City of God Movie Review:

City of God is for sure one of the best films about gangs that I have ever seen or experienced. This Brazilian film is powerfully directed by Fernando Meirelles from a story about violence, rivals, and wanting to be set free.

Based on a true story, City of God follows a group of friends between the times of the 1960s-1980s. The setting is Rio de Janeiro, "The City of God," where crime is everywhere and engulfs everyone. Rocket (Rodrigues) is the narrator of the story, who would rather be a photographer than a drug dealer or gang member. The story opens with Rocket and his friends, whom are mostly "hoodlums", playing soccer outside in a housing development near the city. Rocket tells the story of how he was first introduced to crime by his older brother. The film then paces towards the 1970s and 1980s where a grown up Rocket experiences being caught in the middle of a rival gang war. In the city slums the violence continues to grow more and more, and Rocket turns to his camera as his only means of sanity.

The crime aspect the film is almost equated as survival for most of the young teenagers or men. Due to the poverty and circumstances it is understandable of how these young men could be turned into heartless monsters. There are kids, children, in the story that kill, deal, and talk like they are true masters of crime. Elements like this are what make City of God so powerful, but also shocking. During a scene when a child is shot by another child, many audience members walked out of the film screening that I was attending. I will admit that there were many moments in the film where I closed my eyes due to the violent images and situations that were presented. City of God is not a film for everybody, even though I believe it is an accurate depiction of gang warfare and its means of survival.

Meirelles is a director's name that you should be hearing about for sometime to come. His choices are truly a blend of Martin Scorsese and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's (Amores Perros (2000)) direction styles. The brutal violence and content is not held back at all by Meirelles. He also does some tricky things with his camera selections. Some include many point-of-view shots and handheld tracking, which captures the chaos of the story. Also, the nifty opening transition with Rocket going from the 1980s back to the 1960s is pretty incredible.

Braulio Matovani based the screenplay off the novel by Paulo Lins. The story's authenticity and chaotic atmosphere are very believable. The characters are well developed, in which the gang leader Lil' Ze is one of most ferocious monsters to ever appear on the screen. Rocket's lead narration works well in helping structure the situations and characters. His story also has some light humor involved; an example is how he gets in steady with the local newspaper, and his whole experience with peace and love of the 60s and 70s. The script itself is stellar, and the blending of a gritty story of survival with Meirelles unique selections makes for an outstanding combination.

The acting cast is comprised of mostly unknown Brazilian actors. Alexandre Rodrigues, who plays Rocket, holds the screen as a young actor full of potential. Leandro Firmino da Hora's portrayal of the gang leader Lil' Ze is absolutely feverish and terrifying. The cast of the film is really a solid ensemble full of energy and charisma.

City of God is really a film unlike any other. It's in your face violence and brutality isn't for all audience members. The description of how gangs are comprised is real, and there are heartless people like Lil' Ze in every city around world. A film like this couldn't have been made in America, and I am surprised that there haven't been many attempts of getting City of God pulled from theaters in the United States. This isn't a film full of pure shock value, like some controversial films (ex. Crash (1996)). City of God is one man's life story of living in circumstances that no one ever wants to encounter.

Report Card Grade: A

Joseph Tucker

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