City of God

Rating: 10/10 (7 October 2019)

The City of God (2002), directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund tells the story of a group of neighborhood boys that grew up in the ghetto in Rio de Janeiro, which is based on true story. The film is directed a way that contains multiple stories or chapters, to explain how their neighborhood evolved the way it did. Each of the main characters has their own chapter to show their evolution throughout the film. It contains acts of drugs, sex, violence throughout this the story, and the actors did a brilliant job recreating the storyline. This film applies different lighting, camera angles/elements and music play an important role when creating this film. The film utilizes a handheld camera to capture certain moments that allowed the audience to view events as how the charters would have. Due to the main character Rocket main desire to become a photographer, the directors utilize this plot story fact to show much of the film through his eyes. The music indicates what is building up in the film, such as upbeat and fast music playing when violence is on the horizon. Although this film contains such a strong presence of violence that leads you turn your head at moments, this element demonstrates the disgusting reality of the lively hood of people who live in slums such as this. I rate this film a 10/10 due to the accurate representation of gangs, poverty and crime. There is such a heavy presence of suspense, that it keeps viewers on the edge of their seats and constantly eager for what is to come. Overall an unforgettable film and a cinematic masterpiece.