''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 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

on 13 October 1989. In the United States, it was released by Columbia Pictures on 13 April 1990.

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 Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

. 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

* N!xau as Xixo * Eiros as Xiri * Nadies as Xisa * Hans Strydom as Dr. Stephen Marshall *

Lena Farugia Nicolina Elizabeth Farruggia (1 June 1951 – 18 January 2019), popularly as Lena Farugia, was an American-born South African actress, screenwriter, director and producer. She is best known for the roles in the films ''The Gods Must Be Crazy II' ...

as Dr. Ann Taylor * Erick Raymond Bowen Alfaro as Mateo * Treasure Tshabalala as Timi *

Pierre van Pletzen Pierre van Pletzen (born 1 May 1952), is a South African actor, writer and director. He is best known for the role "Septimus van Zyl" in the television serial ''7de Laan''. He also worked as an administrator, artistic director, voice-artist, co ...

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".

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gods Must Be Crazy II 1988 films American comedy films South African comedy films Botswana films 1988 comedy films English-language South African films Afrikaans-language films Films set in Botswana Films set in South Africa Films shot in Botswana Films about hunter-gatherers Films directed by Jamie Uys Films scored by Charles Fox Columbia Pictures films 20th Century Fox films Weintraub Entertainment Group films American sequel films South African sequel films 1989 comedy films 1989 films 1980s American films