City Of God

Rating: 10/10 (12 February 2011)

CITY OF GOD – 9.8/10
Director: Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund(co-director)
Writer: Bráulio Mantovani
I can get into the technical aspects of the film and destroy it or I can just leave you to do the hard work. I think I'll go with the latter. An ensemble cast with only one trained professional actor, the film is the finest I have scene when it comes to depicting lives of those living in situations so unfortunate, that most of us forget to be remotely thankful or remorseful. The screenplay though, needs special mention; we constantly but seamlessly cut back and forth in time throughout the film – a special thanks to Daniel Rezende for the razor sharp editing – but never is the viewer lost, so refined is the choice of sequences and finessed the flow of the film. There is also a reason why the film is cyclical, the point of which I am hoping to get across by the end of review (enough of technicality).
The story progresses from the point of view of Alexandre Rodrigues (Buscape – Rocket), the only individual to escape the violence but not the favela. Through his camera and narration, we see the lives of several children/individuals, who grow up in the City of God, a housing project in Rio de Janeiro quite notorious for its criminal activity. The film casually depicts how children get absorbed into mindless violence and are perpetually condemned to it, their lives spiraling towards an endless state of human tragedy. The plot is too lengthy to narrate and it wouldn't serve a purpose to serve up spoilers either. There is something this film evokes within me, which I feel is worthy of a mention.
There is a prevalent belief that if a film is nominated for Oscars, it must be good. That is a dangerous belief. What is even more dangerous is the belief that if a film did not win an Oscar, it must have not been "that" good. To understand the complexities of a film like City of God, there is no given formula; but if you are from a third world country and have had first hand knowledge or even worst, experience of such a life, there is a good chance you might not relegate such films to award ceremonies.
Social structures are complex. We take what we get (at birth) as a given and live with it for the rest of our lives. The marginalization, is a given. Wealth disparities, cultural and behavioral differences across strata are all a given; it is what we use to separate "us" from "them". The "them" & "us" & "us" & "them" perpetuates. We never imagine what our lives would be if we were not born to the fortunes we were. Instead of our parents, if our guides were our peers who were gun wielding, drug churning maniacs, whose lust for power leads to failed societies and absolute chaos, the very same power the civilized societies so tacitly condones.
The director wants us to ruminate, to ponder, to reflect. Take the directors intent too seriously and all coffee table discussions about poverty, crime, brutality and the children who are victims and perpetrators of such intent, might seize into oblivion. The "us" & "them" might fade and disappear, the same "us" & "them" which gives us our superior identity and allows us to take pride and reason in what we do. Well if you dare to fathom the film City of God, all the superiority complexes, the fragile mirages and concocted illusions might just get shattered and the unreal reality – debunked. You have been warned. That is the power of City of God.