Tsotsi
Ilka Schlockermann reviews the South African film Tsotsi which won the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 2006 Oscars and also stars Kwaito star Zola in a supporting role.
Tsotsi is the term for a black urban criminal, a street thug or gang member in the vernacular of black townships in South Africa. Tsotsi is also the name the main character in Gavin Hood's new film has given himself. Played by Presley Chweneyagae , Tsotsi is a gang member living in a Johannesburg township. The film catches a few significant days in his life.
View a photo gallery from the after-party after the film's London premiere on the 14 March 2006 which took place at the Vue Cinema, Leicester Square.
In the beginning we get a glimpse of what his life is like day in, day out, in the townships and when venturing out to the richer parts of Johannesburg to commit crime. The violence at the beginning of the film is sudden, severe and casually committed, mainly by Tsosti, the leader of a gang of four young men. Even towards his fellow gang members and supposedly friends Tsotsi remains cold.
The moment everything changes is when Tsotsi accidentally 'steals' a helpless baby (during a carjack in which he seriously injures the female driver and then drives off with her car, crashing it when he realizes that there is a crying baby in the back). Whilst at first wanting to walk away from the crashed car and crying baby, something in Tsotsi changes and for the first time he shows compassion and responsibility.
What then ensues is Tsotsi trying to hide the baby from people in his township while trying to care for it, and then committing the bizarre crime of forcing a young mother in his neighbourhood to breast-feed 'his' baby. The baby, the presence of the young mother and her own baby begin to calm Tsotsi down and he starts confronting his past which he had tried to forget.
The more he changes as a person for the better the more the tension in the film rises with the police doing their best to find the missing baby. More than any blockbuster thriller this film will have you on the edge of your seat towards the end.
It comes as no surprise that Tsotsi has won numerous awards, including 'Best Foreign Language Film' at the 2006 Oscars last week. Based on a novel by South African playwright Athol Fugard , written by him in the early 1960s and set in the 1950s, the film's story takes place in present day South Africa. Most of the film is in Tsotsitaal , a South African township slang which mixes Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa and more. Beautifully shot in wide screen, the township really comes to life. Most people will probably have never experienced townships before but it almost feels like you are there. And, yes, the film does have some similarities to 'City of God ' - but this is even better.
What really makes the film is the soundtrack, which fits just perfectly. For the first part there is a thumbing, gritty kwaito soundtrack, mainly by
Zola
who also stars in the movie in a supporting role. Zola, who grew up in a township called Zola, hence his name, is regarded as the 'King of Kwaito' in South Africa and the tracks on the Tsotsi soundtrack include some of the biggest hits of his career.
Later in the film, as Tsotsi changes the music changes too, and it becomes much more mellow.
Vusi Mahlasela
, South Africa's long-standing leading vocalist who also grew up in a township, is featured on six tracks here. His songs are truly beautiful and add to the atmospheric element towards the end of the film.
The immense popularity of the film which will no doubt continue in the UK when it opens on 17 March, will not only have an effect on the South African film industry but also the South African music industry. Just recently, as part of the film's promotion Vusi Mahlasela was even a guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC in America - quite an accomplishment for an African musician and hopefully this will have a long-term effect on the African music industry and the general public's interest in African music.
Tsotsi is released in cinemas across the UK on 17 March 2006.
The soundtrack CD 'Music from and inspired by the Motion Picture TSOTSI' (Milan 399 005-2) is out now.
Listen to audio samples:
Ehlala by Zola
Bhambatha by Zola
Mount Omnyama by Mafikizolo
E Sale Noka by Vusi Mahlasela and the A-Team