Xi and the tribe try to understand their gift from the gods. The Gods Must be Crazy

The Gods Must be Crazy – The San tribe live a peaceful existence in the harsh terrain of the Kalahari Desert, believing that the gods provide everything that they could ever need. When a glass bottle suddenly appears, they try to understand why the gods have given it to them but when it becomes an object of jealousy and violence, Xi agrees to go on a journey to throw the ‘evil thing’ off the edge of the world. On his travels he comes across many new experiences, including the good and bad in humanity and he must adapt to his new surroundings in order to complete his quest.

The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) – Director: Jamie Uys

Is The Gods Must Be Crazy appropriate for kids

Rating: PG

Running Length: 109 mins

Starring: N!xau, Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo

Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy

REVIEW: ‘THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY’

Focusing on a small tribe in Botswana, ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’ was the unexpected runaway hit by South African director, Jamie Uys, which has spawned one official and another three unofficial sequels. With its cheeky and often surreal humour, it strikes the balance well between respect for a largely undocumented people (especially at the time of its release) and poking fun at the differences between them and the more ‘civilised’ city dwellers.

The dated and amateurish filming gives away its age and low-budget and, as it was dubbed into English from Afrikaans for its overseas release, it isn’t the smoothest and professional looking movie but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable (in fact it even adds to its charm). Main character, Xi, is played by real San bushman, N!xau, and his innocent nature shines through as a man who suddenly finds himself adjusting to an alien world while never losing his character to the wonders around him.

‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’ isn’t exactly aimed at kids and there is little in terms of exciting action but its humour is child-friendly and even the villains are relatively tame so it does have plenty of entertainment value for the younger members of the family. With its short running length and truly enjoyable plot, this family friendly movie is bound to keep you laughing at its daft comedy and rooting for Xi as he traverses unfamiliar territory to complete his adventure.

CONTENT: IS ‘THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The tribe are filmed in a similar way to a documentary, they wear loincloths and strips of animal hide. There is some explicit nudity which is not sexual in nature, bare breasts and bottoms are shown. A woman breastfeeds her baby in full view of the men, other women and children. These scenes are merely showing the daily life of the tribe and are not filmed for titillation. The women are never sexualised.

The movie shows the tribe hunting, a snake is caught and the camera cuts to the animal’s skin which has been removed and is being rolled out and flattened. A deer is shot with a sedative-tipped arrow; it collapses and a man kneels over it, apologising for having to kill it. The death is not shown on-screen. Later, a goat is also shot with one of the arrows and it collapses like the antelope. A man picks up the lifeless animal and throws it onto the top of a vehicle, in reality this appears to be a dummy but kids may not like a vulnerable animal being treated so roughly. A vehicle drives very fast through a town, narrowly missing people, a chicken is seemingly knocked out of the way, and it is unclear whether it has been hurt.

A violent band of guerrillas attack a building and shoot at several men. Some a killed and the rest are wounded. There is some blood but this scene is not graphic. A helicopter filled with people explodes, killing all on board and several vehicles are blown up which are also full of people. A man is blindfolded, punched in the stomach and pushed out of a helicopter, however the consequences of this are not as they initially seem.

A male and a female character fall into water and have to remove their clothes to let them dry. They do this separately but the man unwittingly stumbles across the semi-nude woman who doesn’t take kindly to his intrusion. The man is very embarrassed and makes no sexual advances towards the woman.

Dozens of people, including numerous children are taken hostage; their captors use them as human shields although there is minimal violence. The hostages are forced to walk a long way which is too far for many of the children. One child falls to the floor, unable to walk any further and cries. The leader of the captors says that the next one to drop will be shot. A child picks up a large gun and fires it but is quickly dragged away to safety.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?
VERDICT: IS ‘THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY’ FOR KIDS?

While it may not appeal to everyone with its innocent humour and lack of excitement, ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy’ is certainly entertaining and as it is such an unusual movie. Its twists and turns make it a compelling watch, keeping you guessing as to what will happen to Xi as the film reaches its conclusion. With thoroughly likeable characters and lots of comedy, we feel this movie is appropriate for kids aged 7 and over (although be prepared for kids who are accustomed to more action-packed or laugh-out-loud stories to lose interest).

  • Violence: 2/5 (Several characters, including children, are hit over the head with a bottle; it doesn’t break but does cause a lot of pain and causes one child to bleed. A man seeks refuge under a large plant but when it is shot at, its sap (which is seemingly acidic) falls onto him causing him to writhe in pain)
  • Emotional Distress: 1/5 (a young child cries and is distressed when their parent leaves their home and may never come back. The parent comforts them but this is not meant to be distressing)
  • Fear Factor: 0/5
  • Sexual Content: 1/5 (Some nudity. One of the characters has seven wives, when his friend asks why he married them he says ‘someday I’ll have to tell you the facts of life’)         
  • Bad Language: 1/5 (infrequent mild cursing and some moderate language)
  • Dialogue: 1/5 (A character is sent to prison and another says that this is a ‘death sentence’ as they will be unable to cope in such a confined space, this is evidenced by the character not eating for a week once incarcerated)
  • Other notes: Deals with themes of the follies of the modern world, the simplicity of tribal life, adapting to new surroundings, staying true to your nature, making yourself understood when unable to properly communicate, putting yourself in danger to save others and leaving your comfort zone for new experiences.

Words by Laura Record

Many thanks to our friend, Anna, for recommending this movie to us!

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