Captivating Storytelling Depicting Tragedy in Rio de Janeiro

Rating: 8/10 (24 March 2007)

While most people hail this film to be one of the all time greatest films of all-time I honestly couldn't understand it at first by looking at the slip-sleeve on the DVD. But after viewing the film I understood what the audience was experiencing. The story takes place in Rio de Janeiro, narrated by the main character Rocket. It depicts the intense crime problem in the Cidade de Deus (City of God). How his childhood neighbors and friends become his worst nightmares and enemies. He speaks of how he follows his dreams to escape his urban nightmare, of how he found love and barely was able to touch it, of how his life was threatened numerous amounts of times, and of how his brother was slain while he was still young. This is a story that some may not be able to handle, but most should watch. I highly recommend it to those who are interested in foreign films or films of a urban crime nature. While I would argue with most and say it is not the best film of all time, I believe that it deserves some higher ranking.