Pulp Fiction Style Documentary

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2007)

First off, there are a few grievances I have with this film. It's sort of made in a way where it's kind of spread into chapters. Sort of like pulp fictions is made into chapters, depicting the story of several different people and events, so too is this film. I don't think this adds anything to the film, since you'll probably end up confused by the number of people anyway. There are a bit of characters, and trying to follow the story of each one may be bit confusing. The film is also narrated by the main character. In essence he gives you a tour of the ongoings of the City of God. In a way, it sort of feels like you are being shown a documentary about a city, rather than being given a movie to view. The documentary style, though informative, seems to be a bit over used, and removes the no-documentary movie feeling. That being said however, the film is good for the story, and depiction of the struggles of both the city and the many characters of the film. The corruption, sorrow, anger, greed, love, and joy are all expressed very clearly, and the film allows you to fully understand these feelings in the characters (once you get them all straightened out). I realize that following only the main characters story line would have drastically crippled the film, and would not have been able to illustrate every other characters story. Because of this it is essential that there are very many characters in the film. Understanding this, it is difficult to lower the movies rating based on there being too many characters to distinguish, as it is necessary for the story line. All in all, this film is above average, however an 8 out of ten may be a little bit generous. A 7.6 would be more accurate. Watch it if you have an opportunity to, but don't go out of your way to.