City of God
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Movie Reviews of City of God
Movie Review: The Brutal Reality of the City of God
Summary: 5 Stars
"City of God" ("Cidade de Deus") is a great Brazilian film of the brutal realities of the area. This true story is desplicted wonderfully by the cast and crew. It earned several award wins and nominations, including four Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe nomination (Best Foreign Film). Director Fernando Meirelles leads the cast and crew to express the harsh realities of the City of God in the 1960's-1970's, ranging from gangs, daily residential life, corrupt police, and others. The brilliant plot not only educates audiences on what happened; it also never holds back on the level of violence. Therefore, the graphic scenes are necessary to offer a more realistic glimpse of living there. They explore the characters' life backgrounds wonderfully, allowing audiences a more inside look. Audiences must watch this film a few times to fully understand the deep range of details. The actors express everything beautifully, though most are amateurs. However, there are some gifted talents here. Their anger, sadness, and fear are performed to the fullest, giving audiences the added emotional value.The physical backgrounds wonderfully blend with the brutal plot events, though most of it was filmed in the actual City of God. However, the camera work offes a deeper glimpse, offering the reality that can only be beaten by traveling there. The music and the sounds accent the events' brutality beautifully. Such efforts give added viewing pleasure.
"City of God" is a great film for those looking for something unique. This is sure to please audiences for a long time. Those interested in a deeper history should watch the interesting documentary shown in the special features. Such combination makes a great viewing experience.
Movie Review: Fascinating film
Summary: 5 Stars
I had rented this out from the library and after I've finished viewing it you are left wondering about the irony of the title. It is not long in the movie where you realize that the City of God is a place totally forgotten by everybody. Still, that is the name that the government of Brazil gave to the housing developments outside Rio, constructed in the early `60s to hold thousands of people. Those slums, known as "the favelas", eventually led to the isolation of poor people from the city center, becoming a place where music, life and color can be sensed in the air, but at the same time the law is absent and the violent gangs rule the streets.
"City of God" tracks the lives of hoodlums in the ghettos near Rio de Janeiro for three decades. Rocket is the main narrator, a boy who tries to overcome his circumstances to become a photographer. The character work is excellent, and gangsters like Li'l Ze, Knockout Ned, and others come to vivid life. The world depicted in this film is a bleak one, and although violent, much of the violence seems a necessary commentary on what makes the people living in it act in such a way. The camera work, and the narrative technique, one that loops backward and forward which isn't bad at all.
This film will blow your mind away; it will certainly trouble you and probably make you feel a bit ashamed and guilty about the things that actually happen around the world, without us doing or knowing anything about. It is certainly refreshing to see occasional moments of humor intervene with its otherwise grim and serious nature. In any case, it is one of the most powerful, aesthetically and visual strident films in recent years.
Movie Review: Truly, one of the best films you'll ever see!
Summary: 5 Stars
It's hard to describe a movie like City of God. It's not a documentary, but its grittiness makes you feel like what you're seeing is real. It's based on a true story, but it's hard to believe that events like the ones shown in the film actually can happen. It's hard to not relate and care for some of the characters even though most of them are murderers and drug users or traffickers.City of God, or Cidade de Deus, is a brilliant, if brutal, film. First time director Fernando Meirelles brings to life a story of a group of boys who live in the slums of Rio de Janeiro in the 60's and 70's. Life there is tremendously hard and most kids end up as criminals, using and trafficking drugs, and carrying guns and shoothing each other like its their birthright.
Meirelles succeeds in bringing a vibrant and dynamic direction to the story, with a fantastic use of editing and music. But the thing that brings the film to life is the performance of all the actors, some of which are actually gang members and inhabitants of Rio's slums. Their acting is right on the spot, and because most of them (if not all) are unknown to the audience, they literally become their characters.
It's been compared to Scorsese's Goodfellas, and I think that's a fair comparison, not only because of the subject, but also because of the use of editing and the intertwining of stories. The use of narration by the main character is also similar.
This film was nominated to four Academy Awards, including Best Director for Meirelles, Best Adapted Screenplay for Bráulio Mantovani, Best Editing (brilliantly done by Daniel Rezende) and Best Cinematography.
Movie Review: Ripped from the headlines
Summary: 5 Stars
For anyone who thinks Fernando Meirelles' "Cidade de Deus" (City of God) might be a bit melodramatic and over the top, consider the lead paragraph from this recent (April 17, 2004) news story from the Financial Times:"While tourists sipped caipirinhas in Rio de Janeiro's exclusive Leblon district during the Easter holidays, machine-gun fire echoed from the scenic hills above. A turf war raged between rival gangs trying to dominate the nearby Rocinha favela - and its drug market estimated at $3m per week - and at least a dozen people were killed. Since then the police have killed Luciano Barbosa da Silva, the drug lord known as Lulu, and 1,200 officers have been occupying Rocinha."
If you've seen the movie, you know that story is life imitating art. 'City of God' scores on two levels - the story itself is gripping and jaw-dropping, but the technical achievement of the film is also worthy of note. It scored a Best Director Oscar nomination for Meirelles. It's easy to see why. From the opening scene (which also doubles as one of the closing scenes) of a mad scramble through the favela to chase down a fleeing chicken, to a shocking robbery gone bad at a local motel, to a party to toast retiring drug lord Benny, to Lil' Dice's moment of truth, it's just one amazing sequence after another. I just think of the coordination it must have taken to pull together the scene depicting Benny's going away party. The depth of action in that 10-minute or so sequence is so rich, it'll take 10+ viewings to pick up all the details Meirelles has crammed in there.
This is an amazing movie worth seeing a couple of times or more.
Movie Review: Powerful eye-opener.
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched City of God twice and a half. The first time, I only saw half of it at a friend's house. It was like a drug, though, and I knew I'd have to watch the whole thing soon after.
Some films get old after the first viewing. This is not one of them. I watched it twice in a row after the time in my friend's house. It was exceptional. The story itself was exciting and gripping. Its execution is impeccable. The film draws you into the City of God so well, you almost feel ThErE. You can identify with the characters, even if you live in a land of comfort and plenty. That is one of the movie's best features - its ability to bring the world to life for the audience.
Some of the more violent scenes (for example, when a group of very young children are being interrogated, threatened and worse) are quite difficult to watch, even if you've desensitised yourself to onscreen violence, as is the norm in this age. However, I still found myself glued to the screen. I couldn't look away for a second.
I like the camera angles used in the movie. They highlight aspects of the story in different ways to further explain things nonverbally. The way the story is told is also unusual and ensures that your concentration doesn't break once through the whole thing.
In the extended versions, there are documentaries on Rio de Janeiro that are well worth watching as well.
This is a masterpiece that commands the viewers' full attention. The scope is immense, it will move you and you will not come away unscathed. I would reccommend everyone to watch it once in their lives.