A Theme Of Redemption In Totsie By Athol Fugard
Totsie, a novel written by Athol Fugard and directed by Gavin Hood is a compelling story of a 19 years old boy who makes a living off stealing and killing in the streets of Soweto, a township outside Johannesburg. Released in 2005, the film was a success and ended up winning the Academy Award for the best foreign movie. Like many other South African movies, it presents what seems to be a harsh, unforgiving surface beneath which is layers of hidden sentiment. On his six-day adventure - filled with high pumped music and the lifestyle of a thug - totsie goes through a dramatic and poignant experience that changes his life. Totsie and his gang of ruthless criminals do various things to make money and survive in the cruel world. In the beginning, he is portrayed as a cold-hearted thug who lacks humanity, but throughout the movie, we start to see a different side of him that one wouldn´t normally expect. There are different factors that together change the view we had of him originally.
It starts after they rob an old middle-class man on the train and stab him in the heart. Boston or as they call him, teacher boy, think they´ve crossed the line and confronts the gang with his concerns. Unsurprisingly, Totsie, who seems to be completely unbothered by what they did, beats up his so-called friend and runs away. As he flees to the rich parts of the city, we see flashbacks of what seems to be a younger version of him doing the same, and here we already have an idea of a troubled past that may be the reason for the way he is. It leaves us with a knot in the stomach, opens our eyes to a world that none of us know anything about, and makes us empathize for him even though he is nowhere near morally good.
Furthermore, Totsie decides to steal a car from a woman who is calling her husband to open the gates of their house. Shocked and bewildered, she backs away fearing for her life but opens the door just before he is about to drive. Totsie acts impulsive and shoots her without hesitating. It´not before he is on the highway that he discovered the baby in the back seat. . . Although he did initially plan to leave it behind, the helplessness of the baby spurs up emotions and he brings it home with him. As he deals with the huge responsibility of having a "child", memories of his past start to seep in slowly. He starts having flashbacks again while Miriam - the lady which he held at gunpoint - is feeding the baby. They somehow manage to get along and she has a huge impact on him if him following her advice to give back the baby at the end is anything to go by. The movie uses just the right tools to show the issues in a way that makes it so heartbreaking.
The baby is a symbol in a way. Totsie gives him the name David, which is what his actual name is. To me, the baby represents the life he never had, which is why he feels so compelled to protect and nourish it. As the movie goes on, the violence decrease, and we capture the slow and agonizing change of Totsie. The story unfolds in a nice way with a powerful message of redemption, and even though Totsie is not a nice man, he is not evil either.
