“Togo is sitting on a tree; he is the boss nobody could foresee.” Forgive our bad poetry, but that line pretty much sums up the film. The story follows Togo, a homeless man who has assumed the role of a caretaker around the neighborhood. In exchange for money, he helps people park cars and runs the occasional errand for them. But life takes a turn when people come knocking, trying to take over his territory. And that’s when the facade of the helpless old man falls through to reveal the fighter within. Let us see how that happens.
Spoilers Ahead
The Threat To Togo’s Block
The film starts with our titular character going about his day. As we said before, he helps people park their cars and is a silent observer of the events in the neighborhood. For example, one of the residents, Mrs. Minta gives him a pair of keys to give to Alberto, who we assume is her husband. Togo makes the delivery. A day or two later, Alberto kills himself. His body is discovered a few days later when the smell from the house alerts the neighbors. Togo mentions how Alberto was a lonely man and was always with his wife. He has observed that he needed his wife more than she needed him. There is a reference to mental health here, which is a prominent theme in the movie. Togo probably recognized that Alberto had depression and had eventually succumbed to it. He has this conversation with Mercedes, a rich girl who has run away from her home and is trying to take shelter in the park that Togo lives in. Togo is initially worried about her but recognizes that this is a child in need. He helps her out by teaching her how to guide the cars and letting her stay there occasionally. He also notices the medicine she carries in her bag but doesn’t say anything to her yet. One particular night, he witnesses one of the other guys like him, named Rito, being shot dead by two guys—Bartolo and Rivero. Togo understands that there is trouble looming over. He has a friend called Milton, who is wheelchair-bound. Togo helps him whenever he is unable to show up for work due to his doctor’s appointments.
The thing with Togo’s neighborhood is that it is considered to be generally unsafe. People smoke joints out in the open. There is someone getting shot, and the security guard tells Togo that it would be a good idea to take advantage of Mercedes after she gets a little tipsy. Togo has none of it, and he makes it clear that she is like a daughter to him. He is approached by the two guys he had previously seen shooting Rito. They tell him that he should join their operations as it is a win-win situation for them. But Togo refuses. The group seems to have extended the same offer to Milton, and when he refuses to join them, they beat him up. Togo comes to know this when he is making his way home after visiting him, and a child asks if he has come to beat up Milton as well. Togo tells the child to tell everyone that Milton is his friend. For him, the war has started. He beats up the guys and tells them that the block is his. Should Milton refuse to work, he will take over that block as well, but these guys are certainly unwelcome. That day, Togo tells Mercedes to stop visiting him. He also lets Milton know that he needs to leave somewhere for a few days. That night, the people from the ring came to Togo’s spot and shot at it. Then they proceeded to set that spot-on fire. Unknown to them, Togo is watching it all from the top of a tree. He had once been a boxer, and he still possessed the fighter’s spirit that refused to let him bow down to fear.
Togo refuses to tell the police anything when they question him about what might have happened. The next day, he goes to visit his daughter, Yena, in rehab. She has been told that she will be able to leave soon. As Togo is leaving, he comes to know from the counselor that someone was asking to meet Yena, saying that he was her cousin. Togo recognizes him as one of his enemies. Before leaving, he also inquires about the medicine he had found in Mercedes’ bag. The counselor informs him that those are prescribed for severe depression, and one shouldn’t start or stop taking them without the advice of the psychiatrist. That day, Togo meets Mercedes and drops her off at home. He tells her that if she is not taking her pills, she should start. Mercedes confesses that her parents had her very late and do not seem to know how to bring her up. Togo tells her his story. After his wife left their family, he turned to alcohol and was too preoccupied to know that his daughter was taking the same route. When she returned after missing for weeks, she needed help, and that’s when he started this life. He tells Mercedes to take care of herself.
‘Togo’ Ending Explained: How Does Togo Deal With The Drug Ring?
That night, the boys from the gang came prepared to kill Togo. But he is a few steps ahead of them. He catches them off-guard, one by one, and takes them down. An old man, who has years of experience in combat, takes down these young boys with sheer technique. He gets hold of one of them and demands to know where their boss is. After getting the information, he makes his way to meet him. The boss has just gotten a new set of teeth and is looking forward to establishing his drug ring in the city. Meanwhile, Togo has taken down the rest of his lackeys. When the boss comes out to meet him, he tells Togo that he would have let him have the block if that did not pose a threat to his reputation. Since his business runs on fear, he cannot afford that risk. There is a tussle between the two, at the end of which Togo knocks out the boss’s teeth and tells him to stay away from his block. For all intents and purposes, Togo has won. Towards the end of the movie, he is visited by Mercedes once again, who informs him that her parents are seeing a therapist as well. And Togo is no longer homeless. He has moved into a proper house with his daughter.
Final Thoughts: What Works For The Movie?
It is the story of a man who had accepted his situation as the way he had been dealt with in life, only to realize that he was not willing to be pushed around after all. He deserved better and was capable of fighting for it. The mental health arcs of all three characters have been handled with great sensitivity, especially at the point where it was communicated that Mercedes’ parents needed therapy as much as her. It’s a crisp, clean movie that is executed with simplicity, which proves to be its greatest strength. It is a good movie and, despite its gritty nature, makes for an easy watch. That is some of the better one and a half hours we have spent on Netflix recently, and we are glad for it.
“Togo” is a 2022 Drama Thriller film directed by Israel Adrian Caetano.
