A stylish tragedy...shocking but stunning

Rating: 9/10 (20 March 2004)

(this may contain some spoilers)
Some people have compared this film to other, mostly American gangland movies like "Gangs of New York", etc. But this is no mainstream gang movie; There's no De Niro, No Scorsese. This is a shocking, brutal film where an amateur cast of children and teenagers shoot and kill and where guns are more ubiquitous than toys.
City of God, based on real life events, follows a cast of children as they grow up in the Rio slum known as City of God. It centers on the character of Rocket, who emerges as virtually the only cast member who is able to transcend himself out of his existence and make something of himself. Otherwise, there's little attempt to "Hollywood"-ize the experience of these kids. There's no supporting cast of abusive moms or alcoholic fathers to excuse away these kid's behaviour. That's not the point. (But a scene early in the film where a man kills his wife for cheating on him and then buries her in a hole in their living room works wonders in explaining how these children may get their behaviour and violence from...)
The film is filled with haunting images....the most haunting of which involve the youngest children. The infamous scenes of L`il Dice as a child of 10 grinning with an almost ecstatic glee as he opens fire on his enemies shocks to the core. I wish I could say this film is redeeming. The main character Rocket's incapacity to commit violence and his own brave escape from this hell is indeed heart-warming in its own sense...but at the film's end as we watch this cycle of crime passing on to a newer, even younger generation of gangsters, you can't help but walk away feeling rather depressed and cynical.
All in all though, as a film, it's a major accomplishment, it's stylish, unique, even funny, and as far from Hollywood as you can get.