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City of God Customer Reviews (43 - 45 of 51 Reviews)

City Of God--One of the Best Films in the Past 10 Years
One of the best films I've ever seen. This gritty, depressing, hardboiled crime saga follows the story of a young photographer and his experience in the ghetto's of Rio de Janeiro. I feel fortunate I was able to see this film in the theater, this is the type of film that will influence directors years from now. The violence is in your face and brutal, and the fact that most of the characters are under the age of 16 makes some of the scene's hard to digest. But none of the violence is gratuitous or unnecessary. Also the film is perfectly stylized in the Disco/Funk era of the 70's. The sound track is all Brazilian Funk and provides a great balance to the violence and crazy attitudes of all the gangsters. The story depicts the rise and fall of a 16 year old cocain king pin and his 12 year old cronies, all captured in photographs by the main character, who tries his hardest to rise out of the ghetto by means other than drugs or violence. What is even more incredable about this movie is that it is a true story, and most of the actors are real kids from the ghetto's of Rio. But the movie hardly relies on the fact that it's a true story to become ingagining, it really wasn't until the film ended that I realized that most of the events in the movie actually happened. The film is so well stylized you will feel as though you are watching an documentry of these events. A film you will not soon forget.

Brutal, disturbing and brilliant. I loved it!
Exploding on the screen with color, violence and a great story, this Brazilian film captures the essence of life in the City of God, a slum of Rio de Janeiro. Based on a true story of a young man who somehow escaped the preordained fate of his companions by becoming a photographer, the director, Fernando Meirelles, uses every modern technique to achieve his razor-sharp scenes of drugs, murders and non-stop violence that spins out of control and just keeps going.

The frantic energy of the film and fascinating story kept me at the edge of my seat, as a voice-over narration that moved backwards and forward in time, held the story together. All of a sudden, a detail would be revealed that explained something that happened in the past, and, like an electric shock, my grasp of the story would move to even deeper levels. There was little time to ponder it all though, because I was so caught up in what was happening on the screen that it was only later that I could appreciate the brilliance.

We watch several young boys grow into teenagers, tentatively experiencing the world of girls and drugs and guns and murders and crime. There's upbeat samba music throughout, and brilliant colors and blood. There's horrific violence, and also fine moments of humor and humanity. All together it just picked me up and plunked me down right into the middle of this world which made me hold my breath and live on the edge with the more than 200 non-professional actors who were recruited for this film. The sense of place is amazing. And the acting was more than just acting. It was real. And it was also one of the most creative films I've ever seen. Bravo to the filmmakers! I give "City of God" my highest recommendation.

A Visual and Emotional Mugging
This film attacks with images which resemble predatory birds flying at us at supersonic speed, trying to claw out our eyes with their talons. Paradoxically, the film also numbs us to the relentless carnage it so graphically portrays. Directed by Fernando Meirelles with invaluable assistance from Katia Lund and set in the slums of Rio de Janeiro (a squalid and violent area known as "City of God"), the film's narrator is Buscape ("Rocket"), an amateur photographer. Listing other actors and the names of the characters they portray will be meaningless to most (all?) of those who read this brief commentary. Cut to the chase. This is one of the most visually exciting films I have ever seen. The quality of the acting is outstanding. Most of the members of the cast were recruited from the City of God and are quite effective. Apparently anyone who hopes to survive in that squalid combat zone must be a consummate actor. The pace of this film is FAST but there are so many tender, endearing moments also. The climax is probably predictable but, meanwhile, it suggests that the cycle of aspiration, posturing, physical and verbal violence, and ultimate death or despair will continue indefinitely. This film celebrates the best while revealing the worst of what it means to be a human being.

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