A Cinematic Feat

Rating: 9/10 (5 May 2005)

City of God, co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, is a gripping tale about life in the slums, or favelas, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In particular, the film follows the story of a boy named Rocket, who is determined to not become a street hood like most young boys his age, and instead become a photographer. Another main character the film chronicles is Lil' Ze, a determined youth with the end goal of taking over all of the illegal drug operations and other activities in the favela.
The Brazilian favela is perhaps one of the worst examples of slums in the world. Criminals run rampant, and there is a feeling of lawlessness and apathy from the government towards the areas. As Rocket (who also serves as narrator in the movie, when need be) clearly explains the situation in the opening minutes of the movie: "We came to the city of god hoping to find paradise. Many families were homeless due to flooding, and acts of arson in the slums. The big wigs in government didn't joke around. Homeless? Off to City of God! There was no electricity, paved streets or transportation. But for the rich and powerful, our problems didn't matter. We were too far removed from the picture perfect postcard image of Rio de Janeiro." The directors capture this feeling almost perfectly. Meirelles and Lund take an extremely objective view towards life in the favelas, not playing favorites or trying to draw sympathy for those who live there. The only compassion one feels for the characters is of their human emotions, like Knockout Ned's family being killed, or Rocket losing the girl of his dreams. The main goal of the directors is to report on the conditions and lives of those who live in the favelas, rather than editorialize. There are no scenes of comparison between the favelas and the nice tourist sections of Rio, scenes that would normally be added to draw sympathy from the audience. Based on information known about the favelas, City of God paints an extremely accurate and telling picture of these slums, and even gives greater detail than what they teach in the history books. For example, the story of the runts was interesting and surprising to see that children get caught up in the hood-life so early.
Aside from its historical context and importance, City of God is a great piece of cinema. The actors, mostly non-professionals (in fact, the only star really is Seu Jorge, a famous Brazilian samba artist who made his acting debut in the movie, and has since gone on to have a minor role in 2004's The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou), are extremely believable as their characters, giving the movie almost a documentary feel. The cinematography is also stellar. Many scenes appear almost washed out, and very vintage with high contrast, creating a gritty visual landscape. The screenplay of City of God itself has also spoken beyond the Portuguese language barrier. The film has a cult status among college students and those in the know. Many see it as the 21st century's first stellar gang-wars type movie, a la Scarface or Goodfellas.
Overall, City of God is an amazing movie. It has even had effects beyond the screen, provoking the Brazilian government to make social reforms in the favelas after the public became more aware of the conditions through the movie. It is rare for a film these days to have this sort of far reaching effect. I give it a 9 out of 10, only because I felt like it could have been shortened by about twenty minutes or so..