Overview
A simple tribesman embarks on a journey to return a strange object to the gods, leading to unexpected chaos and hilarity.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- breezy
- playful
- lazy sunday
- family movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually striking and genuinely funny, while some questioned its silence on apartheid and its potentially romanticized cultural perspective.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Xi's encounter with the discarded Coke bottle is contrasted with the behavior of the biologist, teacher, and revolutionary characters.
The Coke bottle introduces unfamiliar technology into Xi's community and triggers disputes over ownership and use.
The film places its physical comedy and chase-like incidents against the wide, arid terrain of the Kalahari.
The San community and its relationship to nature and technology are foregrounded through explanatory, observational presentation.
Films like The Gods Must Be Crazy, and why
The Party
shares broad physical comedy, cross-cultural misunderstandings, and an episodic journey through an unusual landscape
The In-Laws
combines farcical action, fish-out-of-water encounters, and an energetic road-movie structure
Around the World in 80 Days
shares warm slapstick, eccentric characters, and comedy built from human behavior colliding with unfamiliar environments
Movie Details
- Director
- Jamie Uys
- Release Date
- 1980-09-10
- Runtime
- 109 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (1374)
Cast
- Marius Weyers
- Sandra Prinsloo
- N!xau
- Louw Verwey
- Michael Thys
- Nic De Jager
- Fanyana H. Sidumo
- Joe Seakatsie
- Brian O'Shaughnessy
- Ken Gampu
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Darkroom, Artiflix
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Gods Must Be Crazy about?
- A San hunter journeys across the Kalahari to return a mysterious Coke bottle while human absurdity unfolds around him.
- What is The Gods Must Be Crazy like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Gods Must Be Crazy as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Gods Must Be Crazy violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Gods Must Be Crazy as mild.
- What did critics think of The Gods Must Be Crazy?
- Critics broadly found the film visually striking and genuinely funny, while some questioned its silence on apartheid and its potentially romanticized cultural perspective.
- Which films are like The Gods Must Be Crazy?
- Films with a similar feel include The Party, The In-Laws, and Around the World in 80 Days.
- How long is The Gods Must Be Crazy?
- The Gods Must Be Crazy runs 109 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Gods Must Be Crazy?
- In United States, The Gods Must Be Crazy streams on Darkroom, Artiflix.
