Insightful Film

Rating: 7/10 (7 October 2019)

Many movies tend to have a cookie-cutter plot, but City of God branches out as an insightful film regarding life for those in more impoverished areas of the world. The struggles of growing up poor in Brazil is brought to a sense of realism in this film through the adventures of Rocket. There are many elements of violence throughout the film that accompany Rocket's mission to escape the crime life that rose from their impoverished upbringing. I felt like the violence of the film was what kept this film interesting and engaging, otherwise them film was boring throughout some scenes. There was also many times that I felt like the ability of children to use a gun or be as brave as they were during hectic scenes was very far fetched and unrealistic which made the film feel out of touch with reality.
The significance of Angélica was not too obvious, but there seemed to be a steady motif with her character in the film. Rocket saw her as the light in the dark tunnel that was the City of God. He wanted her and would do anything to make her happy which is what could have prevented him from getting involved in illegal activities which made his life turn for the better later on. Tiago was also a better person when he was dating her, and once they were no longer together, he started to abuse drugs even more and would eventually get involved in the gang. Angélica was also a motif of good for Benny because once he met her, Benny went from being a main leader in the drug gang, to wanting to completely leave Li'l Zé behind so that he could live a simpler life with Angélica peacefully. Therefore she was always a positive influence for whomever she was with in the film, thus exemplifying the fact that love is always stronger than the hatred that among the gang members.
The film directors did a great job with the camera angles. They used eye-level angles very often with close-up shots to convey a sense that the viewer is right there in the action. I liked how they did this because it made the film come to life in a much more serious feel even though the ones who were committing the crimes were often kids. Overall, this film was a joyous experience to watch and is definitely recommendable to anyone.