Tsotsi (2005)

According to IMDB, Tsotsi means thug in Johannesburg slang, and it's also the street name of the main character of this minor masterpiece. It's directed by Gavin Hood, who now that I know is behind the upcoming Wolverine film, feel much better about it. He's played by Presley Chweneyagae, who up until this film (and actually still is, really) was an unknown. You wouldn't really guess that, though, based on how well he plays the part. I'm guessing he comes from a background similar to the one he portrays in the film, which would explain the ease in which he acted, but I could be completely wrong.

Chweneyagae plays the epitome of a heartless, street raised, thug. He's someone who essentially raised himself, and has no real sense of right and wrong until he's faced with, well, taking care of someone else's child. The kicker is that he shot the mother and stole her car. Aside from the violence, which is very straight forward, the character moments are handled expertly, and contrary what can be the case in films like these, the other (unknown) actors really nailed their roles. The way the story is told, especially the use of flashbacks, is done in a familiar way that could be run of the mill were it not for the aforementioned performances, and the photography, which captures the slums of the city perfectly.

Oh and the soundtrack is great, too. Lots of rap that I would honestly listen to if I could get my hands on it.

Comparing this to City of God is just lazy. The superficial elements are similar, and we don't know the motives behind making the film, since it basically bought Fernando Meirelles a ticket to Hollywood, and it looks like it did the same for Hood as well, but outside of the slum environment, unkown actors, etc, I wouldn't really put it on that same level, as though this as I said is very good, City of God is one of the best films of all time in my opinion.

I wouldn't say it borders Crash for "manipulation", either. Anytime you have interaction with a sensitive subject, like a mom and her baby, etc, there's going to be some degree of catering to the audience going on, and this was certainly no exception. It is definitely catered to western audiences, particularly those (as you mentioned) that liked City of God. That said, perhaps I was a little high on it, but it is a totally seperate entity in the same vein as other, better films. Doesn't change the stand alone quality of this one. My two cents.

I knew I heard that somewhere. I still disagree that it was manipulative, and the way you (savage) phrased your last post made it sound like any movie set in a slum post-COG is automatically borrowing from it. I've seen a lot of movies set in slums, most of them modern, and even the Brazilian film Tropa de Elite is utterly different. The basic premise is the same, that's all. Same with war films, gangster films, etc. I'm done.

I still think it was very good. I was a little tired when I wrote it, and maybe embellished it a tad. It was 4:30 and I had been studying Russian for hours.