Tsotsi

Lisa and I went to see Tsotsi at the IMC in Dun Laoghaire last night. I thought it was very good - very gritty, with a bit of a soft heart, but I certainly did not find it "mushy" (it was described as mushy in some of the reviews). The coldness in the eyes of Tsotsi, the eponymous character, is really chilling, and it's only towards the end that you see some humanity in him.
It's set in the ghettos in Johannesburg, and it's showing a life where gangs rule and human decency is a scarce commodity. Some of the scenes are really hard to take - there is a senseless killing on the subway at the start of the movie which sets the tone for the whole movie. And there is a scene with a dog which is really heart-breaking.

I spent the whole movie worrying about the baby, though. Not that I thought that anybody would do any harm to him... I was simply worried that he would fall off the couches and beds he was lying on ... that baby was constantly being left lying at the edge of beds, tables, couches, and I could picture him rolling over (like babies do) and falling onto the floor. I'm sure the baby's mother spent the whole shooting of the movie worrying about that! Or maybe it's just me!

The movie won Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, and I could see why (though I have to admit I have no idea what the competing movies were)

The IMC in Dun Laoghaire was very handy - the car park is a bit tight, but I got a spot no problem, and when you get your parking ticket validated when you buy your cinema ticket, you get your parking for free.