Only Hell and high water in the City Of God...

Rating: Null/10 (8 July 2004)

City Of God is based on actual events that went on in the ghettos of Rio De Janeiro from the eyes of one who grows to be a photographer(Rocket). The picture is very grainy because it's shot w/ a Digi-cam but its graininess bring the film out. Backed by a solid and unorthodox script, Cidade De Deus is actually one of the better crime stories you will see. The film presents the street life from the Brazilian perspective and it's very believable as Rio De Janeiro, Brazil is one of the more hostile, though beautiful, cities in the world - not to mention the fact that I lived in Jamaica at one point in my life and saw the similarities such as little kids running around with guns and the struggle itself. The script does a lot of the "what comes around goes around" thing with some particular characters and shows that no matter who you are that if you push a man enough times that he will start to push back.
'Cidade' introduces its characters with a story up to their certain point in time which would their first moments in the film or to get to know them more. The film personally was a treat for me because at first I had never heard of it then I kept hearing about it then realized that this is a foreign-urban film that fits w/ the likes of Menace II Society, Boyz N The Hood, Paid In Full - the theme is somewhat identical to the recent Never Die Alone which has this film as a recommendation...
Cidade De Deus gets the full 10 from me, A great solid all-around film and a bonus for crime movie lovers or 'hood flicks(like myself)