A psychological thriller that expands traditional thinking of growing up

Rating: 9/10 (30 September 2015)

City of God is one of the first movies I ever watched, or at least remembered watching. This foreign film (to America) depicts what its like growing up in poverty, near Rio De Janeiro, and what it takes to survive these conditions. The lead character explains what it was like being in the trio of "bad" kids from his neighborhood, running from the cops, and stories of his friends at a young age committing mass murder. Our main character finds solace in photography in opposition to gang-banging, which seems to be the norm the rest of the children fall naturally into. The story pans out to illustrate that no one leaves the gang or Rio De Janeiro for that matter, unless they're in a body bag. A structural system of family and friendship does not trump money or greed and is a beautiful picture of how these deadly sins abolish your life.