'Viva Tsotsi!'
2006-03-13 10:25
What a wonderfully invigorating week last week was! We all woke up to a glorious Monday morning, a day on
which the rain had mercifully given us some respite, and we all cheered when the good news about the scintillating
triumph of Tsotsi at the Oscars began to spread.
As president Mbeki said, the film's victory did us proud. I am certain that the much maligned ruffian of a
township character is these days quite a lovable, cuddly urchin, and I would not be surprised if some new parents
do not name their boy children Tsotsi!
One of the finest newspaper posters I have read in a long time was one by Sowetan: "Tsotsi steals an Oscar".
This was very heady stuff, and every South African will be justifiably proud of the achievements of the film and the
meaning of its victory for the future of our movie making industry.
Tsotsi's triumph is as much a salute to its youthful actors as it is to the crew and director Gavin Hood, who never
lost faith in the ability of the film to crack the big one.
The gratifying thing about the movie is that it is, first and foremost, based on a South African novel written by an
accomplished South African writer, Athol Fugard.
Story 'uniquely South African'
The storyline is uniquely South African, and the cast and crew
are all South Africans. For the young lead actors Presley Chueneyagae and Terry Pheto the movie was the first
time they had dabbled at something for the big screen.
For director Hood, it was the culmination of a struggle to make a telling mark on the film industry.
His A Reasonable Man was a good movie which, perhaps, could have been better marketed and may now
possibly be re-released following the success of Tsotsi.
The movie's success has once again demonstrated the greatness of this country and its many talented people, and
I feel certain that Charlize Theron (unfortunate that her North Country was not as lucky at the Oscars) will be
sharing in the success of her "home boys and home girls".
Yes, the tsotsi in the movie lacks that steely, son-of-a-bitch firmness of jaw and a scarred face from many knife
fights; the dialogue is not the tsotsi taal one is familiar with in real life, and the cherubic looks of Chueneyagae
make him a timid altar boy in the rough and tumble world of the denizens of the dark.
But enough carping, Tsotsi
has catapulted our local cinematography to be right up there alongside the world's best. And I may just add my own
feeble voice of congratulations to all involved.
A very close friend of mine sent me an SMS shortly after seeing the awards ceremony on television before the crack of dawn, saying simply: "Viva Tsotsi!" And so say all of us.
SA's other 'tsotsi'
On a similar note, the good cheer extended to another "tsotsi", a real township product who oozes natural talent.
He being the utterly wayward and troublesome footballer, Jabu Pule, who seems to think training sessions are an
option with which he can easily dispense.
The midfield dribbling wizard shot into the limelight at Kaizer Chiefs football club, but his lack of discipline saw
him in regular meetings with the disciplinary committee until one day he packed his bags and left.
His next step was to head for Austria, where he joined ASV Mattersburg, but even the Austrians could not keep
him because of ill-discipline. He came back home, full of remorse and promising anyone who would listen he had
reformed.
One outfit which wanted to use his skills was Pretoria-based SuperSport United, who signed him on. But what
they say of leopards and their spots was true once again of Pule, who found it difficult to ditch his old bad ways.
He ignored a training session once and was strongly reprimanded, only to cost them a cup final by missing training
and a chance to play.
That was the final straw, and once again he was on the road. But even with football skills overflowing and talent
crying out to be recognised and snapped up, nobody wanted to touch him with a barge pole.
Now his paternal uncles have decided that the lad's misfortunes can be traced to his having abandoned his dad's
origins.
His surname was his mother's and they insisted he change it.
And so last week the tsotsi was formally inducted into his father's clan, and his surname changed to Mahlangu.
The clan's elders performed a ritual to cleanse him of his old habits, and hopes are high that the midfielder who
lost a place in the recent Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt, because of ill-discipline, will at last return to
the fold.
It was a heady week for all South Africans and indeed for all tsotsis too!
Jon Qwelane's column is published each week on News24, courtesy of Jon Qwelane and the editor of Sunday Sun, which originally carried the article.
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