City of God
by Fernando Meirelles, K?tia Lund
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DVD details
Actor: Alexandre Rodrigues, Douglas Silva, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe HaagensenDirector: Fernando Meirelles, K?tia Lund
Producer: Andrea Barata Ribeiro
Producer: Bel Berlinck
Producer: Daniel Filho
Producer: Donald Ranvaud
Writer: Br?ulio Mantovani
Writer: Paulo Lins
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Portuguese (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 130 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-08
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax Films
DVD Reviews of City of God
DVD Review: Poverty and Gang Fighting in the Slums of Brazil
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie takes us into the heart of one of the worst slums in Brazil. Told from the eyes of a young man who has escaped the world of drugs, crime and killing we are led into one of the most horrific cities on earth. Anarchy prevails; the more sociopathic you are, the greater your chance of rising to the top of this wretched food chain.
Rocket, a young man who becomes a photographer for a Brazilian newspaper, narrates the stories of several people in the City of God. One of them is L'il Zee, a sociopath from childhood who loves to kill, maim and control others through fear. L'il Zee takes over the drug trade in City of God and runs one of the two main gangs. The city wreaks of chaotic killings, gun shots from anywhere, and the gangs of L'il Zee. One of the sadder and funnier parts of the movie was about the 'Runts', little kids who signed their lives over to L'il Zee in order to get guns and rob. They rob bakeries and candy stores for goodies, not realizing that this daily dose of violence will harden them to their actions. More importantly, they are cogs for the gang's wheels, disposable and likely to die before they ever grown beyond their runt years.
Three other lives are examined leading to a climax where a war is fought between the two major gangs. Rocket documents the fighting and deaths through his photographs and we are able to see the amazement and horror through his eyes. Though raised in the City of God he has managed to separate his inner life from it. He has interests that do not include drugs, crime or killing. He lives to photograph and to lose his virginity.
The movie begins with some gang members chasing a chicken and Rocket is trying to catch it at their demand. The movie's character vignettes lead full circle toward the climax and we return to the beginning scene of the movie and we learn, as Rocket goes for the chicken, how the gang wars play out.
Each character is carefully filled out, the editing and photography perfect. The movie is horrifically violent, sad and filled with loss. There is not much hope here other than watching Rocket make the start of his life. However, this is likely how things are in the City of God, a place that God forgot.
DVD Review: Fantastic
Summary: 5 Stars
Anyone who liked Slumdog Millionaire should fall head over heels for this one. Perfectly understated humor, good acting, style coming out of its ears, no sappy ending nor truly gratuitous violence (though there is a lot of violence in the favelas and likewise in the film); City of God has everything you want and nothing you don't in a gritty film about life on the streets. Given the fact that Brazil has literally millions of street kids and neighborhoods/shanty towns that street gangs control absolutely, this is also an important film for more reasons that just its massive entertainment value. Sadly, due to some technicality or timing issue it somehow wasn't eligible for the Oscars. That's truly a shame because if Slumdog Millionaire won eight, City of God should have won 18. DVD Review: An excellent film
Summary: 5 Stars
I was pleasantly surprised at how well constructed this film is. This is the first work by Meirelles which I have had the pleasure of viewing and I will be checking out some more of his work.
The movie is based on life in the slums (or favelas) of Rio de Janeiro where the presence of poverty, official neglect, drugs and guns creates a haven for criminals and sociopaths. In the midst of this chaos; our narrator guides us through his early childhood and adolescence and how he became a photographer for a Brazilian paper.
Thankfully the violence is not gratuitous and the sex scenes are limited and discrete. The colours in the film are vivid and beautiful and reading the subtitles is not problematic; Portuguese I am slowly being convinced is almost as beautiful as Spanish.
There are not many light moments in the film, but at the same time the movie is not depressing; there is redemption, even if it is only on film. The extra is useful to understanding the reality behind the life in the favelas and is a useful companion. I believe there could have been additional content to help non-Brazilians understand the social structure and race in Brazil for example.
All in all this is a good film for adults; this is definitely not a movie you want to be watching as a family.
DVD Review: City of God...great film
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an excellent coming of age story set in the slums of Brazil. I'd call it a mix of Slumdog Millionaire and Boyz in the Hood. Following this tale, you learn about the culture in Brazil and the extreme poverty that pervades in some areas. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a great engaging story that also provides education on the culture of Brazil. DVD Review: City of God by Brandon M. Moskos
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is one of my all-time favorites! The best cinematography ever in movie. It's about a young boy growing up in a violent Brazil and how he uses his love for photography as a way out of the violence. This movie is a classic and a must for any dvd collection!!!
Description of City of God
Celebrated with worldwide acclaim, this powerful true story of crime and redemption has won numerous prestigious awards around the globe! The streets of the world's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's "City of God," are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go, and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world ... and ultimately his way out!Like cinematic dynamite, City of God lights a fuse under its squalid Brazilian ghetto, and we're a captive audience to its violent explosion. The titular favela is home to a seething army of impoverished children who grow, over the film's ambitious 20-year timeframe, into cutthroat killers, drug lords, and feral survivors. In the vortex of this maelstrom is L'il Z (Leandro Firmino da Hora--like most of the cast, a nonprofessional actor), self-appointed king of the dealers, determined to eliminate all competition at the expense of his corrupted soul. With enough visual vitality and provocative substance to spark heated debate (and box-office gold) in Brazil, codirectors Fernando Meirelles and K?tia Lund tackle their subject head on, creating a portrait of youthful anarchy so appalling--and so authentically immediate--that City of God prompted reforms in socioeconomic policy. It's a bracing feat of stylistic audacity, borrowing from a dozen other films to form its own unique identity. You'll flinch, but you can't look away. --Jeff Shannon
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