Financed by the South African government and directed by a South African director, The Gods Must Be Crazy had to be released through Botswanan channels to escape the heavy trade embargoes levied against South Africa at the time. Still, it would take another four years until the film finally received a major U.S. release.

Writer/Director (and actor, as The Reverend) Jamie Uys probed the breadth of the Kalahari desert for three months before finding his lead actor in N!xau, the San tribesman from Namibia. For his role as the perceptive Xixo, N!xau received a mere $300, all of which blew away since he didn’t understand the value of paper money. N!xau’s reactions throughout the film were entirely genuine, as he had only seen a few Caucasian people in his lifetime - and he had never seen a vehicle before.

The film tells three intertwining stories that finally come together at the climax. While the leader of a faction of rebel guerillas hides from the authorities, and an anxiety-stricken biologist tries to deliver a school teacher to her remote classroom, life is as peaceful forever for Xixo and the rest of his village. That is, until they discover a Coke bottle. Its multifunctional appeal soon has the village dealing with the unexpected emotions of anger, resentment, and violence. Determined to rid his village of “the evil thing,” Xixo decides to go on a journey to throw it off the end of the Earth.

When Xixo is jailed for killing a protected deer, a kindly mechanic who speaks “Bushman” frees him and takes him back to the biologist’s camp. Their expedition to study various animals turns into a rescue mission, however, when they discover that the guerilla leader has taken the school teacher and her students hostage.

Despite the fact that it was the biggest foreign box office hit during its release, the film was banned in Trinidad and Tobago for what was perceived to be a racist depiction of the San bushman, despite the film’s emphasis that it was, in fact, white people who were crazy. N!xau would feature prominently in the next sequel, The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 as well as three others. While five films and a rumored sixth exist under the auspicious franchise title, only the first two are recognized as official.