Tsotsi (Thug) (2006)
88%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
23 wins & 18 nominations total
Chweneyagae’s powerful performance carries this simple yet searing tale of a shantytown teenager’s redemption
Tsotsi is a movie that will make you gasp, cry, and laugh all at the same time. It’s like a rollercoaster ride that takes you through the streets of South Africa and into the heart of a young gangster named Tsotsi. The movie is a perfect blend of storytelling, acting, and cinematography that will leave you breathless. And if you’re wondering how a baby can change a hardened criminal, well, you just have to watch the movie to find out. Trust me, it’s worth it.
Production Company(ies)
Beimo Films, Persistence of Vision Films,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Johannesburg, South Africa
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some strong violent content
Year of Release
2006
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English
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Country of origin:South Africa, United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Jul 18, 2006
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano, Israel Makoe, Percy Matsemela, Jerry Mofokeng, Benny Moshe, directed by Gavin Hood, written by Gavin Hood, drama, R rating, box office gross $2.9M, reviewed by Zadie Smith, Roger Moore, Marjorie Baumgarten, Liz Beardsworth, Robert Denerstein, Michael Booth, Richard Propes, Debbie Lynn Elias, Nick Rogers, Fernando F Croce, Betsy Bozdech, redemption, South Africa, Johannesburg, violence, gang, baby, humanity, Dolby Digital, Peter Fudakowski, Afrikaans
Worldwide gross: $9,891,303
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $14,586,280
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,833
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,590,652
US/Canada gross: $2,912,606
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,295,095
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,844
US/Canada opening weekend: $76,324
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $112,552
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,894
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $4,423,971
Production budget ranking: 1,931
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,382,308
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $7,780,000
ROI to date (est.): 114%
ROI ranking: 885
Mothusi Magano – Boston
Israel Makoe – Tsotsi’s father
Percy Matsemela – Sgt. Zuma
Jerry Mofokeng – Morris
Benny Moshe – Young Tsotsi
Director(s)
Gavin Hood
Writer(s)
Gavin Hood
Producer(s)
Peter Fudakowski
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
23 wins & 18 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (131) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (108) | Rotten (23)
The audience gasps in that odd mixture of surprise and recognition that great story-telling affords.
January 16, 2018
Zadie Smith
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It is a first peek at a South Africa that doesn’t need a Hollywood studio or Hollywood stars to present itself to the world, or to come to grips with itself at home.
April 7, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
What Tsotsi fails to explain is how the mere introduction of a baby can melt the cruel cycle of criminality and disregard for others.
April 1, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
With lively pacing, superb performances and a candid yet forgiving heart, Hood has created an inverse fairy tale that is never less than absorbing.
April 1, 2006 | Rating: 4/5
Liz Beardsworth
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Unfolds in such clear-eyed, powerful fashion that its characters become unforgettable, and the movie lands a big-time emotional punch.
March 24, 2006 | Rating: B+
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
TOP CRITIC
To feel the full power of the movie’s wrenching story, you must not rush to judge or embrace young Tsotsi. He is an enigma whose journey is the story.
March 24, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/4
Michael Booth
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
It is one of only a handful of films where I have, quite literally, forgotten that it is a foreign film.
September 26, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Artfully combining and complimenting with each other the story and technical aspects of the film, the results are an unparalleled synergistic relationship, seamlessly interweaving the film’s ever increasing message of hope and redemption.
November 9, 2019
Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens
It’s a redemption song that could be stripped down into a Hallmark-esque distillation of “City of God.” Instead, it retains a minor key, with bullets, blood and beatings illustrating a descent into dangerous living while a baby’s presence suggests hope.
November 7, 2010 | Rating: 3.5/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap
Fraudulent, patronizing, and empty
August 30, 2009
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
Gavin Hood’s Oscar-nominated tale about a young South African gangster who gets an unexpected chance at redemption is literally a world apart from anything produced by Hollywood.
September 27, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Betsy Bozdech
Hollywood.com
…an emotionally honest tale of redemption that does not ignore the fact that we live in a world of cause and consequence.
February 28, 2008 | Rating: 8/10
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com…
Plot
In Johannesburg, a small time criminal, Tsotsi, is a teenager without feelings, hardened by his tough life. After a series of violent gang hits, Tsotsi hijacks a car. However, whilst driving, Tsotsi finds that there is a baby on the back seat. He brings the baby to his house in the slum. The next six days bring about a change in him that couldn’t be foreseen.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Presley Chweneyagae’s powerful performance carries this simple yet searing tale of a shantytown teenager’s redemption.
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