Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4041 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-07-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 94 minutes

Synopsis
Based on South African playwright Athol Fugard's only novel, TSOTSI is a thrilling, provocative look at life in the ghettos outside present-day Johannesburg. Presley Chweneyagae stars as the title character, a teenager with a killer stare who lives alone in a ramshackle room in a poor shantytown, where he pulls off petty crimes with the help of three compatriots Boston (Mothusi Magano), Butcher (Zenzo Ngqobe), and Aap (Kenneth Nkosi). But after they stab a man to death on the subway and Tsotsi (which means thug or gangster) beats up Boston for trying to find out about his past, Tsotsi runs off to a wealthy section of the city, shoots a woman, and steals her car. Only later does he discover that there is a baby in the back seat and decides to keep it for himself. As Tsotsi finally does look back at his own childhood, he tries to take care of the infant, carrying it around in a paper bag and forcing a young mother, Miriam (Terry Pheto), to breastfeed it at gunpoint. At this point, writer-director Gavin Hood could have opted for trite sentimentality, but instead he delves deeper into Tsotsi's psyche, as the young man might have already gone too far to turn back now. TSOTSI is a pulsating, electrifying film propelled by Chweneyagae's powerful, mesmerising performance. The pounding soundtrack features popular local Kwaito music by Zola, who also plays crimelord Fela in the film. Winner of the 2006 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, 'TSOTSI will rank as one of the best films ever to come out of South Africa', as Fugard himself said.

Customer Reviews

beautiful
So you may have missed Tsotsi when it was in our cinemas this winter/spring and may have thought that wasn't much of a loss anyway. It's not Mission impossible nor is it Sophies choice- its not "hollywood" and that may have led you to believe you didn't miss anything significant, a feeling that i probably would have shared if i hadn't been forced to see this beautiful southafrican made film.
I fell instantly in love with the amazingly acted characters of tsotsi and the visual style of the film equally. So much so, i bought this dvd. This film is a gem. An absolutely beautiful story which captivates and transends geographical boundaries, race and class
I guess the point of this review is to make sure that a least one other person out there may see it, buy the dvd and hopefully see what i saw. Or at least something close to what i did. thanks

Powerful and Intense Film
"Tsotsi" won the Best Foreign Film Award at the 2006 Oscars, so it is worth watching if only to see why it is so highly rated by the critics. It is a film about redemption and "the power of love" ,which transforms the heart of a callous and vicious Soweto gangster; the "Tsotsi" of the film's title. This takes place gradually following his unwitting kidnapping of a young baby after stealing a car and shooting a woman in a wealthy part of Johannesburg. Assuming the role of father , the experience of looking after the stolen child triggers memories of his own traumatic childhood and helps him come to terms with it, as well as opening his heart to the possibility of developing constructive, loving relationships with people. Presley Chweneyagae puts in a stellar performance as Tsotsi and he is ably supported by a fine cast. The film possesses a tremendous amount of intensity and emotion and it's message that "there is good in everyone" ,even amongst the most hopeless of cases ,is a positive and life-affirming one. The cinematography in "Tsotsi" is admirable also and the storyline provides interesting insights into relationships between social classes in 21st Century South Africa, where life for the majority of blacks still appears to remain nasty ,brutish and short.

Child is a Father to Man
Though "Tsotsi" is set in South Africa and the milieu, to the American eye, is as exotic as a film set on the Moon, the concerns are Universal: the loss or disconnect of ones parents, the longing for a parent's love and caring, a governments lack of concern for a citizens civil rights.
Tsotsi (Presley Chweneygae) is a hood, a young man who kills and steals without any apparent concern for what he is doing and why he is doing it. His face and eyes radiate mostly hate and disdain. He is psychically and emotionally detached and removed. Then, one day he steals a luxury car, shoots the woman to whom it belongs and realizes, once he drives the car away, that there is an infant in the back seat.
This beautiful, innocent child forces Tsotsi ( really named David) to face the loss of his Mother, the uncaring, drunken non-concern of his father and the deep seated, mostly ignored or glossed , psychically ignored feelings with which he hasn't been able to deal.
Director and screenwriter Gavin Hood (adapted from a novel by Athol Fugard) has fashioned a traditionally structured film and peopled it with non-traditional characters and it works because we can all relate to Tsotsi's dilemma. And it doesn't hurt to have Presley Chweneygae as your lead character. The first time we see Tsotsi on screen he looks at the camera with his huge black eyes: eyes that are filled with superiority, despair, disgust and hurt. When he first sees the infant his eyes and face fill with wonder and awe at the utter helplessness and innocence. It is this disparity and friction that makes the film crackle with fire and well observed life.
"Tsotsi" is not a revolutionary film like say the similarly themed "Children of God" but it is a very emotionally effective and socially aware one and Presley Chweneyagae's performance is so natural and truthful that it makes you wince with recognition and empathy.