With an array of resonating performances and flawless direction, it is sure to be one of the greatest films one will ever see.

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 2007)

One of the most powerful dramas of the decade is 'City of God.' Fernando Meirelles proves that he can run with the most acclaimed directors in modern cinema with this film. His disciplined style is vigorously enchanting as much as it is appealing. For his furious and violent tale, 'City of God,' he portrays, with shocking realism, the slums of Rio de Janeiro from the late 60's to the mid 80's, where crime was the way out and those not involved were the suckers. But among these criminals and suckers is a minority of those dedicated the goodness that is often overlooked in cities as torn as Rio, and Meirelles exemplifies that notion through a young photographer and the story he comes to tell.
The film follows a boy named Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), whose dream is to become an accomplished photographer. Growing up, Rocket was raised in a lower-class quarter of Rio's Ciudad de Deus (City of God), in which most of his peers had aspirations of becoming the City of God's next big thing  whether the path they led was bright or familiar. Among them was Lil' Dice, a young boy who ran with a gang of hoodlums whose main intention was stealing, though had killed before.
As years progressed, both Rocket and Lil' Dice meandered down very different corridors; Rocket found fulfillment in honesty and kindness, whereas Lil' Dice eventually found himself the city's most infamous drug-runner, Ze Pequeno, or Lil' Ze. Soon before long, the City of God is ravaged by unseen violence, led by Lil' Ze, and Rocket is capturing the horrific footage via his hand-held camera. While Rocket's intentions focus on keeping down an honest, clean path, he finds that he can make amends with both Lil' Ze and the local police, by submitting photos of Ze and his entourage to the tabloids. Win-win for both, eh? Not quite. Even those who find success, struggle in the City of God, and by film's end that fact is recognized by all  and it's not soon forgotten either.
The screenplay, adapted by Braulio Mantovani from Paulo Lins' novel of the same name, allows viewers to relate and reside with its characters and surrender their absolute emotion to a film that exhausts each and every emotion imaginable. Retrospectively, Meirelles' demand for the viewer's attention, through unwavering brutality and almost dizzying camera-work, makes for intense movie-viewing and enthralling entertainment. Additionally, the film carries a surrealistic beauty  and is shot with an overexposed lens that brightens the photography and implies perfectly the authenticity of the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro  that elevates the heart when the movie reaches burrowing depths. All in all, 'City of God' is flawless; and with an array of resonating performances and flawless direction, it is sure to be one of the greatest films one will ever see.