What makes a film a must see? That phrase has become one of the most overused lines to the point where it has very little meaning anymore. If an action film has some good fight scenes and nudity all of a sudden it is a must see. If a horror film has lots of gore and flashy kills that makes that film a must see... So I feel like calling this film a must see would do no good, so I must think of something else to call it so I could maybe at least get your attention for a moment. Now believe me when I say this: City of God is one of the most powerful and wonderfully made films ever. I know it is very risky to use absolutes when reffering to a film made within the last decade, but there is no other way of talking about this film. Director Fernando Meirelles does something truly extraordinary with his debut film, soemthing that filmmakers work a lifetime on and still never achieve. Meirelles has made a film that isn't just a gripping story, but also passionately and sympatheticly shows the world a real-life tragedy. A film about a world so different and outside from ours that it is hard to even believe it's real.
City of God is divided into various different stories about numerous different characters, all as powerful as the other. Our hero and storyteller is Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), who is an intelligent young man who is trying to get away from the violent life in City of God by becoming a photograher. Through his stories we learn about how life was growing up in the City of God while also meeting many colorful characters -- some colored far more darkly than others. Among these characters are Goose (Renato de Souza), Rockets brother and part of the Tender Trio along with Clipper (Jefechander Suplino), who later leaves the trio to join the church, and Shaggy ( Jonathan Haagensen), the leader of the trio.
Li'l Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora) is a psychopathic killer the main antagonist of the film. He first joins a gang before he is even 10 years old and is called Li'l Dice (Douglas Silva), but when he doesn't feel like he is being treated right he turns on them. Then he starts his own crew with Benny (Phellipe Haagensen) and they quickly become the biggest and most deadly gang in all of City of God. Rocket is afrain of Li'l Ze and does everything to avoid him, but it ends up being Li'l Ze that saves Rocket's life -- even if Li'l Ze doesn't even know it. The main struggle thoughout the film is Li'l Ze's rivalry with Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele) and Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge) which in the end turns into an all out war that makes life even more of a Hell for everyone living in City of God. Unfortunately I cannot continue talking about all the fascinating characters because I may end up spoiling some of the wonderful plot.
City of God passionately tells a story of violence, revenge, and finally escape. Even with so much violence and death there is endless amounts of beauty very evident in this film. From Rocket's innocent character to the always beautiful landscape of Rio De Janiero. Meirelles shows us it is possible for there to be beauty in even the most ugly situations, life is covered with endless beauty we just have to find it...Each and every character in this film is showed for who they really are, and as you will see there is not one character that doesn't have something good about them. Even Li'l Ze the ruthless killer who seems like he could get his rocks off from killing innocent peopla has a little something good about him.
We are shown a world that is really out there, City of God is not a mde up place that Meirelles made up so that he could have a memorable film to make. This is a world of poverty that causes steaming hatred evoked by horrific acts of violence. Li'l Ze may be the "villain" of the film, but he was not born that way, no one is born that way. A rough and hopeless life where crime is the only way to survive causes Ze's lifestyle choices and most of his acts of violence. Rocket on the other hand grows up around good influences like his brother Goose, his encouraging mother and father, along with a group -- very small group -- of dependable friends including his brief love interest, Angelica. Benny is the only friend is seems like Ze ever has, when he is gone there is nothing between Ze and endless amounts of violence. This may seem like an outrageous thing to say, but when you are revealed to more of the tragic story of City of God don't be surprised if you start to feel sorry for Li'l Ze. A character who had no hope in a terrible life. Yes, he could have made much better decisions, but everyone can't be as determined as Rocket.
I have done the same thing with this review as City of God did with me; I have waited till the very end to reveal that this shocking film is based on a true story. Finding out that this film is based off of true events make this emotional gripper overwelming. Each of the major characters are real or at least inspired by real people.City of God takes place from the end of the 60s all the way to the 80s. An epic tale of desperation summed up by a final act of redemption. City of God is a fantastuc film that is much, much deeper that just a film. Tender acting and sympathetic narration from Rocket portrayed by Alexandre Rodrigues allows you to see the characters as the people they really are (or were). If the stories were not told in this way we would judge the characters by the major events of the film, and as I learned that is very wrong. Acting and direction are the two main qualities that make a great film and in City of God both are wonderfully passionate. Popularity did not come immedietly for this film, what in the end brought everyones attention to this powerful little film that really wasn't so little was the four Academy Award nominations it recieved; Cesar Charlone for Best Cinematography, Fernando Meirelles for Best Direction, Daniel Rezende for Best Editing, and Braulio Mantovani for Best Adapted Screenplay. Meirelles has done something very special with City of God, something that only comes around once, maybe twice, every twenty years.
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