War on drugs depicted in Masterpiece!

Rating: 10/10 (13 October 2016)

City of God is a masterpiece, taking a true story of the war on drugs in the slums of Brazil, combining it with local actors, a couple shoot-outs, and an outstanding soundtrack, this film stands up as one of the most influential foreign films of the 21st century. It's quite difficult to create a foreign film directed so brilliantly that the audience forgets they are reading subtitles from beginning to end. The use of tilted shots creates the chaotic environment the characters are living in, for the audiences in the theaters, and also creates a sense of distortion, as if the character's portrayed are unstable, specifically when Lil' Ze is in frame. This allows them to feel as if there are with these kids: running away, selling drugs, taking a bullet, or smoking pot. The extensive use of color and quick cuts instead of fading from shot to shot, allows the audience to see an intensity in the film, vibration from story-to-story and character-to-character. The similar clothing colors of those in the slums, compared to the drastically different ones of the bigger city, show the relationship the slum characters have in common with each other, even though they are not the same people, they come from the same place. The one character who changes the most is Benny, who also most drastically changes his clothes the most drastically, coincidence? I think not! The soundtrack is not one you'd listen to in your car, but the specific use of silence and sounds are noticeable. The explosions of guns during the shoot-outs from one end of the city to another is portrayed beautifully with the on-going action in the scene. The dramatic music played at the club Benny gets shot at is played to create suspense, as well as the strobe light continuously blinking, until we hear the gun go off. The character's are so well-developed that anyone watching this film for the first time could easily give a summary of each named character, as well as identify with one.