Tsotsi

Tsotsi (2005) is a South African film directed by Gavin Hood. This film follows the life a Tsotsi who lives in the slums of South Africa and has to find any way possible to survive. He is a young man who has made a name for himself as someone not to mess with. His friends follow in and do anything that he says, even if they means killing an innocent man on the subway. Tsotsi goes into the rich neighborhood to steal a car but ends up shooting a woman and taking her car which ends up having a baby in the backseat. Instead of leaving the baby to die, Tsotsi takes him back to his hut and tries to take care of him. Knowing that the baby needs to eat, he takes to baby to a womans house in the slums and makes her feed him at gun point. Tsotsi keeps going back to the woman and begins to have feelings for her. The baby changes Tsotsi and makes him realize that there is more to life than just a life of crime. Feeling bad he takes the baby back to the parents house and doesn't argue when he is being arrested. He made a complete turn around in his life because of this baby.

The theme throughout the film is redemption, Tsotsi learns throughout the film that he doesn't need to use force to get what he wants and that there is more to life than what he has know for so long. He learns so much about what its like to take care of someone else and see how much the real mother and father of the baby love it so much they would do anything to get their baby back.

I really enjoyed this film. I loved seeing the change in Tsotsi and how the audience was not sure if he was going to give back the baby but when he does you really feel for Tsotsi and realize how hard his life really is. Even though he seemed like a bad guy to everyone else around him, you realize that he had to be that person to survive the life around him.