Tsotsi (Thug) (2005)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  Amazing, intense perfomance in the lead role - reminded me of Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come - the setting was fascinating, the direction solid and dynamic, killer tunes... but... i think Charlie Chaplin actually passed on this script back in 1918 - citing the… More
  Amazing, intense perfomance in the lead role - reminded me of Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come - the setting was fascinating, the direction solid and dynamic, killer tunes... but... i think Charlie Chaplin actually passed on this script back in 1918 - citing the "transparent, hack sentimentalism".

• Film C

  
  This is an alright movie to be honest its completely in subtitles but dont et that put you of! If i compared it to anothr movie it would be similar to kidulthood/adulthood just that its based in south africa jonaahburg, but along te same line its just about a poor group of lads who… More
  This is an alright movie to be honest its completely in subtitles but dont et that put you of! If i compared it to anothr movie it would be similar to kidulthood/adulthood just that its based in south africa jonaahburg, but along te same line its just about a poor group of lads who have no way of iving apart from resulting to crime and this one day tsotsi steals a car which turns ut to have a baby in the back and he must do the right thing so it leads him on a journey of rights and wrongs and we see th horrible unbringing hes had in life and its quite a captivating heartwarming movie and its worth a watch though i didnt particualy like the ending but apart from that yu get to see what its like for poor people in south africa an troubles life gives tem really worth a watch!

• El Hombre I

  
  Unlike most predecessors that rely on racially motivated, Apartheid-inspired stories, Tsotsi abandons the race card and deals with current issues that are not only in South Africa, but applicable anywhere else on earth. It's themes make it understandable and therefore… More
  Unlike most predecessors that rely on racially motivated, Apartheid-inspired stories, Tsotsi abandons the race card and deals with current issues that are not only in South Africa, but applicable anywhere else on earth. It's themes make it understandable and therefore approachable. Has been compared time and time again to City Of God, but where that film struck a more realistic chord, Tsotsi is a bit more sentimental yet very much worth seeing. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view&current=Tsotsi2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/Tsotsi2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Lady D

  
  A hard hitting film with an intense amount of violent behaviour and fear followed by (in complete contrast) an instinctive guide for love and survival. The story itself isn?t by any means too complicated, but the emotions run from such extremes it?ll have you thinking with your… More
  A hard hitting film with an intense amount of violent behaviour and fear followed by (in complete contrast) an instinctive guide for love and survival. The story itself isn?t by any means too complicated, but the emotions run from such extremes it?ll have you thinking with your heart and not your head. This is certainly the type of film that stays with you for days after watching it. The music throughout is very fitting to the changing mood of the film. The special features show 3 different endings, if this interests you.

• Jens S

  
  The Oscar-awarded film about a South African township thug who ends up caring for a baby he accidentally kidnapped. The portrayal of his life and the situation in such slums is realistic and adequate, the acting good, the story shows Tsotsis change into a caring human being slowly and… More
  The Oscar-awarded film about a South African township thug who ends up caring for a baby he accidentally kidnapped. The portrayal of his life and the situation in such slums is realistic and adequate, the acting good, the story shows Tsotsis change into a caring human being slowly and not too soppy, revealing his background with only few flashbacks. And while all that's entertaining, and true and partly sad and touching, I somehow expected more, after all the critical acclaim it got. A good movie, but in the end a lot more conventional than everyone made me believe.

• Tim S

  
  A powerful film with a good performance from the lead actor (you try spelling his name), but also pretty standard.

• Michael S

  
  Flawed, but still very good.

• Aaron N

  
  Do you know what decency is? It's a movie about a thug, actually Tsotsi literally translates to thug, and he winds up with a baby. This makes him start to think. He thinks about life, the world, others, and his own life. These things counteract his thug life, and he arrives at a… More
  Do you know what decency is? It's a movie about a thug, actually Tsotsi literally translates to thug, and he winds up with a baby. This makes him start to think. He thinks about life, the world, others, and his own life. These things counteract his thug life, and he arrives at a loss of what to do with his life. He wants to change. Very good performances and very nice use of South Africa as the backdrop. Good soundtrack as well. A very good redemption film.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]In "Tsotsi", Tsotsi(Presley Chweneyagae) and his gang rob and kill a man on a train. Afterwards, Boston(Mothusi Magano) is the only one of the gang to feel any remorse, for which he is soundly beaten by Tsotsi who then runs off. He wanders into a… More
  [font=Century Gothic]In "Tsotsi", Tsotsi(Presley Chweneyagae) and his gang rob and kill a man on a train. Afterwards, Boston(Mothusi Magano) is the only one of the gang to feel any remorse, for which he is soundly beaten by Tsotsi who then runs off. He wanders into a wealthy neighborhood, steals a car and shoots a woman attempting to stop him. Soon, he finds out why she was so intent on stopping him when he discovers a baby in the back seat and takes it with him when he abandons the car.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Tsotsi" is a crassly manipulative movie that is scarcely believable in the least. To start, I don't think Tsotsi would have taken the baby unless there was some possible financial return. And I certainly understand somebody who has to steal to eat but killing is another matter entirely, and it is not something that can easily be walked away from, no matter how much the filmmakers may try to explain it away. Which is a shame because the movie valiantly tries to make a statement about the disparity between rich and poor in post-Apartheid South Africa. [/font]

• Mike N

  
  Let me tell you about Israeli airport security. Okay, sure, I have a schvatz of more interesting experiences to relate, as I am currently in Jerusalem, but this one clings to my mind like a yarmulka in a windstorm. That is to say, it's mysteriously clingy. I'll be terse.… More
  Let me tell you about Israeli airport security. Okay, sure, I have a schvatz of more interesting experiences to relate, as I am currently in Jerusalem, but this one clings to my mind like a yarmulka in a windstorm. That is to say, it's mysteriously clingy. I'll be terse. Flight was at 11:20 in the PM from Cairo to Tel Aviv. I arrive at 7. I heard stories. Risking missed flights is something I only practice in domestic travel (extensively). Early was the way to go, just in case. *cue ominous hava nagila* The entire El-Al Airlines counter area was cordoned off, and within were a cadre of passengers being interrogated one-by-one. My passport was double- and triple-taked before I was waved over to a music stand, where the Israeli security 'conductor' began her badgering. What happens next was an amusing defragmentation of my previous several hours, days, weeks, including the assorted tiny histories of each knick-knack and paddywhack I had in my packs. I was an excellent storyteller, a funny one, but my charms, even on low voltage, would not mollify the determined, humorless visage of this female character. I mean, could she be any more Jewish? Meshugass! I recited family histories, travel histories, the well-versed and humbling history of my extreme note-taking ticks, the true history of the ink pens I had with me, the history of Honduras after 1926, the unsurpassable history of the lint in my dangfangled bags! And, a colorful narration of the photos in my battered and travelworn digicam. As well as the story behind the tape covering the memory card slot ON the camera (something to remember Beijing by). And the lass? Stone-faced as a golem. What a Jew! Can you buh-leeve it? Robots in the holy land... and they say the Jewish Conspiracy was a farce. Ahhhhhem. So this process was repeated and three-peated over the course of an hour. Apparently computers were down, so Security Streisand here thought it best to pass the time by re-deploying the "difficult question" missile barrage. "Why are you going to Israel at a time like this?" she asks, shockingly with a wry smile. Oy vey! I believe at some point she achieved satisfaction with her questioning, because I was escorted behind the grey curtains in the back, away from where all the other, apparently less suspicious passengers were led. This is where the contents of my bags were burned and mixed into a small beaker of purple liquid. A drop of the purple inside the green liquid was the litmus, so to speak, and if it remained unchanged, I would only have my memory erased of the entire procedure, but if the purple changed the green to a red, I would be vaporized on the spot (I saw this happen to the unfortunate passenger in front of me). I recall one lobe of my beauteous brain dodging in front of the other as the mind-ray zapper shot its zap, in brave slow-mo, but I don't remember which lobe had courage and which lobe had selfishness. Anyway, as I trained each lobe to function independently, all logical, creative, and supernatural components of my mind were preserved. And probably X-rayed with every other personal item I could produce. Nothing is yours in Israel! [i]In Communist Russia...[/i] Apparently two more hours passed before I was escorted to the boarding area. Where those hours went I cannot say. Maybe they boarded the plane before me, like every other freaking shagetz! I do remember seeing a couple of guys that looked like David Schwimmer and Harvey Keitel, and thought, "That's interesting." And then the flight happened, and I had more passport issues in Tel Aviv and another session of Harangue 101 (and thankfully without the science elective, Full Body Cavity Search 111) from several different people who do magnificent things with the mucus in their throats to produce this Hebrew-coated English. Maybe they get together with ze Germans and compete. So much for being terse. Tomorrow I go to East Gish or Hoyettesville or somewhere. Perhaps I shall return with a clutch of snappy yiddish zingers. Since I still won't be posting pics of my journeys, here is some temporary entertainment for you attention monkeys: Neum rollerskating! Shalom! *turns on "Play That Funky Music"* [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/neumdaddy/FatCity11.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/neumdaddy/FatCity7.jpg[/img] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/neumdaddy/FatCity15.jpg[/img]

• Nicolas K

  
  Although there is plenty to praise about, the excess emotional involvement of the thug from the slums of JoBurg leaves a strong Hollywood aftertaste in the mouth.

• Mike T

  
  There are questionable decisions made by writer-director Gavin Hood, but the accomplishments here are for more prevalent than the flaws. It's a coarse but visually beautiful film that potently illustrates a bad man turning good without ever feeling contrived. In some respects it… More
  There are questionable decisions made by writer-director Gavin Hood, but the accomplishments here are for more prevalent than the flaws. It's a coarse but visually beautiful film that potently illustrates a bad man turning good without ever feeling contrived. In some respects it is a typical redemption story, but the searing performances and professional execution deter the audience from feeling manipulated. One could argue that the character arc isn't perfectly fleshed out, but by the end of the film I simply didn't care. The impact of the conclusion is as much as I could ask for as a moviegoer.

• Daisy M

  
  Winner of best Foreign movie 2006 and based on the novel written by Athol Fugard, Tsotsi showed the story of a young boy orphaned at the age of 9 and forced to fight his way to adulthood alone in the townships of Johannesburg.Tsotsi was a leader of a black criminal gang in South… More
  Winner of best Foreign movie 2006 and based on the novel written by Athol Fugard, Tsotsi showed the story of a young boy orphaned at the age of 9 and forced to fight his way to adulthood alone in the townships of Johannesburg.Tsotsi was a leader of a black criminal gang in South Africa. They were awful and inhuman,cruel and uncaring. We might understand why they became this way when the movie unfold the circumstances they live in and through flashbacks, how they became orphans, and you could not do anything else to forgive them for what they have become. This movie was a great masterpiece starting from the production to the story line. It showed that the toughest of criminals do have feelings after all and what the society should focus on, find out what brought them to become thugs and how to help them out of it.The soundtrack was beautiful , sort of South African hip hop,but all in all, it was a touching movie and a must to see.

• Ina S

  
  Moving film with great acting.

• Richard F

  
  We do not choose our beginning, we do not choose our end. But in the moments between, we choose who we are. A powerful film, with commanding performances, that speaks volumes about humanity. If you seek altruistic character development, look no further than this tour de force that is… More
  We do not choose our beginning, we do not choose our end. But in the moments between, we choose who we are. A powerful film, with commanding performances, that speaks volumes about humanity. If you seek altruistic character development, look no further than this tour de force that is far superior to "City of God".

• Leo L

  
  An interesting movie.

• Tom S

  
  A beautiful story of redemption. Tsee Tsotsi even if you're not big on foreign films. I think it translates to any culture at any time.

Read all 17 featured audience ratings