iNumber Number: Jozi Gold is a fun movie to watch, especially in the way it unfolds. The story moves forward at a steady pace but offers the urgency that is necessary for the plot. We have cops chasing thieves, but there are a lot of twists. You might at times feel that at approximately 2 hours, it is a bit too long, but I assure you the feeling is momentary. The background scores need a special mention as they add to the mood of what’s happening on screen. Overall, iNumber Number: Jozi Gold is an entertaining binge-watch that falls under the Netflix quintessential.
Spoilers Ahead
What Is The Film About?
After a failed attempt to bring the Hyena Man to justice when he is released for lack of evidence, officers Chili and Shoes decide to infiltrate the gang that the Hyena Man is also connected to. Chili will be the one infiltrating the gang as a member of a heist. This whole plan involves Colonel Van Zyl, his team, and the Brigadier. At a club where the gang meets, Chili grabs the attention of gang leaders Seeng, Dimo, and his deaf brother Dikeledi, who tell them that they serve a purpose. They then go to a bank and steal all the gold they can from a shop whose owner treats his workers like slaves and pays nothing while making a fortune for himself. Chili has the tracker on him that brings Shoes, Zyl, and his team to the mall. Unfortunately, the gang changes clothes at a spot, and Chili has to discard his old clothes along with the tracker and communication device on them. Now there is no way for Zyl to trace Chili’s location, and by extension the gang’s.
So, the gang manages to escape with all the gold. They bring Chili to their crib, where their mother melts the gold and forges gold coins that they sell to make thousands of dollars per coin. They intend to use Chili, who looks a lot like Lerotholi Thoriso II, aka Thor, son of the dictator of Lesotho, Lerotholi Thoriso I, to bring an end to Thor’s hold over Lesotho’s only gold mine, from which he steals gold, and also to take revenge for their father’s death. Lesotho is the home country of the gang. The plan is to steal the latest gold shipment worth $500 million from a gold refinery and return it to the people of Lesotho.
Later on, Shoes tracks down Chili, who tells him about the noble deed that the gang is aiming to do, something that they, as cops, could never do. And so, Chili wants Shoes to keep the police out of the gang’s upcoming plan. To Chili’s shock, Hyena Man is also a member of the gang, and he has no choice but to be okay with it. On the day Thor gets the gold refined, the gang will swap him with Chili at the hotel where the former will be staying, take the gold, and escape to Lesotho in Thor’s private jet. Meanwhile, Shoes and Zyl chalk out a plan to track Thor’s convoy, thanks to Brigadier Donga’s informant in the gang, the Hyena Man. Who will succeed? The thieves or the cops?
Conflict Gold
While iNumber Number: Jozi Gold is interesting with its heist, plot twists, and execution, there is another aspect that the film addresses or tries to address. The phrase “conflict gold” is mentioned, which is something that will surely remind you of Blood Diamond. The film, without exploring it at length, does carry an underlying message that gold and diamonds are still being unethically mined by warlords, ganglords, kingpins, and companies to make money. The association of the word “conflict” with gold or diamonds means that they are used to fund terrorism and wars against governing bodies, and it happens all around the world. Millions of people are forced to dig with nominal to no pay. This is a real issue, and the gang in this movie intends to steal the gold from one such dictator and return it to the people of the place where it was all mined, i.e., Lesotho. If you haven’t seen Blood Diamond, see it immediately. You’ll realize the horrifying truth that lies behind diamond mining and how it includes genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Good And Bad
In life, the line that differentiates good from bad is often vague. And it’s all about perspective. Chili was chasing the gang thinking that they were thieves. When he infiltrated them, he realized that they were stealing from thieves and criminals to give back to those who needed it. So, he joined the cause. This led Shoes to think that his teammate’s brother had joined hands with thieves. Then we have the Hyena Man, who is all about personal gains and doesn’t think about anyone else’s but his own. The Brigadier, too, is after the gold, which only shows how someone who has been provided with the responsibility to protect the people can become the one who steals from them. As Rachel told Bruce in Batman Begins that what we do in life actually defines who we are. This brings us to iNumber Number: Jozi Gold‘s ending.
‘iNumber Number’ Ending Explained: Who Gets The Gold?
There are a lot of twists, but none of them are unexpected. In the end, Chili lets Seeng, Dimo, and Dikeledi escape with the gold that they will finally be able to return to the people of Lesotho. Chili goes to jail for stealing the gold along with the Brigadier. He has also killed the Hyena Man. Before going to jail, he shows Shoes a bar of gold that he has on him. With this, they can provide funds for Father Kajama’s new orphanage. So even though Chili goes to prison, he manages to make an impact, which is what he wants. iNumber Number: Jozi Gold ends not really on a cliffhanger but gives us a hint of what’s going to happen, i.e., Brigadier Donga and Chili are going to break out of prison. While it would have been fun to see how they pulled it off, all we can do is imagine. Unless Netflix decides to give us a sequel, that would be our bar of gold.
