A stunning, harsh, and beautiful look at life in a favela

Rating: 10/10 (10 January 2013)

Well-off countries have a habit of sweeping the issues of small countries under the rug, unless helping them can benefit us. Some movies like to give you a look at what you're unaware of in the harshest way possible, and jam the issue into your face until you feel bad for not helping people in these conditions. This what City of God tries to do, and it succeeds admirably. Everything about this movie works to make it more powerful. The acting, the story telling, the directing, all make you feel like you're living in this world of filth, crime, and poverty. Many of the actors in this movie were actually from The City of God, a very crime-ridden and poor part of the Rio Favela. They embody their roles well because of this. They do a wonderful job of making small parts into interesting characters. Another crucial part is the story-telling. The movie is filled with flashbacks that give characters back-stories. These serve to not only inflate the narrative, but they help make memorable characters. The movie also juggles several stories at once, but manages to keep your attention and understanding. For instance, the final scenes deal with Rocket trying to further his photography career, Carrot and Li'l Ze going to war, a young boy killing Knockout Ned for murdering his father,the police being corrupt, and the Runts taking over. All of this happening at once helps to absorb you into the action on screen But the most important part, in my opinion, is the directing. Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund did a truly amazing job of filming even slower scenes to make them seem fast-paced and intense. The way some shots are done are inventive and almost fun to watch, much like the work of Sam Raimi. This makes the movie seem frantic and energetic the whole way through. So, this movie that I can't understand a word of and I bought for 3$ at my local video store impressed me beyond words. It quickly took a slot in my top 10 favorite movies, and should be regarded as one of the best foreign films of all times.