N!xau Movies
A member of southern Africa's indigenous San tribe, N!xau would go from a life of peaceful solitude to an unexpected turn as the world's most famous bushman following the release of Jamie Uys' 1981 comedy The Gods Must Be Crazy. Born in the Kalahari Desert sometime around 1944 (N!xau himself was unsure of his exact birth date), N!xau was discovered by director Uys and immediately cast in the lead of The Gods Must Be Crazy. Paid only a few hundred dollars for his appearance in the film, N!xau's lack of knowledge regarding the value of currency resulted in the actor literally letting his payment float away in the wind. Nevertheless, the world soon fell in love with the unassuming bushman, and though he would receive the royal treatment as he toured the globe, N!xau was more comfortable sleeping on the hotel room floors than the beds provided for him. Rumored to have only seen three white people before the film was shot, and having never been in a community larger than the small village of huts inhabited by his tribe, the trappings of fame had little effect on N!xau in terms of personality, though by the time a sequel to The Gods Must Be Crazy was set to shoot, his understanding of currency led him to demand several hundred thousand dollars in order to build a home for his wives and family. The successful sequel was so popular as to spawn three more Hong Kong-produced sequels (one featuring a hopping vampire dropped into N!xau's tribe!), and the down-to-earth star would subsequently return to Namibia to be with his family. On July 2, 2003, N!xau was found dead near his home after going on an excursion to find wood. He was believed to have been 59 at the time of his death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
The diminutive, loincloth-clad Bushman from the Kalihari Desert who starred in The Gods Must Be Crazy and in its sequel also appears in this Hong Kong comedy. In this story, N!xau (playing himself) has just finished saving a wealthy asian businesswoman from a lion, and has somehow become entangled in her luggage as it is being loaded onto her private jet, bound for Hong Kong. When he finally escapes from the jet's luggage compartment, he is in that ciy, and must use his incomparable tracking techniques, forged in the desert, to find the woman and get back home. Along the way, he foils some jewel thieves, and teaches the wealthy businesswoman that there's more to life than money and a high-consumption lifestyle. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- N!xau, Cecilia Yip, (more)
This sequel to the enormous international hit The Gods Must Be Crazy isn't quite as fresh and enchanting as the original, but it is still a garden of small delights. N!Xau, the Kalihari bushman who starred in the first film, is separated from his children while on a hunting expedition in the desert. The emphasis is on the kids, who are kidnaped by elephant poachers. This activity is counterpointed with the adventures of the film's "civilized" characters, transplanted New York attorney Lena Farugia and zoologist Hans Strydom, who find themselves stranded in the desert (their adventures are similar to those experienced by fish-out-of-water Linda Kozlowski in Crocodile Dundee). Meanwhile, a couple of soldiers who've wandered away from a border war devote their time to capturing, and escaping from, each other. As in the first film, the various subplots converge, with N!Xau once more emerging as the hero of the hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- N!xau, Lena Farugia, (more)
Kalahari bushman Xi (played by genuine bushman N!xau) is as surprised as the rest of his tibe 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" (actually a lush valley) and throw it back to the gods. Meanwhile, back in urbanized 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. How do all these various and wildly divergent characters fit together? You'll have to see The Gods Must be Crazy yourself--if you haven't seen it already. This Botswanian comedy/melodrama was directed by Jamie Uys, who had helmed dozens of films before Gods and would make many more afterwards. Originally slated for limited domestic distribution in 1982, Gods Must Be Crazy was picked up for American consumption by 20th Century-Fox in 1984. Within a few weeks, "word of mouth" transformed Gods into the biggest foreign boxoffice hit ever released in the U.S. The 1989 sequel didn't do quite as well, indicating that perhaps the bloom was off the rose for N!xau and his confreres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo, (more)
