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Rating: "His Name is Tsotsi" by Gavin Hood (South Africa, 2005) is the film adaptation of the novel "Tsotsi" published by Athol Fugard in 1989. However, the South African director makes some important changes to the plot and especially to the setting. While the novel is set in the Sophia Town of the ghettos and apartheid, Hood moves the action to contemporary Johannesburg, where apartheid no longer exists but poverty and misery are still widespread.
The absolute protagonist of the action is Tsotsi, a young boy living on the outskirts of Johannesburg, getting by with robberies and thefts. In the very first scene, where Tsotsi and his gang kill an unfortunate victim in the subway for a few coins, we are violently confronted with the harsh reality of that world which, for those born into it, may seem like the only possible world. But the central action, which sets the stage for the development of the entire story, will occur just a few minutes later. In the act of stealing a car from a black woman who is evidently of higher social status than him, Tsotsi will inadvertently also take her infant son who was in the back seat. Upon abandoning the car (after having cleared it of valuables), the protagonist will also take the child with him in a perhaps inexplicable action that will completely change his life. From here, Tsotsi's human growth will begin, thanks in part to some contingent elements.
Through the child, Tsotsi will recall some memories from his childhood (his violent, drunken father, his sick mother) that will allow him a sort of belated awareness of his life. In one of these flashbacks, the viewer will learn the protagonist's real name, David, which Tsotsi had evidently chosen to forget; another sign of the boy’s desire to reclaim his identity will be giving the baby his “old” name. The first to notice the protagonist’s change will be his friends and accomplices, with whom he will have some awkward moments. Returning with them to the child's home, where only the father is present, Tsotsi will even shoot and kill one of his henchmen to prevent him from killing the homeowner. Moreover, the boy will (in an unusual way) meet a prematurely widowed girl, with whom, despite their first encounter, he might dream of having a family and a stable existence.
Gavin Hood focuses almost exclusively on the protagonist's growth process out of all the themes raised by the novel, excellently portrayed by the young Presley Chweneyagae, with whom the audience quickly identifies, despite the initial exploits. An important role is also played by the music that accompanies much of the film’s imagery; it is mainly Kwaito music, a sort of hip-hop with added South African sounds that further characterize the film's contemporary setting.
Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2006.
A small note for my English literature professor: should you happen to read this page on the Internet, do not think I shamelessly copied the commentary you requested from DeBaser but know that it was I, Mattia Damiani, who wrote it and put it on this wonderful site. I hope the editors won’t mind this digression too much! Regards
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