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Poster for Tsotsi

Tsotsi

In this world... Redemption comes just once.

2005 · 1h 34m · R Crime, Drama
Directed by Gavin Hood

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Overview

A young South African boy from the Johannesburg ghetto named Tsotsi, meaning Gangster, leaves home as a child to get away from his helpless parents. Now a teenage thug, Tsotsi finds a baby in the back seat of a car he's just stolen. He decides that it is his responsibility to care for the infant and in the process learns that maybe the criminal life isn’t the best way.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
82%
Tomatometer
Fresh

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.

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Fresh

Unfolds in such clear-eyed, powerful fashion that its characters become unforgettable, and the movie lands a big-time emotional punch.

Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Fresh

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.

Michael Booth, Denver Post
Fresh

A deeply moving portrait of a human being, suffering in life and not having any handle on how to deal with it. It's tragedy, not melodrama.

Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
Fresh

The picture can be squishy and obvious. Yet it works, thanks to Gavin Hood's straightforward, sensitive direction and his star's emotionally charged performance.

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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