City of God... Why didn't I watch this thing sooner?

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2016)

City of God has been considered by many critics and viewers to be one of the absolute best movies to come from the 2000s; now I see and completely understand why people love this film, and why it's a time capsule that is still relevant and important for today's world; at least for Brazil.
I saw this film on Netflix and I finally sat down and watched it all the way through. I'd seen bits and pieces in film school back in 2013, but I never got around to actually seeing the thing completely. Now that I have, I'm incredibly happy that I've seen such a complete, unflinchingly brutal crime film that tells a story that's just right; not over-stuffed, not under-developed, but just right.
The film shows the many-sided face of Brazilian life in the 1960s, the 70s and 80s. Everyone in this film has got a story and within the span of its 2-hour-and-9-minute running time, and the arcs, even for some of the supporting characters introduced in the middle of the action, are never wasted.
City of God, is a film from God. Please do yourself a favor and watch it. It's right up any crime film lover's alley.