City of God (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
'City of God' or 'Cidade de Deus' is a Brazilian drama directed by Fernando Meirelles & Katia Lund. City of God is a Rio de Janeiroan slumland. Many characters' lives intersect in this violent, crime-ridden hellhole. Young kids (who grow up to be gang members and drug lords) rob motels and gas trucks. And even younger kids witness this and aspire to be them one day. But the focus of the film is on the rise and fall of Li'l Ze (Leanandro Frimino da Hora), who grew up to be the most terrorizing leader of all. This true story is narrated by Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), a photographer who keeps himself on the outskirts of the gang's circle. He is able to escape a life of guilt. 'City of God' is so ugly, so visceral, so gruesome, that you can't take your eyes away ... even when you want to.
No tourists go to the deadly ghetto that is 'City of God'. Journalists flee, residents cower in fear, & the police stay out. Drugs, guns, and music are what this city is all about. 'Rocket', or Buscape, is a poor black man who's one of few who are scared enough to actually live an honest life. He knows he's in the minority (all his other friends idolize Li'l Ze). With only one true friend, & only one way to stay safe, he photographs everything he sees (pleasing a hard-to-please, fame-hungry Li'l Ze). He'd like to see his massacres in the papers. We watch this film through Buscape's perspective, and what a violently bleak perspective it is. By mercilessly killing all rivals, Li'l Ze gathers respect & allies in a war that he wages with opposing gangsters, Knockout Ned & Carrot (my favorite character).
Buscape's telling of this story is non-linear. It starts when they're children and ends when they're adults, but everything in the middle is a frenetic mish-mash of teen years, 20's, life, death, violence, drug dealing, off-the-cuff ponderings, tangential musings, random memories, & resolutions. Although he stays on the outskirts, Buscape can't completely escape the madness. Li'l Ze owns the city. He's virtually unstoppable. Buscape hopes that a career in photography can take him far, far, far away from the City of God. Will he be so lucky? The film starts in the 1960's. By the 80's, have things gotten better or worse? Will the fighting ever end? A probable answer is no.
Possible negatives of 'City of God'? It will take acute concentration & a strong tummy to handle over 2 hours of unending brutality. That brutality is either positively hypnotic or negatively numbing, depending on your view. But this movie does so many things well. The editing is a strong suit. The plot is different, yet realistic. The concise exposition of many, many characters is thorough enough. Believe it or not, there's a wild mix of surprising wit, up tempo music, youthful mayhem, & spurts of comedy to counterbalance the startling street crime lifestyle. You 'need' that mix to stay the course of the film. The most memorable scene involves Li'l Ze forcing a young child to decide which of two other children will be shot dead right in front of him. As you can see, this man was a deranged psychopath who was out for personal carnage. Fantastic movie.
No tourists go to the deadly ghetto that is 'City of God'. Journalists flee, residents cower in fear, & the police stay out. Drugs, guns, and music are what this city is all about. 'Rocket', or Buscape, is a poor black man who's one of few who are scared enough to actually live an honest life. He knows he's in the minority (all his other friends idolize Li'l Ze). With only one true friend, & only one way to stay safe, he photographs everything he sees (pleasing a hard-to-please, fame-hungry Li'l Ze). He'd like to see his massacres in the papers. We watch this film through Buscape's perspective, and what a violently bleak perspective it is. By mercilessly killing all rivals, Li'l Ze gathers respect & allies in a war that he wages with opposing gangsters, Knockout Ned & Carrot (my favorite character).
Buscape's telling of this story is non-linear. It starts when they're children and ends when they're adults, but everything in the middle is a frenetic mish-mash of teen years, 20's, life, death, violence, drug dealing, off-the-cuff ponderings, tangential musings, random memories, & resolutions. Although he stays on the outskirts, Buscape can't completely escape the madness. Li'l Ze owns the city. He's virtually unstoppable. Buscape hopes that a career in photography can take him far, far, far away from the City of God. Will he be so lucky? The film starts in the 1960's. By the 80's, have things gotten better or worse? Will the fighting ever end? A probable answer is no.
Possible negatives of 'City of God'? It will take acute concentration & a strong tummy to handle over 2 hours of unending brutality. That brutality is either positively hypnotic or negatively numbing, depending on your view. But this movie does so many things well. The editing is a strong suit. The plot is different, yet realistic. The concise exposition of many, many characters is thorough enough. Believe it or not, there's a wild mix of surprising wit, up tempo music, youthful mayhem, & spurts of comedy to counterbalance the startling street crime lifestyle. You 'need' that mix to stay the course of the film. The most memorable scene involves Li'l Ze forcing a young child to decide which of two other children will be shot dead right in front of him. As you can see, this man was a deranged psychopath who was out for personal carnage. Fantastic movie.