The Gods Must Be Crazy

A pilot flying over southern Africa tosses an empty Coca-Cola bottle out of his aircraft, and it lands near a small, isolated community of San bushmen living much as their ancestors did. The people have never seen glass, and they take the object to be a gift from the gods. It proves useful at first, but before long everyone wants it, and the quarrels it causes threaten the group's peaceful life. One man, Xi, is given the job of carrying the bottle to the edge of the world and returning it, and his journey brings him into contact with outsiders whose ways are completely foreign to him. Their stories run alongside his: a scientist working in the bush, a schoolteacher newly arrived in the country, and a band of armed men on the run.

Jamie Uys wrote, produced and directed the film, which came between Animals Are Beautiful People and The Gods Must Be Crazy II in his work as a director. Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo and N!xau lead the cast, with Louw Verwey, Michael Thys and Nic de Jager in supporting roles. The film was made for about 5 million dollars and took roughly 30 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its cost. It holds a rating of 7.3 out of 10 on IMDb from around 63,000 votes and the same score on TMDB from far fewer votes, while film critics give it 7.4 out of 10 across 28 reviews, placing professional and audience opinion closely together.