Robert Gomulka

Dr. Kristine Mirrer

International Film

due:4/20/2018

Tsotsi

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class we discussed the poor neighborhoods surrounding Johannesburg where the movie Tsotsi

takes place. We also compared it to the movie called City of God in how it compares in setting of

poverty and cold hearted violence. The country of South Africa is riddled with HIV and in the

movie it is omnipresent being found on billboards and in flashbacks of Tsotsi’s mother being

sick from it. The main character Tsotsi although his actions throughout the movie were heinous

with his crew robbing and shooting people, the class found compassion and rooted for the

character as the movie developed when he formed a bond with the kidnapped baby.

2) Find a related article and summarize the content.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/tsotsi-2006

The article reiterated how the movie had won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. With so

much despair in the shack community “Tsotsi” which means thug” has no shot at making a

honest living so he and his gang go around doing whatever they want. After the realization of

having the baby in his car, the article suggests that Tsotsi does not suddenly become a good

person, but “He simply stops being active as an evil one, and finds his time occupied with the

child.”
3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

The article found it surprising that the movie gave viewers a sense of hope instead of

despair. I agree with this statement in that from the beginning I thought the movie was going into

a another direction in plot. My inclination was that the main characters would die from their

lifestyle choices, but not in the Tsotsi final circumstance. The article also praises the acting

between Miriam and Tsotsi saying “ Chweneyagae and Pheto, are surrounded by

temptations to overact or cave in to sentimentality; they step safely past them and play

the characters as they might actually live their lives.” I agree that the way the situation

played out seemed realistic for the nature of the relationship.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the

screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

The movie was based on a South African novel by Athol Fugard and was interpreted well

enough to be nominated two years in a row for a foreign film oscar. It was an interesting

dynamic to see a one sided character like Tsotsi develop overtime and made me more

understanding of his struggle. The movie does not cling to overt violence, but rather keeps it’s

focus on the characters and their development through a course of events. From robbing and

killing a man in the Subway to caring for an infant, Tsotsi was able to find his sense of purpose

to go on living until the dramatic ending.

Works Cited

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/tsotsi-2006
1) (X) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) X) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly

explain that in the paper.

3) (X) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used

indentation and citation within the text.

4) (X) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the

text of the paper.

5) (X) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (X) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I

cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (X) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (X) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research

and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Robert Gomulka Date: 4/20/2018