is that the majority of citizens living in townships don’t only lack education of the mind, they lack education of the spirit, a moral education.
6. Overall the film was fantastic. It gave foreign audiences a look at what life was like for black South Africans post-apartheid. It showed the struggle the people of townships go through everyday. It really even shed a light on the innocence of crime coming from the townships. For an hour and a half, the film did an amazing job at letting uneducated audiences glimpse at current life in a township.
Hands Down one of best foreign films of the 21st century.
ReplyDeleteTotsi is the chilling tale of a young boy named Totsi living in the township of soweto. Now although the film is actually filmed in an Alexandria township next door, we still are shown a vivd and accurate depiction of township life. The director goes as far to use people from the village as actors and extras.Totsi shows a great depiction of modern life. We are given a lens to look into the hardship and poverty the people of modern South Africa are going through.
The director shows us a great parallel between Totsi’s life in the township and the life of the father of the child that Totsi took. We see that just miles away from this horrible slum, are fancy houses with cars and gates. This really evokes the question of why their lives were so different. We see the horrid contrast of the people in the townships with AIDS and little to no medical help, while people in the city have all of the medical help they need.
In the film, Totsi “finds” aka. steals a baby from a wealthy couple, leaving the wife paralyzed in the hospital. We are shown just how much taking this child has really reformed Totsi, and how he really wants to change all of his relationships for the better. This is kind of a quintessential American Ideal were a bad person is reformed to become good.
This film did receive an oscar for best foreign film, it is only my hope that it will be subtitled into more languages so more people can see it. Overall, Totsi was a heart wrenching tale that had me on the edge of my seat at every scene. I would recommend it not only to foreign film connoisseurs, but also to anyone who wants to see a tale of perseverance.
Tsotsi is a very raw and authentic film about the South African township life, and follows the experiences of a young gangster who calls himself Tsotsi and the moral transformation he undergoes crossing paths with a young baby. The story is absolutely stunning, but another positive this gem of a film brings to the table is a very realistic and unbiased look at the harsh circumstances of township life. As Tsotsi, which means thug in Zulu, navigates through life in the townships with his posse, one can clearly see the sort of rough behavior and dangerous attitude that is required for one to survive in the townships. Even, Boston, a genuinely moral person, found himself drinking heavily and contributing to Tsotsi’s gang’s illegal activities. With few exceptions, many of the township members depicted in the film start off engaging in questionable activities, participating in illegal activities such as hustling and robbery. Generally, Tsotsi and his fellow township end up in an environment where a different set of rules govern society, rules that call for intensity and no outward showing of weakness. Because so many in the township live in poverty and are desperate to survive, morality is more readily traded for opportunistic ventures. Because of this, Tsotsi would most likely be considered just a common thug by other people in South African society.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as the film progresses, Tsotsi undergoes a transformation, turning from a violent criminal into a much more kindhearted individual. At one point, he crosses paths with the father of the baby he unknowingly stole, and the audience is clearly exposed to the differences and similarities of the two people. The father is shown to be very loyal and caring toward his wife, just as Tsotsi is to the baby. However, while the father lives in a luxurious home, Tsotsi is still stuck in the slums of the townships. Seeing that the father grew up during apartheid era South Africa, he would have most likely grown up in the same sort of township Tsotsi has lived in. The determining factor the father’s success and desire to improve all aspects of his life would have most likely been spurred by a desire to provide for someone he cared about, in this case his wife and child. Thus an important reason Tsotsi could have strayed so far from morality could be because he had no one motivating him to improve. The baby and certain others in the film acted as Tsotsi’s reason for change.
By the end of the film, Tsotsi does completely change his outlook on life, accepts responsibility for his actions, and for the most part seems to renounce his criminal ways. In doing so, he distances himself from many of the shadier township characters in the film. Towards the end of the film, there are many considerable differences between Tsotsi and many of the township residents, with the exception of a few select people. From what can be observed, it would seem that Tsotsi could not fully integrate back to his substandard township life without being under the influence of powerful criminals offering lucrative jobs at the expense of morals. Tsotsi could relapse into criminal behavior if sent back to live in the township.
Overall, the film is very detailed and does a good job of showing South African life from the perspective of a downtrodden township thug, and the complexities that go into surviving and dealing with ethically questionable situations. One way that the director could have made the film better for foreigners without knowledge of township life might have been to perhaps show a little more variety in the township characters. It seems that much of the film was dedicated to the morally bankrupt of the townships, which could thus create a biased view among foreigners. More variety in terms of ethical behavior or detail for the backstories of these township criminals might have done a better job of showing the overarching complexities concerning the townships.
Tsotsi: An Absolutely Phenomenal Film
ReplyDeleteTsotsi is a film highlighting the 4-day journey of a thug from an Alexandrian township and his chance encounter with a young child who changes his life. The township is a conglomeration of impoverished Zulu-speaking South Africans, doing whatever they can to get by, be it making and selling glass mobiles, working long days in a factory, or mugging merchants at the local train station. Tsotsi, whose moniker translates to “thug,” falls in the latter of those groups. Having a small gang of four, he and his partners Aap, his long-time friend; Butcher, a violent sociopath; and Boston, a squeamish, intellectual fish-out-of-water, Tsotsi fits right in amongst the seedier elements of township life.
However, a falling out with Boston leads to him angrily jacking the car of a well-off woman, who had been waiting for her husband to open the gate to their home. After jacking the car and subsequently shooting her, Tsotsi finds that he has unwittingly kidnapped the woman’s baby boy. In a rare stroke of empathy, Tsotsi takes the child in and takes care of him, albeit somewhat cluelessly and clumsily.
Tsotsi has taken up this life of theft and violence out of necessity, for he had to support himself in the township after running away from his abusive father. On the other hand, the family he targets seems to have lived an easier life, the father most likely having received a good education and opportunities to acquire a well-paying job.
Tsotsi’s experience with the child certainly has changed him, and while it makes him more compassionate and relatable in the eyes of the Western viewers, it may have belittled his ability to return to the hard-knock free-for-all life of the township. However, this soft spot may work to his advantage, for it might give him something to push for, helping him to further surmount any trouble which comes his way.
I feel Gavin Hood’s presentation of the film was absolutely magnificent. Though some may feel that having English-speaking actors may have helped in terms of understanding, I think that the South African languages spoken in the film gave it a very authentic feel, making the Bantu languages of the township-dwellers and the Afrikaans of the detective a distinguishing point in helping determine social class.
Overall, the film was an excellent production, and it is a spectacular device for observing townships from a South African perspective.
1. Life in the Alexandria Township where the movie Tsotsi was filmed is an incredibly harsh, overpopulated, and dangerous environment for anyone. Very few actual structures exist; the majority of the buildings are shacks in which the townspeople live. These shacks are made from sheet metal and barely protect the residents from the elements. Also, there are only four police cars that are supposed to govern more than one million people in the Alexandria Township. The crime in Alexandria is so prevalent and violent that I could hardly imagine the four police vehicles (accompanied by officers) actually making a dent on the crime. Also, there is no organization of streets in this Township. All of these components add up to create a very difficult life for citizens in the Township.
ReplyDelete2. Tsotsi is a young man who is trying to find his place in society. His name most literally means “thug” or “gangster” so this gives us insight on what type of persona he wants to give off. Although he gives off a criminal vibe, he also has a sensitive side to him. After hijacking the woman’s BMW, he finds her child in the back seat. Something deep inside him was compelling enough to make him take that baby under his own care. If he really was only a criminal, he would have not done that act of compassion.
3. Tsotsi seems to be accepting of his life in the Township while the father of the baby worked hard to achieve a life of stability for himself and his family. However, they are not completely different. Both care strongly for the baby and possess empathetic abilities. I believe that is Tsotisi realized this earlier in his life, he most likely would have not gone to jail and his life would have been very different.
4. I do believe that Tsotsi was reformed at the end of the movie. He realized that giving off an aura of a thug did not help anyone. Also I feel that given his rough past and circumstances, his previous immoral actions can be left behind and he can start anew.
5. I believe that Gavin Hood (the director) did an outstanding job on this movie. I don’t think he could have done anything else differently to suit international audiences better.
6. I thought this film was very entertaining and eye opening. It was entertaining in the sense that it had conflict, crime, and many other things that Hollywood movies possess. On the other hand, it was eye opening because it provides an in depth look at how certain people live their every day lives. Overall, it was a great movie.
-Logan Hensley
The heartwarming and suspense filled movie, Tsotsi, is a film you wont want to miss! Although some say the director, Gavin Hood, could have made it more appealing to the foreign audience by shooting it in English, the authenticity of the film is what makes this movie a must see! Nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006, and winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Tsotsi, will keep you on the edge of your seat! In the film, the main character, Tsotsi, is a young man living in the Alexandria Township in South Africa. After running away having experienced the death of his mother and an abusive father at such a young age, Tsotsi has been on his own almost all his life. Life in the Alexandria townships is definitely not an easy one. With starvation, disease, especially HIV/AIDS, violence, addiction, and no education, the people living in the townships face many hardships everyday. Now a young man living in the townships, Tsotsi and his friends do what they feel is necessary to survive. After the murder and mugging of a man in a train station, and a violent fight with his best friend, Boston, Tsotsi finds himself in a suburb of the upper class citizens of South Africa. Feeling very out of place and terrified that he will get caught, Tsotsi shoots a woman in the leg and steals her car not realizing her baby was in the back seat. A story of desperation and forgiveness, this film shows what life is really like in modern African society.
ReplyDeleteTsotsi’s life is very different from the life of the father of the child. The father of the child lives in a nice home, has a well paying job, a wife, and drives nice cars. Tsotsi lives in a shack by himself in the township and must constantly worry about necessities to survive eventually leading him to a life of crime and violence. Although they both live in very different environments, they are both still subjected to violence and danger. We can assume that the father of the child grew up in a township because of when the apartheid ended. I think that their lives took different paths because the father of the child most likely found some way to gain a sufficient education so that when the apartheid ended, he was able to find a job with a stable income. Tsotsi on the other hand was probably a young boy when the apartheid ended, and without a mother or father or money to pay for school, his only option was a life of crime.
I think that Tsotsi was reformed to enter back into the life of a township. I think that Tsotsi found his “decency” while taking care of the baby. The responsibility of the baby taught him to care and have compassion for others, allowing him to apologize to Boston and possibly change his ways of using crime and violence as a way of living.
I learned a lot about what it is like to live in a township, and the many hardships that the people there face every day. This movie opened up my eyes to the fact that although all of these people are grouped together in society under poverty, each person has their own individual story.
It is easy to see why Tsotsi won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2005. Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood presents an accurate representation of the complexities of life in South African townships. Set in the Alexandria township of Johannesburg, the film follows the life of a young man nicknamed “Tsotsi,” meaning “thug,” who is scraping by in life as a gangster in Soweto. The film depicts all the roughness and violence that accompany life in the townships of South Africa and emphasizes the struggles that poverty presents in a way that is difficult to achieve.
ReplyDeletePresley Chweneyagae plays Tsotsi in his film debut: prior to this movie, he had only acted in stage plays. For a man who was born in Soweto, another township of Johannesburg, creating Tsotsi must have been like acting out the lives of his friends and neighbors. I believe the choice to hire people from the slums to serve as actors in Tsotsi is commendable: the film felt extremely authentic, and I do not believe it would have been nearly as authentic if the actors themselves had not lived in the slums.
Tsotsi brings up many interesting aspects of life in South Africa, including the division between colored and black South Africans since Apartheid. The film contrasts Tsotsi with a colored man who lives in the suburbs of Johannesburg. While Tsotsi lives in constant danger, subject to both violence and extreme poverty, the colored man lives in seeming comfort with his wife and young child, who is taken by Tsotsi as he tried to hijack his wife’s car. This man might have even been a neighbor of Tsotsi’s family during Apartheid, and yet the paths of these two men have led in very different directions. I don’t think there is a real reason other than luck that this became so.
Following Tsotsi’s life after taking the baby, the film depicts how Tsotsi was changed by this human relationship: he became man of more “decency” than he had ever been before, but this may have been detrimental to Tsotsi’s life following the film. However, I think that there are people who take pride in their “decency” surviving in the townships and Tsotsi will stand among them, and he too will survive without returning to his prior ways.
As an average American viewing this film, I would have recommended that director Gavin Hood film Tsotsi in English so it would be easier for Americans to watch; I believe that more people would also see this film if it had a happier ending with more closure for the audience. However, as myself, a mere critic, I believe that altering the film in either of the ways listed above would detract from the authenticity of the film and that watching the film would be a less powerful experience.
Gavin Hood, congratulations on a job well done: Tsotsi truly opened my eyes to life in a South African township, and I look forward to your films to come.
Ian Moffit
ReplyDeleteTsotsi Film Review
Tsotsi is one of the few films that shows life in South Africa’s township from a South African perspective. While films like District 9 delve into South Africa’s history of apartheid, Tsotsi examines the life of South Africans in the modern day era.
Tsotsi does a fantastic job of depicting life within a South African township like Soweto. Apart from depicting the rampant poverty, which would be expected, Tsotsi delves deeper into the lives of the township’s residents by highlighting the complexities of their everyday lives and social interactions. In particular, the film brings to light the “dog eat dog” culture and cruelty of township life.
However, the contrast between the lifestyle of the films protagonist, David, and that of the baby’s father truly exemplifies South African life. While Soweto and the upper class community are adjacent to each location-wise, in terms of society, they might as well be light-years apart. It is this class division that defines post-apartheid South Africa.
The contrast between Tsosi’s protagonist and the baby’s father show the different paths that South Africa blacks took after the fall of apartheid. Due to the age of the baby’s father in the film, it is likely that he grew up in the township of Soweto during apartheid in similar conditions to that of David’s father. The reason that David’s father remained in the township and the baby’s father managed to escape was that the baby’s father used his newly formed civil rights to better himself, while David’s father continued to live a life of crime and poverty as the residents of Soweto have for generations. The inability of David’s father to adapt to a post-apartheid world means for David to escape Soweto, he must break “the family tradition.”
Over the course of the film, David undergoes a series of events that allow him to reinvent himself. However, he is no longer able to survive in the township’s society because, by taking care of the baby, he had lost that dog eat dog mind set needed to survive in Soweto. All of David’s peers would have left the baby for dead on the side of the road and not dealt with the consequences of their actions. David on the other hand, by trying to change his ways, ends up losing all of his close friends and eventually is captured by the police. David allows this to happen for he too knows that he is no longer able to survive in Soweto.
While Tsotsi does a fantastic job of portraying township life, many of the nuances in the movie, such as the ethnic divisions within the township, could be hard for foreigners to understand. Gavin also chose not show much tension between whites and blacks in the movie, which is what most foreigners think of when it comes to the history of South Africa.
Overall, Tsotsi is excellent piece of cinematography and beautifully captures the way of life in post-apartheid South Africa. The film also does a great job of revealing the complexities of life in poverty and went beyond the hardships of living on less than a dollar a day to the everyday social interactions of the people of Soweto. Tsotsi does a fantastic job of dealing with the themes of self- realization and justice. When it comes to films regarding South Africa, Tsotsi is neck and neck with blockbuster hits such as District 9.
Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood, describes the ruthless environment of a South African town ship, specifically Soweto. Gavin Hood creates a stark contrast between he poverty and disparity of the township and the wealth and opportunities just out side of the township. The special thing about this film is the idea that just because a person came from a bad situation, does not mean they are a bad person. Tstotsi illustrates the complex social and political environment in the townships.
ReplyDeleteTsotsi, the protagonist, whose name means thug, grew up in the township and was homeless for some of his time there. The quick clip that Hood shows of Tsotsi sleeping in stacked pipes shows the disparity of his childhood. As Tsotsi grows older he starts a gang with his friend Aap. It can be inferred that Tsotsi and Aap did not have any other option. There was no way for them to advance themselves with no education and like many other township citizens; gangs were their only option, and the only way to enter adulthood.
Hood’s cinematography of the township creates an immediate impact on the viewer. The stacked and rundown homes with smoke spewing from slits in the ceilings illustrates the extreme poverty in which the people are living. Not only does the smoke of the township represent the poverty, but the color and atmosphere around the township gives a depressing and troubled mood to the film. Lines of poorly clothed people gather around wells to get their daily water. With no running water, electricity, or plumbing the township must be a tough place to live, and an even harder place to escape!
Tsotsi blends in well to the image of the South African township represented in the film. His initial ruthless and cold personality accurately fits the persona of a gang member. We first see this side of him when he robs the man working a kiosk at the train station. Tsotsi’s fellow gang member stabs the man when they are robbing him. Although Tsotsi seems shocked that his colleague would do this, it is most likely not a rare event for him. Boston has the hardest time confronting death and is beaten up later by Tsotsi for not only being weak, but also for talking down to Tsotsi, the leader of the gang.
ReplyDeleteA shift in Tsotsi’s personality is when he finds the baby in the back seat of his stolen car. He is faced with a major life decision: should he keep the baby and care for it as his own, return it to the mother (although he shot her), or leave the baby in the car. Tsotsi decides to keep the baby and enters the township with it. At this point he knows that the baby has a very small chance of
Although there is extreme socio-economic contrast between Tsotsi and the kidnapped baby’s father, there are some striking similarities. It can be inferred that the father was born and raised in the township. In someway or another, the father advanced himself and was able to escape the pressures and danger of Soweto. Tsotsi had a very different experience in the Township. He joined a gang and was not well educated. When Tsotsi and his gang are debating on whether or not to kill the father, Tsotsi stands up for him. He knows how difficult it was to grow up alone (and with out a father) this could be one reason why he decides not to kill the man. Another reason is that he sees a part of himself in the father. He sees the past in the father’s eyes and may see the opportunity that he might have had to get out of the township (in an non-jealous way).
Prior to Tsotsi’s relationship with the baby, he was a very different person. He stole, killed, and disrespected people that were higher up than him. The baby put the township and South Africa as a whole in perspective. He realized that while difficult to escape the grasps of the township, it was possible and to keep the baby with him would be immensely selfish. Although these characteristics do not fit typical the description of someone from a township, there are good people there as well. The widowed mother that Tsotsi befriended seemed to be an anomaly among the gang members and bar owners, however she did okay for herself. In other words, it is possible for Tsotsi to provide for himself with this new persona, however he would have greater opportunities if he brought some of these fatherly characteristics out of the township.
I think that the only way to make the film more attractive for foreign audiences is to give more history to the story of the townships (how they came to be, why they are there, who lives there, why are they still there?) For people that have not studied South African history, this film may have been more difficult to understand. Another way to make the film better for foreign audiences would be to explain the language barriers among the different cultures. For example, it was significant that the white police officer was speaking Zulu, but others may not get that connection.
Overall, I think the film gave a very different view into township life, influences, and culture. Hood develops Tsotsi from a ruthless criminal to a fatherly and just individual. He has the audience at the edge of their seat rooting for Tsotsi, the underdog.
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ReplyDeleteThe movie Tsotsi directed by Mr. Gavin Hood not only portrays the ins and outs of the daily lives of South Africans in the townships, but also is able to shed light on a very prevalent issue most outsiders tend to glance over – the socio-economic apartheid that plagues a large percentage of South Africans. Though it is written in law that all South Africans are equal, Mr. Gavin Hood shows us through video the stark contrast between rich and poor South Africans.
ReplyDeleteThe way in which the actor “Tsotsi” was able to emulate the life of a young boy struggling to survive in South African townships was enlightening to say the least. Not only were the characters in the film acting for their first times, but these actors were able to pull of 14 awards for their movie, one of which was an Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. It is in my humble opinion that foreign actors would have done an injustice to the movie and to the story Mr. Gavin hood was trying to tell.
The lead role in the film Tsotsi is played by a young boy named Presley Chweneyagae. He once was a “nobody” in the eyes of the West and now has accumulated more buzz in the press than anyone his age in South Africa. He has done voiceovers for Nike commercials, been featured in numerous films, and interviewed by local and international press. But I want to talk about how Presley Chweneyagae made his claim to fame. Presley was like any other South African boy trying to make friends, a living, and be loved. In the movie he runs away from home (not an uncommon deed for young South African boys) and has no one to take care of him. This lack of a caring authority figure in his life, forces him to do some highly illegal and unethical things. Tsotsi steals money from people, shoots people with his gun, stalks people on their way home, takes a mother’s baby, and hijacks numerous cars. Tsotsi does the same exact things many of his fellow South African youth do. At the end of the day, as drastic as some of the crimes Tsotsi commits, he is no different than any other South African fighting to fit in and stay alive.
One of the most important scenes in the film is when the Father of Tsotsi breaks both of the dog’s legs. Not because this was a very gruesome and shocking scene, but because his father literally and figuratively broke something that was very near and dear to Tsotsi’s heart. Tsotsi is then seen running away from his house during a thunder storm seeking refuge. This shapes Tsotsi to be the man that we see throughout the entirety of the film. If we were to contrast the life of Tsotsi to the life of the father who has his child taken away, we could not do it without knowing the background of Tsotsi’s life. I believe that Tsotsi and the father of the taken child are one in the same. They both lost something that meant the world to them - for Tsotsi is was his dog and for the father it was his child. Though their monetary situations, age differences, lifestyles, couldn’t be more polar opposites, it is in my opinion that these two gentlemen lived the same life at one point. I am not inferring that the father who had his child taken from him lived in a township per say, but Mr. Gavin Hood makes very clear director’s choices when the two characters are in the same scene. The body language from the father to Tsotsi possibly communicates that he perhaps went through the same situations as a young boy.
ReplyDeleteFrom a clearly objective standpoint, Tsotsi was “sufficiently reformed to re-enter life in a South African township by the end of the film.” The reasoning behind this statement in simple… At the beginning of the movie the young boy was part of a gang, at the end of the movie he was not. At the beginning of the movie the young boy stole many things; at the end of the movie the young boy returned things he stole (i.e. money to the old disabled man and the baby with all the baby products to the family). At the beginning of the movie the movie the boy was insensitive, belligerent, and immature; at the end of the movie the boy was sensitive, cooperative, and mature. Though the crimes that Tsotsi committed are inexcusable to the highest degree, the young boy truly transforms himself by the end of the film.
Mr. Gavin Hood’s portrayal of the trials and tribulations of South African youth in the townships was praiseworthy to say the least. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the film Tsotsi, I believe that the film was not targeted to a foreign audience (which there is no problem in doing so). If I was to make any suggestions, I would have liked to see the role of women in the townships rather than focusing in on Tsotsi and his gang of men. I would have also like to see that others unlike Tsotsi did not transform by the end of the film. From a foreigner’s perspective, it is easy to be fooled into thinking everyone turned out just like Tsotsi and not realized that his transformation was unlike any other.
All and all, I am compelled to add the film Tsotsi to my top five list of foreign films. It ranks right next to the 1987 film Cry Freedom starring Denzel Washington as Steven Biko. I tip my hat to Mr. Gavin Hood and thank him for opening my life up to a whole new way of thinking about South Africa post-apartheid. I just wish that this movie could have reached a much larger audience so that many more would be touched by these actors and the story they had to tell.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe small window we get into the township may not be representative of everyone, but it’s all we have to go on. I think Hood gave us what he could in terms of realism, from that, we can at least attempt to imagine a world so removed from what we know. Soweto is a typical South African slum characterised by poverty and gang violence. Day to day, the main goal seems to be simply to survive, whether that be by intimidation of through blatant violence. That’s not to say that there aren’t those who break the mold of violence- most notably, Miriam, who despite having her own child and being threatened at gunpoint, begs Tsotsi to leave the baby with her to care for and return to it’s mother, despite the obvious risks to her own life that come with such a request. Hood has given us a small but accessible window into life in a South African township, however shocking and upsetting much of it may be.
ReplyDeleteTsotsi’s role within the township is that of a gang leader. He has his few followers, Butcher, Boston and Aap, and they spend their days doing “jobs” to get by. The job we see the gang do is a great summation of Tsotsi and his friend’s lifestyle. Within the township itself, it seems Tsotsi has a role and reputation as a thug, characterised by violence and intimidation. He may not be viewed as one of the “contributing” members of society like the detectives of the babies family, and each day he fades back into the obscurity afforded to him in the township.
The first and possibly most important difference occurred the moment they were each born into such radically different worlds. The father of the child was born most likely to a family of similar standing and he grew up knowing privilege and comfort. Tsotsi, on the other hand, has known nothing but violence and unkindness from the moment he was born. They are different generations, but the baby provided a link between disparate worlds. tsotsi, or David begins the movie by shooting an innocent mother and stealing her car, baby included. This act, however horrendous it may be, begins the redemption of Tsotsi as he cares for the child. By the end of the movie, Tsotsi -slightly inadvertently, but he does nonetheless- gives himself up to detectives and returns the couple’s child, something that the Tsotsi at the beginning of the film would never consider.
Unfortunately, were Tsotsi to reenter life in the township, he would most likely resort back to violence to survive- not because he would want to, or chooses to, but out of necessity. Being a decent and honest person doesn’t seem to get you far in the township, and while Tsotsi is, at his core, a different person, the hardships of Soweto may be simply too much.
Hood did what he could, considering what he was attempting to accomplish. The world of Tsotsi is so incredibly foreign to us that to make it universally accessible and let us understand absolutely everything was not possible. Instead of this, Hood focused on certain, representative aspects of South African life to portray in the most realistic way he could. Instead of giving us a shallow overview, he went deep on things like crime, the role of the mother in both Township and suburb, how once Tsotsi fit a role within the township, really nothing more was expected of him, and the profound impact the baby had on Tsotsi personally. This method of filmmaking was extremely effective to me, as the shallow overview method would have left me feeling cheated almost of a true understanding of what was happening.
ReplyDeleteTsotsi is one of the best film I’ve seen in recent memory. A story of change and redemption, Hood makes an entirely inaccessible world within our grasp, and I’m do glad he did. The decision to use people from the township as actors was also an incredibly smart decision on Hood’s part, as everything felt authentic and realistic. Presley, the actor who played David, gave a shockingly honest and almost unsettlingly real performance, clearly displaying the inner turmoil Tsotsi faced throughout the situation with the baby to the abandonment of his former friends. The fact that the movie did not have a “hollywood ending” really set it apart, and reminded us that yes, while this is a movie, it is not in any way fake or simply a script-this is a representation of the lives of millions, and their lives do not nicely wrap up at the end of each day.The film was, in all, wonderful and heartbreaking.
The Alexandria Township is a location of concentrated poverty. The infrastructure consists of many informal dwellings bordering dirt roads (20,000 in total) many of which do not have electricity or running water. Crime is rampant in the area in and around the Township, and the South African police have much difficulty operating in this densely populated makeshift city. Many of the inhabitants do not have a permanent structure to live in, and are forced to seek shelter in unorthodox places. Some children can be seen living in large concrete pipes near the edge of the city, hoping to one day be able to afford some form of legitimate housing. Life in the township is rough and you can see how the environment shaped the tough characteristics of the characters.
ReplyDeleteThe main character of the film Tsotsi, which means gangster, has quite the interesting role in South Africa’s modern day society. As somewhat of a professional criminal, Tsotsi is perpetuating the problem of crime, which has plagued the country since the end of Apartheid. As a sort of ringleader, Tsotsi actively recruits members of the Alexandria Township to be his partners in crime. The people that join his cause are in very similar situations to him, feeling as if they have no better choice than a life of crime to make their way out of the poverty they have been born into.
Early on in the film, Tsotsi hijacks the car of an affluent black family, which contains their newborn baby. This sets the plot for the rest of the film, and leads us to question how the father of the child came to be living in such an extravagant way compared to those in the Alexandria Township. It is probable that the father of the child grew up inside the Alexandria Township a few years ahead of Tsotsi. This man may have been one of the lucky members of the community who was able to find a steady paying job and slowly through hard work and perseverance, save up enough money to move out of the township. As stated previously, this is not simply a matter of hard work and commitment, luck playing a huge factor as there is a very small number of people who ever get jobs that pay well enough to allow relocation out of the township.
Near the end of the film, by the time Tsotsi moves to return the baby, he has gone through both moral and emotional change. He has been converted from the ruthless gangster he once was to someone who is now able to feel empathy. I do believe that this new Tsostsi is reformed enough to reenter modern day South Africa. Empathy is the key factor in this situation, something that Tsotsi lacked completely at the beginning of the film. It is through the ability to understand the suffering of others, something that many residents of the Alexandria township experience and that even those outside it do as well. After having taken care of the baby for a few days Tsotsi learned of responsibility and recalled memories of his childhood, which shaped him into a fully functioning member of society once again.
For Hood to have made a more accessible film for foreign audiences he could have explained some of the terms that were used as the slang in Afrikaans did not always make sense. Some more background on the Alexandria township would have been nice as well as none was given really at all.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the film as it presented a new perspective on the modern day South Africa that I have never before seen in a film. Most films show the crime in South Africa that arises due to townships however it has never been the main focus of a film of this caliber in the past.
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ReplyDelete1. Describe life in the Alexandria township where the film is set:
ReplyDeleteIn the Alexandrian township where Tsotsi lives, poverty is rampant. The majority of the people who call the township home live in shacks, cobbled together with whatever materials they can find. If they’re lucky, they can buy or steal some corrugated tin to waterproof their roof. With no insulation, no air conditioning, and very limited access to electricity, these shacks are at the total mercy of the weather – swelteringly hot during the summer, and ice cold during the winters. Because the townships themselves are located so far from cities and the homes of the rich, and very few members of the township have cars (or can even drive), work prospects are limited. To survive, many women turn to prostitution, while men turn to crime or gang life. Opportunities for education in the townships are non-existent.
2. Explain how Tsotsi fits into modern South African life.
Tsotsi fills the stereotypical role of a poor, uneducated, young black man living in poverty in a South African township. Forming a gang with his childhood friends and doing “jobs” (robbery, carjacking, murder, burglary) to make money and survive in the unforgiving township. Because he lacks the opportunity to turn to any other job, Tsotsi is almost expected to become a criminal.
3. Contrast his life with that of the father of the taken child. Why do you think their lives took such different paths?
The father of the stolen child is so different from Tsotsi because of the paths they each took in life. The father likely had hard-working parents who tried to educate their son, perhaps bussing him to a school outside the township where he could obtain a real education. Tsotsi’s parents couldn’t provide this opportunity, as his mother died early in his life and he ran away from his abusive father. Living with other uneducated children who had run away (or were forced to leave) from home, Tsotsi had no way to learn any valuable skills for his adult life.
4. Mention if you think that Tsotsi was sufficiently reformed to re-enter life in a South African township by the end of the film. “Step out” of your own society with its morals and ethics before answering.
I think Tsoti was sufficiently reformed to live the life of a suburbanite South-African, but he would no longer be able to live in the township of Alexandria. His cutthroat attitude he exhibited before stealing the baby did not make him the nicest person, but it allowed him to stay alive in the harsh, unforgiving township – if he didn’t rob and steal, how would he make money to survive? Tsotsi would have been able to live with the woman who helped nurse his baby, but her limited income could not have provided for the both of them – if Tsotsi can’t do “jobs”, he won’t be able to earn any money.
5. Mention how the direction Gavin Hood could have made a better film for foreign audiences.
ReplyDeleteI think the director made the film as well as he could for foreign audiences – by using actors who actually lived in the township, and who could relate to the plot of the film, he gave viewers a unique insight into township life. The audience couldn’t realistically expect all of the actors to speak perfect, American English - the subtitles depicted exactly what was going on in the scene, while listening to the native Zulu or Xhosa dialects helped the audience feel more immersed in the story.
6. Give your overall impression of the film.
I really enjoyed watching Tsotsi. I felt the film gave an accurate representation of the life of a young man living in a South African township – little opportunity to improve his life, a painful childhood (and partially an AIDS orphan), and wholly dependent on crime to survive. I think the plot of Tsotsi was very interesting – instead of portraying Tsotsi as nothing but a criminal and fulfilling the stereotypes of a poor, uneducated black South African,the director Gavin Hood shows that Tsotsi has a soft side. By taking responsibility for a baby (although he did steal it), Tsotsi learns compassion. He’s transformed from a rough street thug to a fatherly, compassionate young man. If Tsotsi hadn’t started caring for the baby (David), he likely would never have apologized to Boston, the man he beat up, or given money to Die Aap even after he abandoned him. Tsotsi would never have shot his friend Butcher, except for the fact that he valued the life of the baby’s father over that of his friend.
Could it be that Mr. Gavin Hood’s film set in the decrepit townships of Alexandria, South Africa has a (gasp) criminal as its protagonist? It seems so. And Mr. Hood’s award-mongering film has succeeded in a way that most films about the townships in South Africa have not—authenticity and rawness. Indeed, from the physical setting of the townships to the emotional struggles and resilience of their inhabitants, Mr Hood’s film paints the townships of Alexandria (outside Johannesburg) with a haunting brush stroke of reality.
ReplyDeleteThe viewer is exposed to the world of the townships in which food is a luxury and crime is a way of life. Tsotsi’s criminal activity is hardly questioned by anyone in the film, and many of the townships’ young men do not face the question of whether or not they should join a criminal syndicate (a gang) but rather which gang they should join.
And Tsotsi is very much a product of the environment in which he was raised. Tsotsi feels he is at odds with much of South Africa—and for good reason. He represents the product of South African poverty and apartheid that mainstream, modern South Africans often pretend does not exist. In spite of their security fences and barbed wire, middle and upper class South Africans, it seems, rely on a systematic aversion to and even denial of the existence of the poverty-stricken townships. But somehow, there seems to be a silent acceptance among South Africans, particularly black South Africans, that the only thing separating many of South Africa’s people from life in the townships is simply upbringing. This notion is quite poignant for Tsotsi and the real father of Tsotsi’s “adopted” son, as the upbringings of these two people, who are otherwise similar, have shaped them into vastly different people.
It seems that Tsotsi has almost certainly been reformed enough to reenter the township life. Whether or not his reformation would remain fully intact (I think it would, but regardless), Tsotsi would still be in a better place than he is at the beginning of the film. And he has certainly shown signs of visible and productive change—namely, his willingness to kill one of his friends to save an innocent man and also his willingness to return his “adopted” son to its rightful parents.
In an overall impression of the film, I will say that one of the only ways Mr. Hood could have made this film better for foreign audiences would be to provide some more context for the film’s setting and events. The film’s diegesis is structured such that, without prior knowledge of South Africa and particularly of the townships, a viewer could miss many cues and narrative devices that make this film coherent and unique. But for the viewer who is even remotely familiar with and knowledgeable about South Africa and its urban townships, the film exceeds many of the goals that Mr. Hood was trying to accomplish. The film succeeds in portraying a realistic, genuine view of a Johannesburg township (in Zulu, it cannot be forgotten) but also succeeds in the more traditional aspects of filmmaking such as creating a believable, intriguing plot and a believably and tenderly conflicted protagonist. In the end, the film is a particularly tender narrative that makes the viewer stop to think and is a responsible portrayal of a setting and issues that few films dare to tackle.
Tsotsi is a very emotional, intense film. The story line was written in a way to really care for the main character, Tsosti. I felt a sincere connection to the main character because of how real his acting was, and knowing that he was expressing true feelings.
ReplyDeleteThe film depicts the life of South Africans in the township of Alexandria located just outside of Johannesburg. The perspective is from a gang member within the township and how he changes from a ruthless gangster to a nurturing father.
The directors choice of having the actors come from a township in South Africa was very affective because they where able to take experiences and feelings from there own lives and portray them on film. It developed more of an honest character. I felt this was a very affective way to allow the audience to feel for the characters. Tsosti represents many gangsters who live in townships today, he doesn’t kill because he wants to, he kills to stay alive. This is prevalent in modern South African life since most people who live in townships would do anything for money, just so they can have the essentials to survive.
Tsotsi is first shown as the merciless gangster who doesn’t speak much, but is known with the ruthless reputation throughout the town. He has a certain level of respect because people are scared of him. Though as the story line unravels you notice that he is just an immature boy with no guidance or role model. He is stuck and does not believe that he can do anything to get out of the life he is in. He doesn’t believe he has a chance to do more than just live in a township. He is different from the father of the child he stole because the father had left from the townships. He must’ve been more of an optimistic man who believed in everything and wanting to get out of the township but Tsotsi just believes he is born and raised to stay within the township.
By the end of the movie Tsotsi returns the baby as an act of care. He loves the baby as if it where his own but realizes that the baby will live a better life not being raised in the township and he needs his mother and father to raise him. He doesn’t want the baby to be raised how he was raised without a mother and a drunken father. The baby needs his mom just like Tsotsi needed his mother. If Tsotsi where to be released back into the townships after the crimes he had committed I feel that he would be a different person. He would be able to adapt into the society but wouldn’t go back to killing people for money. He would try to make a change and maybe help the mother raise her child. Tsotsi was awakened by the baby and realizes the harm he has done to others that do not just affect the person but the families of the people.
Overall, Gavin Hood did a good job as a film for foreign audiences. The characters spoke Afrikaans and I do not believe they should speak English. It brings you more into there culture and draws you into the movie more. The language is defiantly a strong factor with believing the characters. The movie was very informing and engaging. I had several instances where I had to hold back tears. The movie is worth seeing and does a great job with portraying life in the townships and the differences between people in South Africa.
The film "Totsi" is set in the quintessential South African Township in a modern day, post-apartheid South Africa. The movie opens in the Soweto a township in which permanent structures are at a minimum, and poverty and crime are prominent. The township is crowded, the common place of residence for the inhabitants is what westerners would refer to as nothing more than shacks. The township has, along with the shacks a Sabeen, or bar where people congregate at night and overall a complete lack of order. You learn toward the end of the movie that the township has no street signs or recognizable order when the cops from the city are trying to navigate through the township. Tsotsi does what most humans do to fit into whatever society they are a part of. He tries to get by the only way he knows how. Now this is not to justify the two murders he was a part of, the guy he beat up, the woman he shot, the house he robbed, the baby he stole or the woman he threatened at gun point- but it is to say that his motives could be quantified as nothing more than trying to exist in the world. You learn that Tsotsi grew up in exceptionally undesirable circumstances. His mother was sick, his father drunk and abusive, and you learn that Tsotsi spent much of his childhood living a stack of pipes with many other children. One might say that Tsotsi was given a very unfair lot in life, and his violence and crime as an adult is a direct result to his upbringing. The father of the child that Tsotsi steals lives a much different life then Tsotsi. The father lives in a very nice house, with a gate, drives a very nice car and seems to do very well for himself. A lifestyle that is commonplace for many white South Africans; but this father is black. It can be inferred through the timing of the film that this guy was born during apartheid- meaning he has not always lived a life of luxury. One might go so far as to guess that in the last scene, where the father makes everyone put their guns down so as not to hurt Tsotsi, the father feels that he can relate to Tsotsi; knows where he came from and does not wish that upon anyone. At the end of the film, one finds themselves completely supporting Tsotsi, a man who only an hour earlier had been witnessed shooting, stabbing and stealing. One would like to believe that yes, he was fit to go back into the township after his life altering experience with the baby. That he was a completely changed man and understood things differently. The only thing that I think Gavin Hood could have done differently is if there was time give a little background on the conflict, and play to the audience's emotions a touch more by giving some background on the father. Overall, the film was incredible and rightfully deserved the best foreign film award it received.
ReplyDeleteLife in the Alexandria Township where the movie was set is pretty destitute. People live in poorly put together shacks that are crowded together. There are no designated streets, so the layout of the township itself is chaotic. The people are poor and many result to theft or thugery for a living.
ReplyDeleteTsotsi (which means “thug”) is a thug. We are introduced to him when he and his gang rob and kill a man on a subway. One of his friends, Boston, confronts him about how they all lack dignity for stabbing someone. Tsotsi beats Boston up, runs off and begins a journey discovering what this thing called “dignity” is. When he shoots a woman and steals her car, he realizes her baby son is in the back. He takes the baby in and cares for him, which begins a journey for him to change. When caring for the child, Tsotsi revisits the painful memories of his own childhood, which triggers him to think of what he wants out of life.
Tsotsi is a thug, but the movie portrays that, in the township where he lives, it is a pretty normal thing; a lot of people live in his situation. But there are people who live are in a better situation. The father of the child he stole would be one of these people. He drove a nice car, lives in a nice big house with fancy furnishings and all. There is a very interesting connection between him and Tsotsi when Tsotsi robs his house and also in the end when he returns the child.
Tsotsi seemed to have respect for the father, like when Tsotsi saved him from being shot by one of Tsotsi’s own gang members by killing said gang member. It was as if he respected him because he had the life he wanted and made good decisions and got himself out. The father also seemed to have an understanding of Tsotsi- that he was just a kid so lost and desperate, because he probably lived in the same township during the apartheid era. The director could have made the film better for foreign audiences by somehow conveying the significance of the ‘dignity’ that Tsotsi’s friend Boston mentions and the black family living in the nice home. If I had not known what the apartheid was, I would not have been able to see or realize a connection between the Tsotsi and the child’s father. He could have done a better job showing that the father of the child probably was born into the same situation that Tsotsi was in, because without it, a lot of the impact of the message of dignity (that Tsotsi can have dignity) is lost on foreign audiences. To people who don’t understand what that all symbolizes, a lot of the depth, at least in that aspect of the film, is lost.
The father of the child probably realized early on that he could live with dignity, what Tsotsi has to discover in the movie. The father probably learned what Tsotsi was realizing at the end of the movie, when he was younger and was able to turn things around. For Tsotsi, he had to learn the hard way.
I think that what Tsotsi experienced-the change that we see him go through- will make it so he can go back to South African society. His part of South African society, crime is rampant and was hard for him to avoid before, but now that he has realized that he wants to be better than that, he can do it. There are people who Tsotsi have befriended that would agree with the reformed Tsotsi such as Boston and the woman who Tsotsi befriended after he forced her at gunpoint to act as a wet nurse for the stolen child, who believe in living with more dignity.
This film was very moving and very well put together. Tsotsi doesn’t talk much about emotions in the film, but the audience can easily see, understand and even feel the emotions and the emotional transformation that he is going through. The film is VERY well acted especially for having no professional actors. You can almost hear Tsotsi’s thoughts and understand what is going through his mind throughout the movie. Overall, it was a great movie that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Life is quite hectic, complex, and unsanitary in the Alexandria Township, where the film Totsi is set. Taking up a little over 800 hectares (only 3 square miles), Alexandria was designed for only about 70,000 people. However, due to the intricate problems within South Africa, recent estimates place the total number of people ranging anywhere from 180,000 – 700,000 people (it is hard to get a precise estimate due to the disorganization of townships). This of course, brings its problems; due to the population density, sewage is often overloaded and will block or surcharge. Furthermore, the makeshift materials of the shacks result in rather flimsy structures without insulation, sensitive to temperature changes and leaks. It is even harder to make changes or provide maintenance for this system, as in order to maneuver or reconstruct parts of the township, you would need to displace massive amounts of people (rendering them homeless). Despite these problems, the residents of the Alexandria township are generally happy and upbeat, which seems to point at the positive attitude and outlook of residents in general.
ReplyDeleteTotsi describes in detail the typical struggles of South African township life. Totsi, the main character, struggles to survive by doing “jobs” (stealing cars and stripping them down for money). This lifestyle is completely opposite to the father of the child that he steals—living in a lush, grand, gated mansion. This difference could be attributed to many factors, such as the roles of parental figures or opportunities given to them growing up.
The story within the film, while fictional, speaks mounds to the struggles of those in the townships as well. Especially given their environment, it is clear those in the township have difficulty developing our sense of morality; the rate of crime is probably responsible for the callous attitudes that are so widely spread throughout.
This movie overall was a wonderful movie. Even as a foreign film Gavin Hood does a wonderful job assuring that foreign audiences like us would understand (it was nominated for an Academy Award for a reason!). The transformation throughout the movie is uplifting and emotional, and the end is heart wrenching. This is a movie that all people should see if they want a little more insight into the culture and lives of South African Townships.
The film, “Tsotsi,” showed life in the townships of Africa not only realistically, but through the eyes of the people that live there themselves. Throughout the film we see how a young boy, Tsotsi, not only lives in the township, but is shaped by it. One of Tsotsi’s friends, Boston, asks Tsotsi about decency, or the lack thereof, and ends up being left beaten and wounded. The film makes us associate Boston with the concept of decency, meaning that anyone that still had a working moral compass would be left to be killed or taken advantage of in the townships. Later, Tsotsi treks to the richer part of town to take part in his first car-jacking. He takes the car of a young woman, shooting her in the process, and later realizes it has a baby in it. While caring for this baby he becomes a much different person. The father of the baby lives in almost the opposite situation of Tsotsi, being a rich suburban man. This makes one wonder how although both of these two are involved in the post apartheid fallout, how one ended up better off than the other. Personally I think that a lot of luck had something to do with it. Perhaps the townships were not as bad when the father lived in them or perhaps the father was a very lucky man, either way their paths diverged. At the end of the film Tsotsi is a changed man, he has a newly acquired set of morals that may not have bode well in the setting of a township, or jail for that matter. Nothing is certain in the future of Tsotsi which puts a somewhat somber ending to the movie. Although sometimes contrasting with films that I usually see, Gavin hood made this film perfect for foreign audiences by simply not altering it from its South African authenticity. A great film from the first scene to the closing credits.
ReplyDeleteThere are few divides so vast as the one between Southern California and the townships of South Africa. They are completely and fundamentally different places, in almost every single respect. And I must admit, I started watching Totsi with the belief that these vast differences would take me out of the movie and prevent me from connecting emotionally with the events that were being portrayed. However, I am very happy to report that I was absolutely mistaken. Gavin Hood’s remarkably accurate portrayal of the townships and an all-around stunning performance by the cast bridged the cultural gap and dragged me deep into the heart of South Africa. Totsi centers around the story of Totsi, a troubled young man who raised himself in one Africa’s townships after his mother Died of Aids and He ran away from his alcoholic and abusive father. He has a very rough and tumble lifestyle (to put it gently) and does whatever is necessary to survive. While this may seem like a horror story unto itself, Totsi’s life feels normal in the township. However, when his life is put into contrast with that of the wealthy man whose child Totsi kidnaps, you finally see just how bad of a hand Totsi has been dealt. Where totsi has known only poverty and danger, the wealthy man lives relatively safely in a gated community. This disparity is made even more apparent when it you realize that the wealthy man probably came from a very similar background as totsi, and was only saved from the townships by some unspecified piece of luck.
ReplyDeleteEven though Totsi does vile and despicable things throughout the entirety of the film, even going as far as to shoot one of his friends dead and torment a homeless crippled man, his redemption in the last few minutes of the film made me feel that he totsi was vindicated of all of his transgressions. I felt that this last noble gesture brought totsi to the moral high ground and definitely made him more than qualified to return to life in south Africa’s townships.
Overall I think that Gavin hood has made an absolutely stellar piece. His portrayal of peoples struggle in the townships was absolutely amazing and definitely deserved the Oscar for best foreign film. I honestly think that if Hood had made the characters speak English or change the script in any way to make it more accessible he would have ruined the authenticity of the film generally made it worse.
Life goes on, no matter what.
ReplyDeleteIf you don’t know the township, good luck finding anyone or anything. The township provides a cover from the outside world, which Tsotsi uses to put the cops at a disadvantage. As soon as Tsotsi runs into the township, the cops know that there is little to no chance of finding the baby, or Tsotsi.
Tsotsi has tried to repress any memories of his past. He fits into modern South Africa life by coming from a troubled past, riddled with violence, to finally climaxing and realizing that he has to make a change. He rebuilds himself from the ground up; making more ethical decisions and and modern South Africa both represent hope and reconstruction.
3. Their lives probably took different paths because underneath it all Tsotsi does not want to leave the township. In comparison to his younger life, in which he lived in large pipes, the township provided for him a place to stay and people who stuck by his side. The township is where Tsotsi feels safe.
4. By the end of the film Tsotsi made a difficult decision. as he gives the baby away, he is giving away the thing that allowed him to change his life.
5. For international audiences, Gavin Hood could have played the sympathetic card. He could have made the township seem like a horrible thing, that they are suffering in the township and that the townships are filled with crime, injustice, and violence. (through a western lense)
6. I loved this film! The cinematography, the acting, and the story spoke to me and helped me, as well as other, better understand the townships and the struggles many South Africans face today.
The South African film Tsotsi is a gripping tale about a boy and his journey through the township. The director, Gavin Hood, won an academy award for best foreign movie that displays the complexness and harsh realities of those living in a township. He articulates the divisions within South African society, as well as the distain of the government toward those living in townships. Those people’s lives are so much different from ours, that it is almost unreal. Both are equally complex, but the township is an indescribable entity, filled with dreams, aspirations, failure, and despair. Crime and poverty are rampant; AIDS/HIV is prevalent. The film is the embodiment of the life in the township, and could of only been made by those how have experienced that kind of life before.
ReplyDeleteThe film takes place in a township called Alexandria, just outside of Johannesburg. The director of the movie took actors from the townships themselves so the movie would be as real as possible. Presely Chweneyagae plays the lead actor, Tsotsi in this film. The director, though, could have provided more background for foreign audiences so they would know the struggles of the township and not misinterpret the film.
Tsotsi is the stereotypical South African living in a township. He is a product of his environment: the remnants of the apartheid and a social division between the socioeconomic classes. Through his experiences as a child and toils as an adult, one realizes the world that surrounds the township. A cornerstone in his development as an individual came from an unforgettable moment in his childhood. His mother contracted the AIDS/HIV virus. The father ordered Tsotsi to stay away from his mother, and when he disobeyed, his father broke his dog’s back. Tsotsi began to see the world through a jaded lens, one of survival of the fittest and ruthlessness. This mindset is uniform throughout the township; rarely does an individual help another that they do not know.
In Alexandria, the gangs rule the streets. No one disobeys them. Even the police are afraid of entering the townships. The crime and murder rates are higher than during the apartheid because the laws are not as enforced as strictly. Individuals begin to have no decency in their actions and sink further into a hole in which they are unable to climb out. Tsotsi, however, finds his own decency after stealing a car and shooting a woman, when he discovers the car he just stole had a baby in it. He adopts this baby, making it his own. The baby begins to soften Tsotsi’s steel exterior. He perfectly displays the evolution of a heartless man into kinder soul. This is shown when he does not steel a homeless man’s money; instead, opting to talk to him about his legs and what happened to hem. Soon after, he begins to develop a moral code. Tsotsi no longer wants to resort to stealing cars and violence for a living. Rather, he begins to transform into a decent individual, with a moral compass and an ethical code.
In comparison to the baby’s father, Tsotsi became conceited and increasingly desperate for money, embedding himself in a life of crime, while the father of the baby could have risen out of the township with support from his parents and his own internal motivation.
Overall, the film is gracefully crafted, as it is raw in displaying lives of those living in the township. The film shows how an individual can evolve into a moral person by overcoming his or her own limitations and realizing what is right and what is wrong.