Wow. In every way, shape, and form, this film is a MUST SEE. What a heart wrenching, touching, and impactful example of cinema. My heart felt like it was being squeezed the whole time and at moments I got the chills. The 2006 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Tsotsi tells the story of a young gang leader who, after a series of crimes, shoots a woman and hijacks her car only to discover a baby in the back seat. It is a story of a man's journey to discovery "decency."
So many themes are explored in this film:
-The desire for unconditional love between child & parent- having something that's innately yours : I think it's safe to say that most human beings crave that relationship that embodies unconditional love. Whether it's from parents, a sibling, a partner, or a child. Of all the above, a child for so long, is completely dependent on the parent, making a very strong relationship and feeling of need, want and love. That child is unable to survive without a parent. This may have been a motivation and rationalization to keep the child as a means of compensating for what Tsotsi lacked in his childhood.
-The value of a child's life and the desire to provide a better life to the youth than the previous generation: From the small fragment we see of the relationship between Tsotsi and his father, it is apparent that there is a strong resentment towards his father for a) denying him his sick mother b) harming the dog and c) perhaps being a drunk. From this, Tsotsi aspires to provide a better life for the child, and is perhaps another rationalization in keeping the child, so he can do right to it the way his father never did for him.
-The beauty and strength in motherhood and how irreplaceable that presence is in one's life: The first time we see Tstotsi smile is while watching Miriam, his neighbor, breastfeed the child. That realization of the beauty in nature and motherhood is something so touching. He remembers how his mother loved him and treated him, and through that spawns respect for the woman who helps care for the child. And Pumla, the biological mother's, strength and drive to find and protect her child is tearjerking.
-Even the thickest skin has a touchable soul and compassion deep with in: The parallel that comes to mind is from The Godfather where Marlon Brando sits stroking a cat while plotting an assassination. Even Tsotsi is unable to walk away from a crying child whom he is responsible for unintentionally kidnapping and harming his mother. There is a drive to protect the children and an instinct to care for them. To love them.
-Survival instinct: Naturally with any crime dramas or films where the characters are involved in gang-related activity due to the socio-economic background they live in, survival instinct will be a central theme.
-The influence parental figures have on children: We see Tsotsi's father in a flashback harm the family dog, which parallels Tsotsi's actions toward the cripple. He even compares the man to the dog and asks why he continues to live his life if he lives like a dog. That scene under the bridge has to be one of the most powerful in the movie.
The cinematography was beautiful with striking colors juxtaposed against the drab slums, the performances were incredibly strong, and I found it very difficult not to tear up periodically.
At the beginning of the film we see a ruthless gang leader who harms others without a blink, no matter how close. By the end we see him in a position of surrender having learned that decency and self-respect, enough to do the right thing. It's on Netflix so you have no excuse not to watch it.
RB
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