The Best Movie of the New Millennium

Rating: 10/10 (11 April 2009)

City of God is one of the most fascinating movies of the new millennium, a masterpiece in all aspects of film-making: cinematography, editing, writing and directing, assisted by solid performances by amateur child actors from Rio de Janeiro's slums.
This movie, based on a novel by Paulo Lins, is about the history of the Brazilian slum City of God, where people born there have little alternative to crime and violence. Through inventive storytelling, the director Fernando Meirelles and screenwriter Bráulio Mantovani show the slum from its earliest days when it was just a suburb distant from the tourist attractions to the present days, when it's no longer invisible and has become an embarrassment for authorities.
To show the development of the slum, the filmmakers follow the lives of two distinct young men: Rocket, a nice kid who wants out and dreams of becoming a photographer; and the ruthless crime lord, Li'l Zé, who takes over the slums and engages in open warfare in the streets with other gangs. Rocket and Zé's history is intimately connected from their early days as kids, when Zé, eager for killing, kills Rocket's brother, a member of a famous gang. The new takes over the old, that's the law of City of God.
This movie is cruel and uncompromising. Armed children kill themselves in street wars, police corruption is everywhere, and, as Rocket discovers, being honest may not pay off. Zé's rise to power is meteoric as he uses the only language understandable: violence. He's one of the most charismatic villains of recent years; mean as snakes, without a single redeeming feature, enjoying evil for its sake, either you'll love him or hate him.
The movie also benefits from other great characters: there's Benny, Zé's only friend, who behaves a bit like what remains of his consciousness and possibly the only person who can calm down Zé. Benny is the cool criminal, he doesn't want to get rich for its sake, he doesn't want to kill people. He just wants money to have fun and party with other people.
Then there's the street vigilant Knockout Ned, a good man who just becomes fed up with the crime and decides to make matters into his rifle-holding hands. A trained soldier, he organizes an army against Zé in a war without truces to get control of the streets. It's amazing how a movie shot in the streets of Rio de Janeiro can acquire an epic feel that many epics lack nowadays.
In the middle is Rocket, trying to live a normal life, doing what teenagers do: falling in love, trying to get a job, hanging out with friends. For a grim movie, it's amazing how the filmmakers also capture the finer aspects of adolescence, with a maturity that American movies sadly lack.
All in all, City of God is one of the best movies of recent years that can't be ignored. I also admire it for having introduced me to a lot of fine Brazilian cinema being made nowadays. City of God is just the beginning, really. Movies like Tropa de Elite and The Man Who Copied await those who give it a try.