Tsotsi

Film: Tsotsi
2005

View the 2006 Academy Award-winning South African film Tsotsi. Write a postscript to the film: what happens to him and the other people in the Soweto township (especially his long-time friend and the young mother)? What happens to the victims?

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Tsotsi ends with the titular character standing in the street, surrounded by police who are ready to kill him if he makes a run for it. But I don't think David ("Tsotsi") is running anymore. He has begun to understand the consequences of his choices, and he's no longer a runaway child who is simply doing whatever it takes to stay alive in a Soweto slum. He will be arrested, and this is a good thing. He certainly deserves punishment for his crimes, but he also deserves an opportunity to turn his life around, a process he has already begun. As the film ends, he is led off to jail where he will await his trial for assault and robbery.

John and Pumla have been reunited with their child, and while they may never be able to forgive David for the suffering he has caused, they are grateful that he protected their child instead of allowing it to be harmed. By the time of David's trial, John and Pumla have sought to move on with their lives. Though they testify against him, they also request leniency, telling the court that David put himself at risk by saving John from his Butcher's attack during their robbery of the house. Pumla and John know that David is troubled and has far to go, but they know there is hope that he will be able to work toward a better life for himself.

Die Aap, David's friend and follower, is also convicted for his role in the robbery of John and Pumla's house, but he does not take the opportunity to better his life. Die Aap is still a follower and he will always look for a strong personality to provide him with leadership. He'll find a series of leaders in prison and back in the slums when he is released, with predictably bad consequences.

Boston/Teacher Boy escapes punishment for his crimes, but he continues to punish himself for his failures by wasting his life in a drunken stupor. Perhaps he meets Miriam at David's trial and they become friends; perhaps she shows him that there is a way to live decently. There is always hope for an alcoholic who is willing to change, but it will take hard work on Boston's part to face the daily struggle of poverty without numbing the pain by drinking. Perhaps someday he comes to visit David in prison and begins to understand that it is not too late for either of them. There is hope for Boston, but the odds are against him.

Miriam, the young widow, continues to support herself and her son with her income from sewing and selling her handicrafts. She testifies on behalf of David at his trial and visits him in prison because she knows that something has happened inside David. She knows that he is trying to live a better life. It's not a love story - she has her own life to live and is more than capable of taking care of herself; she is a whole person. Perhaps through her friendship, David learns how to talk about what has happened to him, and what he has done to others. By showing him kindness instead of hatred, she helps soften David and gives him hope that he will someday be able to truly care for someone else--a wife, a child, or even a friend.