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Gods Must Be Crazy, The
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| Year: |
1980
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Director: |
Jamie Uys
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| Stars: |
N!xau, Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo, Louw Verwey, Michael Thys, Nic De Jager, Fanyana H. Sidomo, Joe Seakatsie, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Vera Blacker, Ken Gampu, Paddy O'Byrne, Jamie Uys
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| Genre: |
Comedy |
| Rating: |
  6 (from 2 votes) |
| Review: |
The Kalahari desert has but a short amount of rainfall each year, so is sparsely populated, but people do live there, people such as the Bushmen of Botswana. Xixa (N!xau) is such a Bushman, and life is peaceful for him and his small tribe, where he spends his days hunting for water and food and enjoying the company of his family and friends - that is, until one day when outside civilisation makes itself felt on their simple lives. Yes, Xixa is out hunting when a small plane flies overhead and the pilot drops a Coca-Cola bottle out of the window, which nearly hits the Bushman. Intrigued, he picks it up and, deciding it's a gift from the Gods, takes it back to his tribe, little realising the chaos it will bring...
The Gods Must Be Crazy was scripted by its director Jamie Uys and a few years after its success in Africa, was redubbed in various places and released internationally to find great success away from the continent, especially in the United States of America, South America, China and Japan. And yet, it still had its detractors, as you may recall South Africa, the country which produced the film, was still under Apartheid at the time, and critics were determined to see racism in the film's presentation.
Although released as a Botswanan movie to get around the anti-Apartheid embargo, The Gods Must Be Crazy was pretty much South African, but its appeal was worldwide. It begins as something akin to a nature documentary (it's no coincidence Uys had already made a successful film in that vein in the nineteen-seventies), with a warm but undeniably patronising voiceover to tell us all about Xixa and his way of life, but the same tone is used to illustrate the day-to-day of Kate Thompson (Sandra Prinsloo), a city dweller hundreds of miles away.
The point being made is that Xixa has a much more contented life in the desert than those who suffer the complicated way of getting by in so-called civilised society, and when that society makes its presence felt elsewhere, Xixa suffers. When he shows the Coke bottle to his tribe, they're fascinated, and immediately view it as a gift from the Gods considering all the uses they can put it to. However, as not everyone can use it at once, fights break out and eventually Xixa has to take drastic measures: he will walk to the ends of the Earth and drop the bottle over the edge to get rid of it.
That's not the only story that makes up the entertainment, as there are three running concurrently. One sees a group of terrorists fleeing from a bungled attempt on the life of a Prime Minister into Botswana, but in spite of adding a line in action and gunfights, it isn't clear what they have to do with Xixa until the end. A lighter storyline has microbiologist Steyn (Marius Weyers) going to meet Kate, who has accepted a schoolteacher's post in the area, and the heavy going slapstick that happens as a result.
It's this comedy that gives The Gods Must Be Crazy its appeal, as Steyn has to to battle with his untrustworthy jeep (almost a character in itself) and generally embarrass himself in front of Kate, who he is attracted to. But the real star is N!xau, a genuine Bushman who displays real comic charm, and lends the proceedings true heart, pricking any claims of racism as he is the most likeable character, never mind that the white characters make much more of a fool of themselves. How much you laugh depends on your tolerance for the broad humour, but it's all good natured enough to prove a winning prospect. You can't argue with its wide range of fans across the world, and it spawned a sequel, plus three other related films made in China. Music by John Boshoff.
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| Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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