The Gods Must Be Crazy

Directed by Jamie Uys, South Africa 1980 104 mins. English, Afrikaans and Kx'a dialogue with English sub-titles

Summary:

Kalahari bushman Xi (played by genuine bushman N!xau) is as surprised as the rest of his tribe when a Coke bottle, thrown from a passing plane, lands in the middle of their village. This "gift from the gods" proves to be a mixed blessing when the tribesmen fight over it and eventually use it for a weapon. To keep peace in the village, Xi is assigned to take the bottle to "the end of the earth" and throw it back to the gods. Meanwhile, back in urbanised South Africa, Kate Thompson (Sandra Prinsloo) leaves her office job in the city to take a job teaching Kalahari children. Once in the wilderness, she finds herself constantly bumping into clumsy microbiologist Andrew Steyn (Marius Weyers). And meanwhile, maniacal Sam Boga (Louw Verwey) is leading a military coup against the government. Originally slated for limited domestic distribution in 1982, The Gods Must Be Crazy was picked up for American consumption by 20th Century-Fox in 1984. Within a few weeks, 'word of mouth' transformed it into the biggest foreign box office hit ever released in the U.S.

What the Critics say:

"The comedy has a Keystone Cops feel and the film is also touching. These kinds of silly movies just aren't made anymore and that's too bad." (Austin Kennedy - Sin Magazine)