Eye opening

Rating: 6/10 (7 October 2019)

SPOILER ALERT
The film is based on true events of individuals who lived in the slums near Rio de Janiero. It focuses on the struggles and hardships they had to endure and the lengths they would go to in order to either survive or escape their current state. It opens the eyes of the audience and shows them what life can be like for people who live in that area.
Editing was used in a unique way. For example the scene that explained the history of Lil Ze's old apartment used flashbacks to describe everything that had happened previously and how it led to the current timeline. This technique was used several times in the film. However, I feel this was used too much and because of that the film was hard to follow at certain points.
The film would pour specific elements into its mise-en-scene in order to give a nonverbal communication. During the scene where Benny was murdered, strobe lights were being used on the dance floor. This was done in order to convey a sense of distraught and confusion towards Benny's death.
I enjoyed how the film used elements of realism and was based on real experiences. However, it was very slow at certain parts and it was also hard to follow. There were too many characters to keep track of all of them. The film wasn't particularly good but wasn't particularly bad. Overall, the film was not very entertaining. It could have employed more comedic elements to lighten it's tone.