Source: "Tsotsi: Can a baby redeem a hardened thug?" - Mile Klindo and Helen Haylard
Tsotsi is based on a novel written in 1960 by Athol Fugard, who wrote plays and novels with a focus on the destructive impact of apartheid segregation on human relations. He was an opponent to the apartheid rule, and his work provides an insight into the consequences of segregation. Gavin Hood, director of the film, Tsotsi, does not meet the same social and political critique according to writers Mile Klindo and Helen Haylard. He does however contrast the poverty within the townships to the lifestyle of the middle-upper class, who live in gated communities. I agree with the writers in that Gavin falls short of providing this critique, however to create a novel of such depth and critique in the first place into a film, some points from the novel are bound to fall short when the adaptation is constructed, bearing in mind the film is based on the novel, not a full re-telling.
The article written by Mile and Helen explores the question as to whether a baby can redeem a hardened thug. The plot isn't unrealistic, the power that a newborn can have on a person is likely to change them in some way, therefore making the plot plausible. However, a transformation from a ruthless killer to a caring individual from one sole event seems questionable. Hood seems to recognise this, and approaches it by filtering in a psychological subtext of "Tsotsi's suppressed humanity" as Mile and Helen put it. He
