One of the Best Moves of All Time

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2010)

Much of my own sentiments have already been echoed by other posted reviews here. As my rating indicates, I consider this one of the finest movies of all time. It's something of a Brazilian "Goodfellahs." A coming of age story, a mafia story. An urban "Lord of the Flies." There are a myriad of virtues to single out in such an epic triumph such as this, but I'd like to simply draw attention to one of the most gripping pieces of acting I've ever seen in film -- and it's that of the young boy who faces the drawn gun of another young boy. The scene comes in the middle of the movie and it is mesmerizing and horrific. It's a representation of the intensity of the film as a whole.
That the events of this story aren't stretches from the reality of the slums of South America is a simultaneous testament to colossal film-making and blemish upon the history of civilization.