Movies: "Tsotsi", "The Storekeeper", and "Rendition"

This week's Netflix offering was the 2005 "Tsosti" by movie maker Gavin Hood.

When I saw Gavin's name, I knew I'd recently seen another movie by him but couldn't remember which. So when I was done, I looked him up. Gavin was also the director for Rendition, which I saw a month or two ago but didn't review at the time, and... X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Huh. One of these things is not like the others; one of these things just doesn't belong.

So, Tsotsi. Pretty good. If you liked Slumdog Millionaire but wouldn't mind something darker, you'd probably like this one. Imagine what Slumdog would have been like if we'd followed Salim instead of Jamal, and I'd say it's a pretty good idea of the tone of Tsotsi. Completely different plot, but same sort of mood.

The storyarc is a little shallow, but it's pretty good. I could have done without the love subplot, because that is exactly the sort of love story I hate, but it goes in a way I can write off and doesn't ruin the movie for me.

It is also very well put together, in that there are visual elements you'd think are just environment flavor that later tie in, and themes that tie together throughout the movie. Gavin Hood: the man has some skills.

I'm not really sure what else to say about it that won't spoil it. I think darker, earlier Slumdog Millionaire set in South Africa sums it up pretty well.


Also on the disk is Gavin Hood's short movie "The Storekeeper" from 1998, which runs about 20 minutes. Oh my gosh, this is the darkest, saddest thing in the world. I am too sensitive for this movie. I don't think I've ever said that before, but I'm saying it now. I would not have watched it if I knew where it was going.
To explain why I wouldn't have watched it would spoil horribly, and I'd hate to give away the ending to those who can handle it, so let me put it this way. When you know where it is going -- not when you think you know, when you know. You will know. -- then if you don't want to follow it in heart-rending detail, turn it off right there.

Someone out there will now call me a big huge baby that I couldn't handle this. I will own that. I'm too sensitive to be watching this one.


Finally, Rendition. I'm doing it on this entry because if I didn't, I'd babble about it all over the place up in Tsotsi.

You know, when I first got my cell phone, I got constant voice mail messages for the previous person with that number, mostly from bill collectors. I've gotten a lot of those cleared out, but I still get one every now and then despite my voice mail message clearly stating that you have reached Jinnayah Realname's private cell phone, that no one else uses this number, and if you are not looking for Jinnayah, than you have the wrong number. (Note to self: Did I ever actually change it back to this after putting a nicer message on when I was using it for a work event? I should if I haven't.)

It could be worse, though. Imagine if your phone number had previously been held by a terrorist. Or if one of your friends' numbers had been held by a terrorist, and they've been calling you. And you're traveling outside the country when a major terrorist attack that kills a CIA agent happens. And you're not an American citizen. And your skintone is kinda brown.

You see where this could lead to some serious suckage.

The movie is dealing with the doctrine of Extreme Rendition. When it was enacted under Clinton, as best I can tell, it was basically an illegal extradition to take suspected terrorists from somewhere else and bring them to the States to be tried. IMO that's problematic enough. Most of America's major international problems spring from our complete disrespect or even disdain for other country's sovereignty. Under the Bush administration, however, extreme rendition became downright Evil. Capital E. This is what "let" the American government and/or its allies kidnap people and torture them.

As an aside, on the DVD with the movie is a short documentary that inspired it. It runs about 30 minutes. To my liberal friends, this is more than us being able to say "We told you so." This is a big slice of "Oh my God, it is way worse than we thought."

Anyway, back to the movie. There's actually two stories going on, so there is some good human dynamic stuff going on amongst locals to the terrorist attack that kicks us off, and you don't have to spend the entire movie watching someone get tortured while his pregnant wife wigs out trying to find him. It also includes an unusual storytelling technique that you will either love, or think is an incredibly cheap trick. Unfortunately, telling you what it is would spoil the whole thing. Myself, I made a sarcastic snark during the reveal, realized I was correct, and then found myself thinking "you know, that actually worked pretty cool."

One thing I particularly like in it: the kidnapped guy's wife has a friend in a Senator's office who is helping her, and ends up dropping it because he is advised that if this is not an absolutely clear case, if Kidnapped Guy is not absolutely beyond a doubt completely clean, if there turns out to be any reason whatsoever for him to be suspected, the friend's career is over. He's told that before they challenge the Extreme Rendition doctrine, they need a completely clear and clean case.

Let's think about this for a moment. How royally would our government have to screw up for there to be a completely clean case, absolutely no reason for suspicion whatsoever, not even a "remember that weird kid in your high school biology class? Yeah, your classmate was a terrorist" kind of super-sketchy connection? The Kidnapped Guy, he had some phone calls to his cell, that may even have been quick hang-ups, and since he's from the Middle East there might be a distant cousin or an old classmate or a friend of a friend's sister thing somewhere in there.

And that's the point. If we as a society, not just government reps or media figures, are going to wait for a completely clear case to say "no, this is wrong", we might as well just push the self-destruction button when we get there, because if it has gotten to that point, the country is a lost freaking cause anyway.

So, in general. The movie is disturbing (and the included documentary even more so), but if you can handle that it is worth seeing. I really liked the unusual storytelling once I got past the initial "you did what?" and overall it's a good story.