One For The Millennium

Rating: Null/10 (5 September 2004)

'City of God' should and will be at the top of any list of movies for film courses from the New Millennium for many years to come. In terms of thematic development, political commentary, social importance, technical mastery and sheer energy it really has no equal since 2000. This is truly a mesmerizing piece, in which the events of many years are compressed into a few hours; like the early scene of the boy spinning about in a grievously perilous tight spot, we are left whirling when we exit the theater.
We probably are first captured by the daring of the film. No slow starter, we are almost immediately plunged into a world of not just Rio's more disadvantaged side, but the loosely organized machinations of the most audaciously aggressive slum gangs we have ever seen. That these loose associations of crime lord fiefdoms are populated with youngsters is a revelation; nothing like it has been seen on screen.
Consistent with the passions (misguided as they often are) of youth the frenetic pacing is so alluring it remains a complete mystery why the general film-going audience of the U.S, always whining for action (read violent) films, did not choke theaters in huge numbers. Want an action film with hip stars and great music? Well, here it is!
Camera positioning  as in the shots of a man in flight, running through the streets and houses, seen from above, now around a corner, is so adroitly accomplished it is a wonder even non-film students don't rise and cheer at the mastery. An evolutionary montage of events taking place in a drug dealer's apartment have no equal in film as an example of compressing time and yet clearly allowing us to follow the sequence of events.
The injuring (shooting) of young children in the course of the film is so unsettling even hard-core violence-in-film seekers will wince. The realism of this scene and others promote the documentary feel we have seen in some recent ('Traffic', opening of 'Amores Perros') films. All of these moments are documented from the POV of Rocket, the only one of the three boys we follow through the years that do not go the way of the gun but has found instead a camera to capture images.
The in-your-face consideration of violent situations (and there a lot of them) is quite palpable. This is grit-your-teeth stuff, designed to repel, not attract us. Co-director Fernando Meirelles notes in an interview (www.slantmagazine.com/film/features/fernandomeirelles.asp) that 'When you watch my film, you don't want to be part of these gangs.' And it comes across that way, unlike the much more deified image 'Scarface' Al Pacino posters illustrate to this day.
Originally scripted from a successful book by Paulo Lins, he is cited on the official web site by way of explaining his reasons for launching the project: 'I am very happy that my book Cidade de Deus is reaching more and more people through this film.This will enable us to increase the debate on violence, misery, abandonment and education in Brazil.' (http://cidadededeus.globo.com/).
Rating: Four Stars.