The Gods Must Be Crazy II
The Gods Must Be Crazy II is a 1989 comedy film written and directed by Jamie Uys, and a sequel to the 1980 film The Gods Must Be Crazy, which Uys also wrote and directed. An international co-production between South Africa, Botswana and the United States, it was produced by the Weintraub Entertainment Group and released by 20th Century Fox on 13 October 1989. In the United States, it was released by Columbia Pictures on 13 April 1990.
| The Gods Must Be Crazy II | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jamie Uys |
| Written by | Jamie Uys |
| Produced by | Boet Troskie |
| Starring |
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| Narrated by | Paddy O'Byrne |
| Cinematography | Buster Reynolds |
| Edited by | Renée Engelbrecht |
| Music by | Charles Fox |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures (North America) 20th Century Fox (International) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
| Countries | Botswana South Africa United States |
| Languages | English Afrikaans Juǀʼhoan |
Plot
The film has four storylines, which run in parallel and interact:
- Xixo trying to find his lost children
- Two elephant poachers travelling in a truck on which Xixo's children are stuck
- A zoologist and a lawyer stranded in a desert
- Two soldiers fighting each other
The story starts with two elephant poachers, the chronically mean "Big Ben" Brenner and his affable but not-very-bright assistant George, crossing the area in which Xixo's tribe lives. Curious about their vehicle, Xixo's son Xiri and daughter Xisa climb into the water tank trailer and are taken for an involuntary ride as the poachers continue. Xixo follows on foot, determined to retrieve his children.
Dr. Ann Taylor, a young lawyer from New York City, arrives at a bush resort to give a lecture at a legal conference. Since she has spare time, she accepts the invitation of a young man to take a joyride in a two-seat, twin-engine ultralight aircraft. They go to see scientist Dr. Stephen Marshall, who has just been radioed that he must report to the resort where Dr. Taylor just came from to tend to a wounded animal they have found. Leaving the other pilot to watch his truck and equipment, he heads for the resort in the ultralight with Ann aboard, but encounter severe weather and crash, stranding them in the Kalahari desert. In addition, war is brewing, personified by a lost Cuban soldier (Mateo) and his Angolan enemy (Timi), who repeatedly attempt to take each other prisoner.
In the course of the movie, all these people cross paths with Xixo and/or his children. Finally, the plot culminates in the poachers capturing Xixo, Taylor, Marshall, and the two soldiers. Xixo manages to save them, and George, who is actually a nice guy kept under the heel of his boss, gives Xixo directions to his children. The poachers are captured, both soldiers come to somewhat reluctant terms and part without further violence, Taylor and Marshall return to civilization (though not without a last embarrassing accident), entering into a romantic relationship, and Xixo finds his children.
Cast
- Nǃxau ǂToma as Xixo
- Eiros as Xiri
- Nadies as Xisa
- Hans Strydom as Dr. Stephen Marshall
- Lena Farugia as Dr. Ann Taylor
- Erick Raymond Bowen Alfaro as Mateo
- Treasure Tshabalala as Timi
- Pierre van Pletzen as George
- Lourens Swanepoel as "Big Ben" Brenner
- Dawid Kruiper as Oom Dawid
Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 54% of 13 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8 out of 10. Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average, gave the film a score of 51 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, meaning "mixed or average reviews".