Go watch how sin prevails in "City of God"

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2012)

If you are looking for a different movie than what you are used to, and you are bored of Hollywood movies, "City of God" is the movie you should watch. It is a Brazilian movie released in 2002, directed by Fernando Meirelles. If you enjoy crime and drama films, the movie will capture you easily since the very beginning. "City of God" portrays Brazilian life in the slums where drugs and violence are always present. We might never have had imagined the violence and crime behind one joint of marijuana, but this movie exposes us to the rough path of getting involved with drugs and gangs.
"City of God" tells the story of teenage life in a favela of Rio de Janeiro called Cidade de Deus. Based on a true story, the movie recounts the events for over two decades from the point of view of a boy named Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues). Rocket's brother, Goose, forms a gang with two friends, Shaggy and Clipper, called "Tender Trio". All the kids look up to the trio, and one day, a little kid named Li'l Dice (Douglas Silva) convinces them to rob a motel. Once they get there, Li'l Dice serves as lookout, and after firing a warning shot; he gets into the motel and kills everybody. Since then, he keeps committing crime with his friend Benny (Phellipe Haagensen). As the decade goes by Li'l Dice grows up and changes his name to Li'l Ze (Leandro Firmino). With the help of Benny, he becomes a severe drug dealer and eliminates all competition except for Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele). On the contrary, Rocket is not involved in the dealing, but he enjoys smoking pot with a group of friends to whom he likes to take pictures. Later on, Li'l Ze kills a guy's uncle and younger brother, and rapes his girlfriend. The guy's name is Knockout Ned's (Seu Jorge), who eventually turns to Carrot. Li'l Ze then asks Rocket to photograph him because he is jealous of Ned,s appearance in the newspaper. His photos are taken by a reporter and published, so he is able to get out of the slums and begin working as a photojournalist for the newspaper. He photographs the slums, and one day, when he was about to take a picture of Li'l Ze's gang, a gunfight breaks out between the two gangs, and Ned and Li'l Ze end up being killed by different kids looking for vengeance. Meanwhile, Rocket has photographed everything.
The interesting things about the movie that caught my attention were the way it was edited, how the story was told, and the cinematographic elements chosen. The story begins in the present and goes back two decades to explain how the character, Rocket, got to where he was. In the end the story gets to the point it had left of at the beginning and continues from there on. Besides this general alteration of time and order, several events within the flashback of the two decades are retold more than once from different perspectives of different characters. The situations are repeated several times, but surprisingly it is not boring to look at the same scene so many times. Instead, it drives you in more into the drama. Another element about the narration is that Rocket is not only a character, but also the narrator. He is the one who tells the story, making the story have a different style. I personally don't like this element a lot, but it works for the movie. The movie is well accompanied by Brazilian music that goes very well with the plot and intensifies every time the situation agitates. When this happens, different camera angles are also used, which brake the limits of normality and common shots. Instead, the images and shots create an original and creative, artistically speaking, movie. The cinematographic aspects that caught my attention from the movie were the eccentric camera angles and effects used. Different compositions and camera movements are creatively used, making it more entertaining than the typical eye-level shot. One angle used was the Dutch tilt. It also mixed this tilted images with the point of view effect. Certain shots during the gunfight at the end, include these characteristics. Moreover, an establishing shot is also used to introduce Cidade de Deus, letting us know were the story will take place, and show us the warm colors of the slums during the sixties, which contrast to the setting in the seventies, which is colder. Furthermore, the effects with which they play are interesting as well. The pace of the image is sometimes accelerated and other times stopped. These effects are incorporated with the different angles and shots, making the movie the product of carefully thought elements mixed together. Cinematographically it is a great movie appealing to the senses. The images and music keep you attentive, but besides that, the content of the movie is also strong and profound. The movie opens up our eyes to a different culture, and a different world from the one we are used to. We are able to see how life in Brazilian favelas looks like. The movie shows how drugs can get you involved into serious, violent vices and issues. When we think of drugs, we usually think of their effects, and the consequences of using them; but we hardly think of the whole criminal trafficking behind them. It is a movie that will cause anyone to reflect upon the topic. I would recommend this movie to young adults, which can identify with the characters because of their age, and therefore, be more impacted by the images. Even though the movie is strong and rated R, it is important for a young adult to watch; still, anyone could enjoy it. It is difficult to tell what's a stronger element in the movie, its content or its artistic choices. It is not only a culturally rich movie, but it is also rich in color and imagery.