Tsotsi(2005)
dir. Gavin Hood
A gang leader finds a baby in a stolen car.
Where to watch: Free: Plex (with ads); rent $3.99 Apple TV; buy $9.99 Apple TV (JustWatch US, checked 2026-10-31). Verify.Letterboxd ↗
Tsotsi is a young gang leader in a Johannesburg township who steals a car and discovers a baby in the back seat. He keeps the child, and over a few days the feeding, hiding and fear crack open a childhood he has spent years trying to forget. Adapted from Athol Fugard's novel, the film is a short, tense story about violence, poverty and the first small kindnesses of a boy who has had very few.
Why it’s here
It's a film about a kid raised by the streets who is handed something to protect. What's punk is the refusal to excuse him and the refusal to write him off. What's pedagogical is how it shows violence as something that is taught, and what it takes to un-teach it. Note: R-rated; violence including a killing and a shooting, strong language. Older teens and adults. Won the Oscar for Best International Feature. Director Gavin Hood has no documented concerns. Companion to Cry, the Beloved Country and Kaffir Boy in the catalog. English, Zulu, Tsotsitaal and Afrikaans with subtitles.
Where This Film Lives
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