"What we need is more violence on screen."

Rating: 6/10 (21 January 2003)

City of God may be a good work of art but if I were to prioritize all such good works to be seen in the world, this would not be near the top. I already live in a world with enough violence and misery around me, so when I go to the theater I prefer to see objects of beauty. The message that senseless violence begets only more senseless violence is a good, if trite, one. But all I could think throughout the film was, "Who will shoot whom next?"
All the hoods are older teens, except for a very minor role played by the runts. Seeing mere boys get shot was another turnoff. There was a certain coherence to the movie and if it serves to raise consciousness about the awful plight of Rio de Janeiro's street children, a la Pixote, there may be value to it. I prefer to raise my consciousness in more subtle ways.