City of God
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.09 You Save: $5.90 (39%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.61 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of City of God
Movie Review: These kid's do more in one day then you do in your life
Summary: 5 Stars
City of god is a film that you have to see to know how good you have it. These kid's are faced with everything from murder to drugs and it doesn't stop there. Not only do they have to live in an environment filled with crime some of them take part in it before they even hit age 10 and what's crazy is that this is based on a true story. This is a very rugged film as you see children that must do this to survive and the rise and fall of one child that did this for the rush and to satisfy a hunger for murder and to be on top.
The story is told from a child named Busca-pe` or Rocket in English who is a resident of the city of god. You see his life go from the little brother of a thug, then a scared teen, and finally into a brave and brilliant photographer that caught many important pieces of time. He tells you about the birth of a Lil Ze` who would kill at will to get the power he craved and started this at a young age. You are then shown the era of Ze` where he rises and finally falls. You watch City of God for the heart racing and incredibly unbelievable story that doesn't cease to surprise you. Hearing the movie in its original Portuguese language makes the film more raw and realistic.
The acting is nowhere below incredible, these actors are so good you actually start to believe they are the real people from the city and not the actors. I only send a high caution to anyone who is sensitive because this is not a movie for you. This is as real as it gets and the creators hold nothing back in the film so you can get a complete grip on what really happened.
Movie Review: Portrait of an Artist as a Young Brazilian
Summary: 5 Stars
We all see different films, even when we see the same film. "City of God" is especially like that, with it's linked stories that give multiple perspectives--not unlike the linked stories used in postmodern novels. "City of God" gives us a story of crime, poverty, drugs, sex, homelessness, corruption, community (in its own way), even odd bits of humor--and a way out.
A Special Feature on this DVD is the documentary "News from a Personal War" which uses the same technique of multiple perspecitves in a brilliant effort to give a rounded view to a complex story of the drug war in Rio.
The movie I see would be titled "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Brazilian" played by Alexandre Rodrigues as Rocket who narrates "City of God." The DVD jacket says it so well: ". . . a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist." I love the moment when his photos are discovered by the newpaper through a mistake and how that leads to Rocket's career as a journalistic photographer--and his first hot shower, followed by his first sexual experience. This last part of the film is thrilling as Rocket moves into a new world and then rockets between them.
Remember the lyrics that had a bouncing ball on top telling you what word to sing next? Just follow the bouncing ball here--the words and story line of the young narrator as his heart's wish comes true and he demonstrates considerable courage.
--Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary
Movie Review: Tragic Brilliance But Far From Unique
Summary: 5 Stars
What's most remarkable about this film is how dramatically similar the circumstances and conditions are to those that are present in Los Angeles, Guatemala City, New York, Port Au Prince, Chicago, Miami, Mexico City, San Pedro Sula, New Orleans, Baghdad, Palestine, Johannesburg, Bombay, etc. The tragic brilliance of this film is that it's not a unique or even original story at all.
City of God, the film, depicts the same hell that is described so vividly in the so-called "Gangsta Rap" from African American and Latin American youth and in it's peer art forms elsewhere around the world (e.g., Ragga/Dancehall). City of God, the housing project, is simply one in millions of similar housing "projects" (experiments) that create horrendous conditions that simultaneously stretch and degrade human imagination to degrees that result in a shocking devaluation of all life.
For some strange, sad reason, poor people of color suffer similar recurring tragedies and pathologies that are far more complex than the typical "they are animals, imprison them" socio-reduction of reactionaries and conservatives and aren't nearly as 'romantic' as some apologists and liberals might have us believe.
I watch films like City of God, Menace II Society, Pixote, Salaam Bombay, Carlito's Way etc. not just for entertainment, but in the hopes extracting gems from the storytelling and getting closer to understanding why some people make the choices they make, and in the hopes of discovering why it always seems to be the poor Black and Brown people who die in the streets.
Movie Review: Depressingly Wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
I actually rented City of God from Netflix, but will probably be purchasing this in the near future. I've seen many folks reference US made movies about the mafia or gang warfare in relation to City of God, but I think I totally disagree. Yes, in a way City of God is the Brazilian version of a gang film, but it is more like watching a documentary on the evolution of gang/drug and crime problems in the hopeless slums of Brazil. Unlike many of the gang films made in the US, City of God seems to be far more chaotic because the main characters are mostly all children, some of which are very young. City of God actually features children and not 20 or 30 somethings that may look young. The Runts in particular are both heartbreaking and loathsome at the same time, and are hard to watch because the actors are actually as young as 6.
There is far too many good things for me to identify, but three things really made this movie work for me. The first has to be the cinematography, which doesn't insult your eyes and take away from the movie with hyper-colorized visuals. Second, the casting director deserves much credit in casting unknowns to play these characters, preserving a documentary feel to the movie. Finally, the movie is structured around a well thought out narrative from Rocket, one of the main characters. Starting in the 60's, the movie moves flawlessly into the 70's and also stops to tell the stories of a few main characters. All this while never feeling disjointed or confusing. I can't say enough good things about a movie that has such a hopeless theme.
Movie Review: A Purely Amazing Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I was very skeptical to see this movie. First of all, I do not like to read movies and this movie is in Portuguese. Second, I was not sure of the quality of films from Brazil. Boy was I pleasantly surprised.This movie is described best in one word, AMAZING. The story is based on the true story of a young Brazilian boy named Rocket, who wants to become a photographer. He gets hired by the local newspaper to take pictures of the street gangs from "the slums." The rest of the the story revolves around how so of the "hoods" become leaders of powerful gangs and bosses of the town. There are also many side stories that are told about the characters.
This film was designed beautifully. Fernando Mierelles did a masterful job of directing this film, considering the fact that most of the actors in the film are young kids who probably have little to no experience acting before. The way that Mierelles inserted the character background stories was perfect. If Peter Jackson wasen't up for Best Director, Mierelles definatly would have won, or at least should have won. The cinematography is also amazing. One scene is located in a dance club and the filming of that scene is stellar. Very good performances in this movie, by young actors. Great story and character development and just an overall entertaining movie. I will say that if you do not like subtitled movies, then do not watch this because the subtitles in some scenes go by really fast and its hard to read. Otherwise, this movie is awesome and would undoubtably recommend this movie to anyone.