Tsotsi (2005)

Six days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.

Director:

Gavin Hood

Writers:

Gavin Hood, Athol Fugard (novel)

Stars:

Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano, Israel Matseke-Zulu

Won 1 Oscar. Another 22 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Presley Chweneyagae	...	Tsotsi
Terry Pheto	...	Miriam
Kenneth Nkosi	...	Aap
Mothusi Magano	...	Boston
Zenzo Ngqobe	...	Butcher
Zola	...	Fela
Rapulana Seiphemo	...	John Dube
Nambitha Mpumlwana	...	Pumla Dube
Nonthuthu Sibisi	...	The Baby
Ntuthuko Sibisi	...	The Baby
Jerry Mofokeng	...	Morris
Ian Roberts	...	Captain Smit
Percy Matsemela	...	Sergeant Zuma
Thembi Nyandeni	...	Soekie
Owen Sejake	...	Gumboot Dlamini

Storyline

In Johannesburg, a small time criminal, Tsotsi, is a teenager without feelings, hardened by his tough life. After a series of violent gang hits, Tsotsi hijacks a car. However, whilst driving, Tsotsi finds that there is a baby on the back seat. He brings the baby to his house in the slum. The next six days bring about a change in him that couldn't be foreseen.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | slum | criminal | street life | shantytown | 

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Taglines:

In this world... redemption just comes once.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some strong violent content

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first Miramax release since founders Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein left the company.

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Goofs

When Tsotsi enters the room of the kidnapped child, you can see (on the right hand side) that the wall paper is false.

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Quotes

Morris: [after hearing a defining moment in Tsotsi/David's childhood] What kind of bastard would break a dog's back?

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Alternate Versions

A open matte version in 1.85 ratio was edited on the french DVD in 2006.

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Connections

Featured in Brows Held High: Yeelen (2013)

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Soundtracks

Munt'omnyama
Written by T. Kgosinkwe, A. Muphemi & T. Seate
Performed by Mafikizolo

User Reviews

Wonderful film!

Unforgettable

Tsotsi is gorgeous, riveting, poignant, and thrilling. Not only is it a first-rate piece of storytelling, but it also takes the viewer into a world of South African poverty and crime that he has never seen before. Director/writer Gavin Hood offers us a tale of tragic redemption and uncommon poetry in a subculture of the most abject immorality. Truly unforgettable.

The only work in recent times to which this movie can be compared is City of God. There, too, the viewer is brought into a world of poverty and crime he probably never knew existed. It is a world so bleak that it forces the viewer to examine his own morality and wonder how much of the civility he takes for granted in his life is merely the luxury of the well fed and comfortable. These characters live on the edge and their primary passion is survival.

What makes Tsotsi, in the end, a finer film than City of God is that it offers a more complex sense of hope; it reminds us in an honest and unsentimental way that inside even the hardest cases there is a soul, which is never beyond redemption

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK South Africa

Language:

Zulu Xhosa Afrikaans English

Release Date:

31 March 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Infância Roubada

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$76,324, 26 February 2006

Gross USA:

$2,912,606

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,891,303

Company Credits

Production Co:

The UK Film & TV Production Company PLC, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, The National Film and Video Foundation of SA

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1