City of God

Rating: 7/10 (15 October 2019)

Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund's 2002 film, City of God, is based off of true events that took place in the slums of Rio de Janeiro during the 1970s. It perfectly illustrate the life of the people during this time. It uses breath taking violence and crime to capture the constant stressful life style among the people of Rio. City of God uses violence from the start to the end. The opening scene there is an extreme close up on a knife being sharpened. This sets up the theme for the rest of the film.
The slums that the film takes place in is known as the City of God. This film looks into growth of the two young men throughout their life and the drastically different life paths they go done. Rocket has always had a passion for photography. He uses these skills to get up close and personal to document the violence. One of the main men Rocket is documenting is José "Zé" Pequeno also known as Lil Zé. Lil Zé is worked his way up to be one of the most powerful drug dealers around. The film shows the extreme violence and ruthlessness that he used to get his power. It brings to light the effect of violence and poverty on the youth during this time. The movie ends with an epic war between the drug lords that results in massive casualties. Ironically the children that gave Lil Zé power are the ones that end up killing him.