South Africa’s ‘Tsotsi’

South Africa, with its second nomination in as many years, won its first Academy Award for best foreign language film with “Tsotsi.” Writer-director Gavin Hood adapted Athol Fugard’s novel about a young gangster in the poverty-stricken townships of Johannesburg, updating it from the 1960s to present day.

The title -- which is street vernacular for thug -- refers to the brutal character played by Presley Chweneyagae, the leader of small band of thieves who inadvertently kidnaps a baby during a carjacking. Tsotsi is transformed by the presence of the infant and a young widow he encounters, only a few years older than himself. The film infuses the traditional crime drama with socio-economic issues that give it substance. The prolific Fugard says it is “far and away” the best screen adaptation of one of his works.

The film marks the first Oscar for a Miramax film under new president Daniel Battsek, who succeeded the oft-lauded Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Among the films “Tsotsi” beat out were the controversial Palestinian nominee “Paradise Now,” a drama about a pair of would-be suicide bombers in the hours leading up to their fateful mission.

-- Kevin Crust