Tsotsi (sôt'sê)

I haven't been out to see a new movie (in the theater) since Michal, Jim, Annie and I went to see Firewall a couple of months ago. There are a couple out right now that I was hoping to see, Lucky Number Slevin, Thank You for Smoking, Inside Man etc... but instead Michal and I went to see Tsotsi (which is supposedly pronounced sôt'sê, but I can't figure out what that means, so I just say sot-see). The film did hold some interest for me, I had heard an interview with the director about his decision to use "Tsotsitaal", a ghetto language of Gauteng province, South Africa, as the main language of the film, but it wasn't one of those films that I was saying, "man, I've got to see this!" about. I should have been.

The film was amazing. The visual style was perfectly suited for the subject. It was raw, but not intrusive. The soundtrack fit perfectly, and the acting was superb. The most astonishing aspect of the film, though, was the story and they way you could see the change in David (Tsotsi) over the course of the 6 day period in which the film takes place.

There have been many debates about the content of films (especially films, like Tsotsi, that get an 'R' rating). This movie does have a lot of swearing (even though it is subtitled you can actually very distinctly tell what they are saying) and has some pretty violent parts too. But there is no way that you would get a feel for who Tsotsi and his gang are without this raw realism. They can't speak like Dick and Jane while simultaneously convincing you that they are ruthless gangsters.

I'm still planning on seeing MI III and will watch #Slevin when it hits video stores, but Tsotsi is a film that I will remember long after others fade from memory.

My Rating: 9/10 - Great film! Good soundtrack (I bought it right after we left the theater). Amazing story.

This review was written by Benjamin Crum