City of God
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Movie Reviews of City of God
Movie Review: Seeking to survive in a brutal environment...
Summary: 5 Stars
"City of God" ("Cidade de Deus") is the story of a boy, but also the story of a "favela" (Portuguese word with similar meaning to slum or shantytown) on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. That shantytown is called "Cidade de Deus". Throughout this extraordinary movie both the boy and the favela grow, albeit obviously in very different ways :)
The boy is Rocket (Buscapé in Portuguese, played by Alexandre Rodrigues), who is born in Cidade de Deus and grows up before our eyes living in it. He is quiet and easygoing, just a non-violent person seeking a way to survive in a brutal environment. Rocket ends up doing exactly that through his passion, photography, that ends up making him an intermediary between the local gangs and the press. He is also the narrator of this movie, the voice that accompanies us throughout many of the stories that "City of God" has to offer...
The other main character of "City of God" is the "city" itself, that starts merely as a couple of houses, but that grows immensely as years go by. The activities in which its inhabitants are involved also change, from petty robbery to organized crime that involves drug dealing and arms trafficking. We see Li'l Zé (Zé Pequeno in Portuguese, played by Leandro Frimino), one of the boys that used to play soccer with Rocket, grow up to become a murderer and a drug lord, someone that makes his own laws. The same happened with others, but Li'l Zé probably represents to most dangerous kind of sociopath that the favela can produce. Rocket and Li'l Zé, same circumstances, different persons, different choices. Who says that where you lives determinates how you are and what you do?. This is an excellent example that that is not always the case...
Directors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund somehow managed to convey in their movie the full strenght of the novel (written by Paulo Lins) on which "City of God" is based. This film is full of colour and energy, carrying the spectator at a dizzying pace through the twenty years it covers, never giving him time to get bored. It is wortwhile to point out that most of the "actors" didn't have any real experience as such, they just happened to live in different slums of Rio de Janeiro (including Cidade de Deus) at the time when the film was being made. I think that is something that shows in the realism of the results...
On the whole, I can say that I loved "City of God", notwithstanding the fact that it is undeniably bloody and has some very violent scenes. In my opinion, they are not gratuitous, because they help the directors to capture what may really happen in a Brazilian shantytown, and show it to us. All in all, this movie is nothing short of an experience worth having and sharing. If you watch "City of God" and love it as much as I do, do your part and recommend it to others :)
Belen Alcat
Movie Review: A Haunting Film w/Documentary Authenticity
Summary: 5 Stars
"City of God" is one of those rare films that knocks your socks off, tearing aside the dominant blessed-by-the-Chamber-of-Commerce image of Rio and showing the unvarnished, near-barbaric reality of Brazil's poorest slums. This is a movie that stays with you for a long, long time.
"City of God" tells the story of Rocket, a young Brazilian who lives in the City of God, a squalid, arid government-built housing project where money is scarce and hope even more so. There seem to be two possible avenues for its residents -- become a gangster, or take a terrible job (like a propane delivery man) and be the target of the gangsters. Opening with an audacious scene involving a chicken, a budding gang war, and a young photographer, "City of God" spins an epic yarn of survival, despair, and anger.
In addition to some daring camera-work, "City of God" benefits from a cast of non-professional actors -- we are constantly under the impression that we're watching real people rather than actors going through the motions. This was a daring choice, but a lot of truth is conveyed through these "amateur" performances. The film also adopts a grainy, under-produced look -- many scenes are filmed in the daylight and seem half-improvised, further heightening the impression that we are watching a documentary -- sort of a hellish "Hoop Dreams."
As a young boy, Rocket sees his older brother and his friends live a life of petty crime, only to see this hapless trio get toppled by Rocket's two best friends, Benny and Li'l Ze. Benny and Li'l Ze don't rise to power through any great genius - all it takes in the City of God to become the top gangster is to be willing to shoot anybody, anywhere. Life in the City of God is definitely cheap, and some of the most difficult scenes in the film stem from the ease with which kids (and I mean kids, not teenagers as near adults) obtain and use guns.
Rocket stays just outside the criminal life, and decides to become a photographer. His camera is a shield of sorts, protecting him from some of the worst gang violence. By the end of the film, Rocket has seen as much action as any combat photographer, and he has done so in his home. That is more than any child should have to bear. But as the movie's final scene tells us, the problem is still rampant, and the world is shamed as a result.
Audacious, original and true, "City of God" is one of the best films you will see, and is a must for the film library.
The DVD doesn't offer very much. There does not appear to be a dubbed soundtrack, so you will have to use subtitles -- but this is a strength, heightening the realistic, documentary feel of the picture. Get this DVD for the movie, not the extras.
Movie Review: Superb!
Summary: 5 Stars
In BriefBased on Paolo Lin's shattering novel Cidade de Deus, City of God traces dozens of intertwined stories of love, humour and struggle that reveal the real people inside Rio de Janerio's drug riddled neighbourhoods. The focus of the film is based around two boys growing up in this violent world and how the different paths they take couldn't have been further from each other as one becomes a photographer and the other a drug dealer.
Review
Based upon a true story the film is told from the perspective of Rocket, a poor child who is too frail and scared to become an outlaw but also too smart to be content with an underpaid job. He is the complete opposite to Lil Dice, a child of similar age who becomes Rio's most dangerous drug dealer and as the film progresses the differences between them become startlingly obvious. Set over three decades this film provides some of the hardest imagery I have had to watch in some time. Yet in no way is any of the content of the narrative or mise-en-scene gratuitous, but rather shocking in the way that it will make you feel.
There is something very strange about seeing a child with a gun, to most of us there is nothing new about this image as we have all seen children playing with toy firearms and indeed have ourselves at some point in our life. Yet to watch a child in a film who although is acting with a fake weapon, doesn't detract from the intense shock value of seeing a small boy murder and even enjoy it with an intense smile upon his face. I suppose this comparison does highlight how gang culture is bred from playing as we watch the same boys in a ball game later highjack, become drug pushers & murders with a callous carefree attitude as if it were all still a game.
While the film opens with some flashy digital editing that has already become dated since its overuse in Guy Richie's films, there is no denying that the story is the most powerful thing on display here. It is delivered through some very strong performances from the children, teenagers & adults involved but it the natural rhythm that the narrative provides that makes the daunting task of telling a 30 year story flow with such an ease that makes one want to learn the how the predetermined outcome will and has been affected by the past.
The Verdict
This is a beautiful work from a director that was recognised by Cannes in 2002. It is not for the weak of heart as the shocking reality on display here is told without many of the conventions that make a gritty film gritty. Yet the story is as clear as much of the stunning photography: a single cell or still may provide a postcard view of Rio but the narrative shows the flip side - the true side - and how much of life is a fight with fate in the City of God.
Movie Review: This is one movie that needs to be seen to be believed...
Summary: 5 Stars
City of God is a movie based on a true story of a young man named Rocket who lives in a city called, The City of God, in Rio de Janeiro. Rocket is a young man who wants to be a photographer when he grows up. However he lives in a very, very hard time as violence rules the city. Corrupt cops turn their heads everytime a drug trade goes on, and the only chance of survival is to either move out or join a gang just so you have some protection in the city.
The City of God is all in subtitles, but the way the camera works in the movie, showing different views of the characters is awesome and the soundtrack to the movie is just great listening to. Rocket goes through his life in views of flashbacks in the movie. From his childhood in the 60's, to becoming a young teenager in the 70's, and finally to a young man working for a newspaper. However it isn't long before Rockets next assignment for picture taking takes him into a world he struggled to stay out of.
Rocket's problem is that he needs to take a picture of a crime lord named, Lil'Z. From the moment he was a young kid like Rocket in the 60's, Lil'Z was born to become a killer. He rose steadily through his years, killing drug traders and others just so his own drug trading business would become the only business in the whole city. Rocket will be paid lots of money if he managed to get pictures of Lil'Z so the newspaper could print them for publicity.
The whole movie shows the sides of lots of characters as well as small stories leading into one big ending. From the story of Rocket trying to get a girlfriend and getting lucky for the first time, to a group of small kids, nicknamed, "The Runts" whose soul purpose its seems is to cause havoc and become drug dealers themselves. There is even a small story of seeing an all out gang war erupt after the two last major gangs finally go at it with a lot of guns and a lot of deaths.
Be advised the violence is very graphic in this movie, and the language is far from being toned down. But the way the characters interact with one another and seeing shots of the city as they run all over the place is something that needs to be seen if you want to see great acting. What makes it even more amazing is that none of these characters have any real training or any real publicity at acting, but they are brilliant at what they do.
The ending is great as well, and how Rocket reminds us that this all actually took place makes you wonder just what life really is like in other parts of the world. This movie is a real eye opener of what happens in gangs and cities in other parts of the world...
highly recommended...
Movie Review: Truly divine
Summary: 5 Stars
City of God is a masterpiece. An amalgam of everything good in Goodfellas, Traffic and Pulp Fiction, wrap it up with technical innovation found in Fight Club, an inciendary subject matter, a cast of unknowns and you've got one of the best films ever.
Based on a true story and told through the eyes of Rocket, a youth growing up the favela known as City of God, the movie essentially chronicles the drug trade and gang wars that shaped the said slum, while relating the back stories of each person involved in a very fresh approach. Director Mereilles really took care to have the audience emphatize with the lives of the characters, introducing them in innocous fashion, so when they show up later doing violent things or being major catalyts in the story, you really feel the impact.
Violence produces more violence is the central theme of the movie. We see various lives of City of God denizens change because of acts violence that interconnects their lives. From the Tender Trio which led to the rise of L'il Dice (later as L'il Ze) which led to the turf wars with Carrot (another dealer) to the death of Benny (the coolest gangster in town, as the residents put it) to the entry of Knockabout Ned to the gangs and his eventual death, each is linked by a particular violent event which was caused by one's violence against another. Hence, a vicious cycle.
There are some really hard-to-watch scenes like the initiation of a kid named Steak N Fries. But Mereilles shows tremendous care in handling such a gut-wrenching scene. However, he pulls no stops in capturing the energy and chaos of a Brazilian favela. Despite the subject matter, the overall tone is brisk, sometimes darkly hilarious (especially with the deranged Eddie Griffin look-alike L'il Ze) almost Scorsese like but it is told with more technical aplomb. There are several impressive sequences (The history of the apartment, Rocket's introduction) that left me speechless.
The DVD also has an hour long documentary entitled "Scenes From A Personal War". A very informative and enlightening piece of work, it serves as a nice companion piece. However, even though it is loaded with insights to Brazilian favela life, the way it is presented and edited, it pales in comparison. Rambling and lethargically-paced, it is dragging especially if you watch it after the energetic main feature. Still, don't let this prevent you from getting the most entertaining fact-based movie of the year.