Dark Chocolate Ice

Makayla 2022-01-13 08:02:35

The first shot is great. Accompanied by the strong rhythm of Zulu rap music, Tsotsi walks out of the tin attic, the picture follows his movement, shaking out a smoky slum on the edge of the African metropolis, a large area of ​​unsightly At the end of the low shantytown, the poor are standing in the bright sunshine-after a few quick jumps, the four little hooligans are already in the modern skyscrapers of Johannesburg, South Africa's capital, and they are starting to target the rich , Accompanied by blood and trembling, this is the daily life they depend on for survival. This obvious opposition between the rich and the poor was treated as a background with a clear contrast between light and dark, and the warm story unfolded slowly on top...Tsotsi shot and wounded a woman and robbed her of her car. He did not notice the car. There was a sleeping baby lying in the back seat. This "embarrassing accident" caused Tsotsi, who was originally cruel and cruel, to gradually discover in his conscience that he first decided to raise the child. For this reason, he had to threaten the young mother living next door with a gun to help feed the baby. After that, his kind nature was lost. Gradually awakening, he seemed to fall in love with this strong female neighbor. In the end, he chose to completely break with his gang life, and planned to return the child to the grieving mother before leaving, but what awaits him is not only forgiveness.

It should be said that this is a somewhat credible legend, with its touching side, but the gorgeous photography and the touching storyline of the ethical drama are not enough to make it appear perfect and powerful, and it won the Oscar for best foreign language film. , It does not make it a veritable classic. Oscars are often exaggerated after weighing the pros and cons, and this is not the first time.

"The Gangster Thug" cannot represent the highest level of world cinema in 2005. At best, it can only represent the highest level of 2005 South African cinema. This is not to ridicule our troubled South African brothers. They made such a neat, smooth and warm film. I deeply admire and respect them. I even appreciate the charming music and fashionable photography in it. The unique aesthetics of this movie, but its inherently conservative humanistic feelings, can’t be compared with the "City of God" a few years ago—in contrast, "The Gangster Thug" largely caters to Europe and the United States. The moral and value orientation of the mainstream society only satisfies the superfluous sympathy that the middle class has nowhere to release. The concern and concern for the bottom of the country's society is still on the surface and lacks a strong collision. Among them, human salvation, childhood shadows, and other popular tactics used in literary and popular dramas are definitely not enough to tear this unbalanced society's hard mask. Although there are also sharp contrasts between skyscrapers and slums in the lens, there are also sad beggars in the subway, and loneliness in the slums. The widow, the stray child in the concrete pipe, but the film lacks due insight into the social root cause of these human tragedies, and its short-term revealing even seems a little pale and weak, as if a clever sideways avoidance is quite impressive. Pity.

This movie is like a cold ice cream wrapped in a crisp black chocolate shell. Although sweet and warm, after eating, only a bare wooden stick is left. The naked bloodliness and the hidden sadness and passion of "City of God" are all discounted here.

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Extended Reading
  • Ettie 2022-03-27 09:01:15

    Seriously lowers the average score for the best foreign language film

  • Nico 2022-03-26 09:01:11

    Thugs have feelings too, it's just hard for people to notice

Tsotsi quotes

  • Morris: Now look what you've done... you've made an old man piss his pants

  • Morris: [after hearing a defining moment in Tsotsi/David's childhood] What kind of bastard would break a dog's back?