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Avatar – Individual Acting Performances – Tsu Tey
Tsu-Tey, played by Laz Alonzo, is the quintessential macho, native, destined to be chief of the tribe. His attitude makes you believe he’s a native Pandoran, alternately jealous, contemptuous, distrustful, respectful depending upon how Jake impresses or does not impress him. It’s hard to like the man, but you respect him. His most impressive scenes involve one battle scene and two endearing scenes near the end.
The battle scene shows Tsu-Tey leaping off his dino-bird in slow motion into the rear of a shuttle with several soldiers with machine guns. As he leaps, he fires his arrow, then beats soldiers with his bow and throwing them off the shuttle. One soldier finally has the clearance to fire his machine gun, and Tsu-Tey falls into the forest, fatally wounded.
The 1st endearing scene occurs when Jake has just landed the Turuk, chief monster dino-bird like a Boeing 747 at a city airport, in front of Tsu-Tey and the rest of the clan. Tsu-Tey is now the chief, something he has prepared his entire life for. But when he sees Jake, whom he has mocked, jeered and sometimes hated as a betraying alien throughout the movie, he recognizes his “chosen” status. He’s dumbfounded. When Jake tells him that he’s ready to serve “the people,” he tells Tsu-Tey, “You are a great warrior, and I can’t do this without you.” This, meaning to defeat their enemies, whom Jake has now turned against with all his heart. In an impressive feat of humility and bowing to the will of their deity, Eywa, Tsu-Tey looks into Jake’s eyes, puts his hand on Jake’s chest, and the great warrior-chief says to the alien: “Turuk-Machto, I will fly with you!” And he says it with gusto and sincerity.
Oh that I as a Christian would bow as quickly and whole-heartedly to the God of heaven once I know His will, even when it goes against everything within me and that I’ve lived for!
The 2nd occurs as he’s dying. You have to ignore for a moment the pagan death practice to appreciate the love expressed by Tsu-Tey for his former enemy, Jake. Apparently, the Pandorans have a tradition of killing their own warriors who are fatally wounded in battle. Jake refuses the request of Tsu-Tey for Jake to do this for him. Tsu-Tey vehemently urges Jake, exclaiming, “It IS the Way!” Then, he says, “It is good, and I’ll be remembered I flew with Turuk-Machto! And that we were brothers, and he was my last shadow.” Amazing scenes.