City of God- SPOILER ALERT

Rating: 7/10 (16 October 2017)

"City of God" directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund is a story about two boys growing up in a favela in Rio de Janeiro. The boys both face hardships in their lives, but in diverse ways. One is aspiring to become a photographer, and the other is aspiring to become the drug kingpin of the Favela. Their lives intertangle, but eventually their lives take divergent paths. This whole storyline entices excitement and emotion through its cinematography. The image match between the raindrop falling off the leaf into a bowl with a fish swimming around in it with a bigger fish ready to catch and eat its prey. This symbol of predator and prey correlates to when the cops are hunting the teenagers in the woods for robbing a hotel. This technique helps feel the emotions of the characters in this scene. There are many scenes in this film which makes the audience feel the emotions of the characters. One scene that moved me was when Benny was shot by Blacky. The use of a close-up with strobe lights gives a chaotic effect visually making the viewer disoriented. This made the movie well worth the two hours and ten minutes. Another aspect is the amount of shown violence in the film. There is an exuberant number of adults and even children getting shot. This adds to the authenticity of the film, and in the end when the audience learns that this is a true story, that makes it even more compelling. I feel that this is a must see because it shows the hidden truths of areas in poverty that get swept under the rug. This film shines light on the problems that do not get much mention in the media. I personally did not know how bad the slums of Rio de Janeiro were until I watched "City of God". It is a great thriller and educational at the same time. I would recommend watching "City of God".