Cidade de Deus (2003)

Like cinematic dynamite, City of God lights a fuse under its squalid Brazilian ghetto, and we're a captive audience to its violent explosion. The titular favela is home to a seething army of impoverished children who grow, over the film's ambitious 20-year timeframe, into cutthroat killers, drug lords, and feral survivors. In the vortex of this maelstrom is L'il Z (Leandro Firmino da Hora--like most of the cast, a nonprofessional actor), self-appointed king of the dealers, determined to eliminate all competition at the expense of his corrupted soul. With enough visual vitality and provocative substance to spark heated debate (and box-office gold) in Brazil, codirectors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund tackle their subject head on, creating a portrait of youthful anarchy so appalling--and so authentically immediate--that City of God prompted reforms in socioeconomic policy. It's a bracing feat of stylistic audacity, borrowing from a dozen other films to form its own unique identity. You'll flinch, but you can't look away. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

See it now! Don't wait.

This movie has been on my Movies to watch list way to long, and I regret that it took so long for me to finnally watch this film. 5 stars no doubt. I'm sure by now you have read about the plot and spoilers so i won't go into that detail. However I will say that this film has AMAZING balance. Drama, action, humor, realism, cinematography, lighting, ect...

It has alot of flashbacks, but they are always clear and labled so you really can't get confused.

I also have to encourage you to watch the documentry in the special features on the dvd. But be ready to be sad. July 16, 2008

Perfection

City of God is a beautiful film by director Fernando Meirelles. The movie focuses on the true life story of a boy who struggles to grow up in the tough streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The plot of the film is pieced together through various character subplots that ultimately interwine in the end to result in an explosive finish (the intertwined story editing is similiar to such movies as Fight Club, Momento, and Crash). Overall City of God is an incredibly pulsating film that is well acted and above all else real. As a warning to some the film is very violent but not gratuitous. July 4, 2008

A Dark, Well-Acted Film

Every big city has its crime and drug problems, but Rio de Janeiro is different. It's only sort of a big city, a sprawling landscape of measured favelas (slum neighborhoods) and mazelike city streets. Poverty lies around every corner. Crime runs rampant. Hope has left the city and shot right past the shanty slums on the outskirts of town. Young boys like Rocket don't know that a thing like hope exist.

CITY OF GOD (Cidade de Deus) follows the journey of Rocket, but it does so in a clever meandering sort of way. We get a good glimpse into 5 or 6 main characters, all for the sake of showing Rocket's story. But all the characters in a story each have their own story, and this film does its best to tell each of those as well. Rocket wants to make a truly honest living for himself, but at each step along the way, "the city" won't let him. The environment doesn't allow for honest livings. Drug gangs rule the slums, namely the youth-run gangs of Li'l Ze' and Carrot. The police are paid off by the gangs, and when the police aren't fighting against the real injustices of the town, you know you're in trouble.

This is a dark film, well-acted, but filled with heartless killing and drug use. While often this genre leaves me feeling dirty, CITY OF GOD left me sad for the people of Brazil and areas like them. I haven't read the novel by Paulo Lins, but the film has enough redemption within the muck for me to recommend it, though not wholeheartedly. It feels like a fresh version of Scarface or the Godfather, only told from a different character's point of view and for slightly different effect. When farming and fish-selling doesn't pay the bills, what else is left for a young man to do? Rocket's dream is in photography. The question is, will the City of God allow him to live a holy life free from crime and corruption. The irony for Rocket and so many like him is that it is in that same corruption that he finds his honest hope.

--- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens June 20, 2008

The characters will stay with you

This is one of those movies that stays with you for a while. The story telling is impeccable and though there are a lot of characters, all of them are unique and well rounded. I would recommend to anyone who likes "gangster" type movies. Don't let the subtitles scare you! - you will greatly miss out. June 13, 2008

AMAZING DVD

I read the book, I had seen the movie before, but I would like to have my own copy.
I borrow to a couple f friends, all of them were amused by how amazing this story is.
April 29, 2008

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