Media Coursework: Tsotsi

Watching Tsotsi was a breathtaking experience; the film was a great way of portraying realism in the poor parts of South Africa. I am a student in London who is not usually exposed to any sort of violence, and watching this film had made me realise the dangers, distress and unhappiness some people may be feeling in other countries; from this film, I’ve learnt to appreciate the lifestyle I am living. I feel the director based this film Tsotsi to capture the audience’s heart and play about with their emotions towards the script and characters, it certainly captured mine. At times I would feel I was experiencing the rough life in South Africa, and further along the film, my emotions began to change to whatever situation was occurring. It was an excellent film throughout, as it mixed a display of killings, love, care, guilt, distress, even some humour. All in all, Tsotsi was an unpredictable film which kept you thinking of what could happen next or what and how the character is feeling. Films created like these really do captivate its audiences which makes it an enjoyable film to watch.
Although the film had a dramatic storyline throughout, the ending was left as a big controversial discussion on whether the director had ended it well or had disappointed viewers. I have viewed the two alternative endings which the director could have used instead of the original, which was of Tsotsi surrendering to his actions and it ended at that. I am now going to give you my personal opinion on which ending I believe would have given an excellent film a fantastic ending.
The first alternative ending was of Tsotsi getting shot by one the police officers and dying. I felt that this ending was extremely dramatic and emotional. From this ending I could imagine that the director was aiming to leave the audience in shock and even devastated at the sudden death of Tsotsi. Instead of leaving it at the mid shot from when Tsotsi surrenders, the director follows it up with the baby