Look at the poster in the theater lobby and you might think that Tsotsi, the main character in the new South African film of the same name, looks almost angelic.
See the film -- based on a novel by Athol Fugard -- and in short order, you'll suspect there are few humans as devilishly hateful and inhumane as Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae), a small-time township thug, crook and murderous accomplice.
Tsotsi runs with a small crew and they travel into the heart of Johannesburg's business district to rob -- and sometimes kill -- people. Tsotsi attacks crippled homeless people, beats his friend Boston to a bloody, half-blind pulp and, one night, shoots a woman to steal her car, even though he can't drive.
When he finds a baby in the back seat, we fear what will become of the child. Although we're relieved that Tsotsi doesn't kill the boy but instead takes him back to his shack, the crumpled newspaper diaper and the insects on the baby's face after Tsotsi's version of a feeding will make you cringe.
With the arrival of the baby, Tsotsi starts to fall away from his mates; a division that began with his beating of Boston.
In order to feed the baby, Tsotsi terrorizes a local widow into breastfeeding the child. And it is here, in her home, that we really start to see a human heart beating behind the façade of a killer.
Visions of his own tortured youth -- his dad kicks the family dog so hard he maims it and young Tsotsi -- then named David -- flees and begins a life away from home, living in an unused segment of sewer pipe. Just as well, for him, it seems, since his mother was dying and he likely had no future with dad, either.
So, it's little surprise that Tsotsi sees his new baby as a version of himself and calls it David. Will this bright-eyed baby boy be able to turn Tsotsi's life around?
The story is -- depending on your view -- either an uplifting story of emotional redemption and rebirth or it's a hackneyed, over-simplified story of emotional redemption and rebirth.
In reality, it's a bit of both. While Tsotsi's awakening is astonishingly rapid and feels unlikely to viewers, in the end we do start to feel for him. That's no small feat for director Gavin Hood, since most everyone will be so utterly repulsed by the despicable Tsotsi and his animalistic viciousness in the opening minutes of the film that mustering even a modicum of sympathy for this character is a miracle.
"Tsotsi" opens Friday, March 31 at Landmark's Oriental Theatre.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
