Jerusalema

Lucky Kunene knows exactly what he wants in life: a 7 series BMW, a house with a sea view and an intelligent, beautiful wife. But because Lucky comes from a poor family in Soweto and has been refused a university grant, a badly paid job as a pump attendant at a garage is about the best he has to look forward to. In a bid to avoid their fate, he and his best friend Zakes begin stealing cars. And so, Lucky owes his suit to a Datsun, a new fridge to a Toyota and a wardrobe to a Mazda; thanks to a Mercedes, he is able to buy a hi-fi system and a video recorder. But, after having been persuaded by Marxist activist Nazareth Mbolelo to take part in several armed raids, things begin to get too hot for comfort in Soweto and so the pair decides to move their activities to another part of the city – Hillbrow.
Five years later, a deadbeat taxi business is all they have to show for their efforts. Something that looked like a promising business option has turned out to be a dangerous trap – time and again they are caught up in shoot outs with rival taxi gangs, in daring races or taxi raids. But then Lucky sees a way to escape their predicament. At Mimosa Court he shares one of the dilapidated apartments with 20 people – among them are prostitutes, junkies and illegal immigrants. By investing their rent in the newly formed Hillbrow People’s Housing Trust, Lucky embarks on a career as an estate agent. However, not only has Detective Blakkie Swart decided to zero in on the ‘Hoodlum of Hillbrow’, he also finds himself up against another opponent in the shape of Nigerian drug tycoon Tony Ngu. Unless one of these new competitors agrees to back down there could well be a bloodbath in this ‘new Jerusalem’ …