City Of God
(2002)
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Two features. Youth gangs took over the slums of Rio de Janiero during the 1960s and didn't relinquish their stronghold until the mid-1980s. Only a sucker wouldn't have turned to crime and this is exactly how naive teen Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) views himself in 'City Of God'. His attempts in illegal activity fail as he finds potential victims too friendly. Equally unsuccessful in love, he regularly fails to lose his virginity. Blood spills throughout the streets of the Ciudad de Deus as gang leader Li'l Ze (Douglas Silva) is challenged by local druglords and a gang of pre-teens known as the Runts. Rocket shoots all of this action with his weapon of choice, a camera. Director Fernando Meirelles combines visual flashiness with dark history in telling the story of three decades of unrest in underground Rio de Janiero. Technically flawless, the Brazilian film uses a rapid-cutting style to flash back and forth in time. Cinematographer Cesar Charlone shoots with an overexposed glow in a film that may seem numb to violence, but reveres photography. Director Meirelles was assisted by Kaita Lund, a filmmaker who had previously shot in the Rio ghettos. Also includes 'Hero'. |
Screenshots
Inspired by Paulo Lins's fact-based novel, this three-act chronicle of gangland rivalry on the streets of Rio de Janeiro resists the temptation to glamorise crime, as so many New York Mob movies have done. Yet director Fernando Meirelles's audacious visual style may disconcert those expecting a neorealistic approach to the story of a teenage hoodlum's rise and fall. Comparisons with GoodFellas are certainly valid, as the often explosive and meticulously designed action spans the late 1960s to the early 1980s. But the no-holds-barred authenticity of the non-professional juvenile cast and Meirelles's edgy social commitment make it a wholly unique experience.
Halliwell's Film Guide
In essence, this resembles many slickly-made Hollywood gangland drug dramas: what sets it apart is the age of its swaggering, gun-toting street kids Ð many are barely teenagers Ð and the vitality of the acting from its non-professional cast.