a mixture of brilliance and utter disturbance

Rating: 10/10 (22 April 2004)

this movie is pseudo-documentary meets Little Rascals meets Peter Parker meets Scarface meets Godfather meets Lord of the Flies meets so many other classics. it's not derivative at all, but it certainly makes you compare elements to the all-time greats of entertainment.
you hope for closure for our young photographer narrator but never quite get it, coming to the realization that this City of God is truly the Land of the Damned, even today subject to profound political corruption and gang violence. this isn't your Rio from the travel brochures...
it's quite sad that more people haven't seen this film while it's been out in arthouses and other cinemas around the country. i hope someone who hadn't seen the movie will read this and be spurred to at least rent it.
verdict: 10/10.