Totsi Notes.

Here are my notes from the Director and writer commentary of the movie Totsi, they are quite messy and are just my thoughts relating to the movie mixed in with the directors meanings of things.

• Opening scene - game of dice with Aap, Butcher and Boston with Totsi in the window framed by light =the game is a metaphor for life is a game of chance - this game introduces ideas of chance as a theme.
•  
• Opening scene introduces character Fella the gangster who is played by rap artist Zola.
•  
• Scene shot in a real location, real shanty town.
•  
• 8million people in the city of Johannesburg
•  
• Setting- Park Station (main station Johannesburg)
•  
• Totsi's gang is seen moving in looking for an easy target wearing dark colours standing out against the crowd.
• 
  
• Wheel chair man or Morris is seen begging at the elevator lingering shot foreshadows to him being an important character.
•  
• Tstosi is seen to be a charismatic silent leader his gang is following him based on magnetic presence, this side of his persona is used by him to push people away and behind the mask is a kid.
•  
• Director says that he chose a young character because the audience finds him easier to forgive
•  
• The first victim that Tsotsi chooses is seen to take a large sum of money and is buying a blue scarf that is a pale blue which is representative of innocence
•  
• When the victim hops onto the train you notice his red tie which and Totsi's it immediately creates a connection between them.
•  
• Mugging takes place and the innocent victim is stabbed but this is a mugging gone wrong butcher likes to kill and tstoti doesn’t approve at all, silent conversation takes place.
•  
• Anti-aides campaigns are a constant motif and are seen throughout the film including train station.
•  
• Setting - Sookies shabeen – illegal drinking establishment – often/ sterotypically run by powerful women.
•  
• Boston is not coping with the murder, Tsotsi doesn’t want to talk to boston is trying to talk to him but Totsi is staring him down asking him silently not to continue asking him questions about his past.
•  
• T's mother is metioned in relation to his name he is asked what his name really is he becomes enraged with Butcher who has found his week spot and this creates a foreshadowing effect to his his feelings over his name and his mothers death.
• 
  
• Director says that - Totsi is about how david discovers is own humanity.
• 
  
• Camera angles are very tight in the eyeline creating the effect that the audience can look into the eyes of the characters directly. 
• EYES- motif.
•  
• Movie is all about what is happening in totsis mind, static syle camera moved slowly giving oppourtunity to look at characters
•  
• We as an audience never see violence only after effects – blows to boston are sudden violent with high shock value.
•  
• The aftermath and effect of responding to acts of violence that are complete silence.
•  
• After attacking Boston Tsotsi runs away and from the bar across the waste land that sperates shanty towns and ncie townshop, the wasteland also acts as metaphor for wasteland in Totsi's mind.
•  
• Tsotsi's vulnerability is shown through flashbacks as he runs and then the rain long shot which is shown giving idea that Tsotsi has long road to travel.
•  
• The shanty town and the suburbs juxtapose in flashbacks of the tubes he once lived in and gated communities.
•  
• Electric fences used to keep out crooks with the wealthy living in fear and poor living in squllaor
•  
• Tsoti shoots a mother the effect is great with an immidate sudden act of violence.
•  
• Tstosi is bad driver he steals a car and finds a baby
• 
  
• Symbolism- Baby is in Blue like the Scarf.
•  
• Crashing the car co-insides with T finding the baby.
•  
• T wakes early remembering baby, freaks out.
• different shots are used to see baby and T 

• Crying – sound added after production
•  
• The audience is unsure if T is taking baby – for ransom ? or to save him.
• Complete urge to help the baby is created after hearing baby cry.
• Audience sees a crack it is opened up in Tsotsi persona.
•  
• Cops are comic relif almost there to help lighten the film.
•  
• Cops and parents are used as a driving force creating the storyline, without them the baby could just keep the baby without consequence.
•  
• T changing the nappy of the baby is a comic scene but shows T's incompetence how desperate he is–  scene was hard to shoot with a baby, twins were used – boy screamer – girl happy and smiley and happy.
•  
• T's gang shows up at the door and Tsotsi is protective over baby and won’t tell his gang about the baby so tells them that he is sick.
• 
  
• Symbols and Colours- Limited colour palet, Aap-pale blue, T red and black, Butcher in orange T has a red and rusty shack interior not busy and distracting set is used texture and minimalistic so that the audience will focus on actors there and EYES(motif)
• 
  
• Director- wanted the eyes to be where the stories are told.
•  
• Hospital scene very bland setting with father standing out, mother of baby in a coma , father by her side. Father is wearing a burgundy shirt which is a shade of red– everyone T interacts with wears shades of red.
•  
• Maurice is introduced again in his wheelchair, T is stalking him at the trainstation again targeting him and his tin of money.
• Yellow flag on wheelchair yellow = happy
•  
• Tsotsi is living like world is wronged him seeing Maurice is annoying to tosti because he doesn’t like how maurice has it worse off than him, but is happy - he bets on horses and talks to friends
•  
• Tosti is beginning to see himself and his life to be not as bad as he thought. 
•  
• Theme- Chance has taken totsis mother and maurices legs.
•  
• Emotion- Totsi is trying to save face by acting angry, whereas his emotions are really crumbling.
•  
• No music in this scene only atmospheric diagetic sound – wind and rumble and traffic and wheels and footsteps stillness works well with coins rattling.
•  
• Scene has an almost comic feel when Maurice throws rubbish at T but comic point stops when totsi pulls out gun.
•  
• Setting- Colours dark and brown are used to focus on actors aptmosphere with depth.
•  
• Lonely feeling created in the scene because of big space lost in lonely empty city
•  
• Maurice shows tells what happened to him using persuasive language-Beam BROKE Maurice in mind body and spirit dialogue shows this.
•  
• Long shot of T walking on train track in the centre of the frame with the city like a huge character looming above Tit makes his journey seem as though it is progressing.
•  
• Slum shot shows people at the water well = happy people wearing yellow
•  
• T's house is a two storied shack used to make it as if T is separate from everyone else perching over the slum "like a vulture" - Director
•  
• T is stalking Miriam a lady with a baby, T is terrifying Miriam as she is shy and innocent in the scene while T is powerful commanding and threatening.
•  
• The inside of Miriam's house is BLUE- blue house, scarf, baby clothes, are all symbolistic of innocence.

More to come!