City of God (film): It's good but not legendary as some critics claim
I suppose their professional opinion is more valuable than my amateur one but I'm just being honest: From an entertainment perspective I feel that this movie doesn't live up to the hype.
I will expect (and welcome) some backlash for my statement but let me defend my point of view on this.
The movie is "based on real events" but if you look a bit closer and investigate you will find out that it is "loosely based on real events," which kind of changes my feelings about how much credence a story can gain by being "factual." Loosely can mean very loosely based on real events and that is just a few steps away from being "not actually based on real events."
That being said, the story is good, but it is not like it hasn't been done before. There are tons of movies out there about areas that turn into warzones because of feuding gang leaders involved in the nefarious activities. There are plenty of movies about rising up in the ranks of being a gangster and how the ones who were truly cut-throat manage to rise to the top only to be bested in the end.
like this guy, for example.... and Goodfellas was loosely based on true events also
So the story is narrated mostly by a boy named "Rocket" who lives in the slums but decides to stay out of the gangster life at the urging of his older brother, who is a gangster and always in trouble as a consequence. Rocket, however is known to all the real gangsters because of his brother and while not one of them, is respected via childhood friendship by many of the important ones. Therefore he is allowed access to certain aspects of the dark underworld without actually being directly attached to it.
fantastic image created by Paul Shipper
He tells us the story of how the area in Rio de Janeiro was riddled with gang violence from the 60's to the 80's and how pals of his, or at least people he became acquainted with were involved in the very high up leadership of these organizations while pursuing his dream of being a photographer.
I'm not going to spoil the rest of the story but I just want to say this. The direction and the acting is top-notch, the locations scenes are fantastic, and the story if fast-paced and rarely seems boring.
The violence is so constant that eventually there seems to be no where else to go from there - you become desensitized to it and the twists and turns no longer have any sort of shock value. I don't want to sound like I am telling anyone to not see this movie because it is bad - i honestly don't think that is the case. I just feel it isn't as EPIC as some critics or review lists would have people believe. I think it gets lots of extra credit points because it was made on a low budget in a country that isn't terribly known for its films. (by the way the film is in Portuguese so you will likely have to read it.)
Also a couple of things that rubbed me the wrong way
- it really bothers me when revolvers have the ability to fire 20 bullets without the shooter reloading. This happens a lot in this film
- Even for Brazil the level of tolerated violence seems extremely high and at no point are the police anything other than a non-issue. I understand that there is corruption and what not but honestly, if there were street wars on the level that is presented in this movie, the military would have gotten involved
- there is one sequence where anyone with a minor grievance is able to join one of the rival gangs and is immediately given a loaded weapon to join the cause handed to them by the leaders of the rival gangs while both sets of leaders were desperately trying to kill the other gang's leaders. This seemed like an absolutely terrible recruitment strategy and it also would have been a wonderful opportunity for assassination because the leaders are shown as not having a clue who the various applicants are.
The film was nominated for 4 Academy awards but didn't win any of them. It was considered a financial success, pulling in more than $30 million off a budget of just over $3 million.
Sorry to any of the dedicated fanbois out there, but I am afraid I am just not one of you.
If you're unlucky to be born into a socially, economically and racially isolated community that has poverty, crime, drugs and violence as its everyday realities, the odds are stacked incredibly high against you. It literally takes so much effort, strength, struggle and plain ol' good fortune to simply avoid becoming a gangster, let alone do anything more with life. Most who find themselves in the situation described above never even enter this fight and out of those that do - only the rare ones succeed.
"City of God" depicts this conundrum masterfully.
In a Rio slum called Cidade de Deus we meet character after character that has the right idea, knowledge and courage to get out but somehow always ends up being pulled right back into this vicious circle. Becoming a hoodlum in Cidade de Deus isn't just a fringe career option for disenchanted rebels and social outcasts - it's the main industry.Also on hand is a colourful palette of characters. From our narrator Buscape / Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) whose ticket out of the slum is his love of photography over to people like laidback Bene / Benny (Philippe Haagensen), followed by Ze's fierce rival Cenoura / Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele) or good guy turned bad (although it's not so simple) Mane Galinha / Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge) we see a multidimensional, pulsating, alive community that seems in need of a strong, sustained outside push to finally stop chasing its own tail and get out of this destructive cycle.
This movie is remarkable: the screenplay, the direction, the performance of the cast, everything works perfectly. The frantic camera looks like a documentary.
It is really good and surprising, a young man who grew up among so many evil people and was able to escape from that environment.
yaa its good
It is a bitter irony that a man forgotten by gangster slums was called the City of God by this, expressing his vain but not dying hope for a better future. And the film itself, in fact, is nothing but a cry for the world space - save us! Maybe after the victories at festivals and loud conversations in the press, the government, at last, will look at us - and something will change. Only hardly.
We look at it through plasma monitors, and someone wakes up every day with a gun at the waist and the prospect of getting a bullet in the guts. They live as they can. Civilization reached these quarters only in the form of pistols, otherwise the law of the jungle reigns. Kill someone else to kill you tomorrow. Win a couple of years at the "power" - but do not brake the queue. There is already a boy running in white panties, who will pierce your chest and leave lying on the street. From the City of God, there is only one way out - directly to God.
These people have no choice. Even if you get a job as a conductor and want to quietly - peacefully spend the evenings with a girlfriend at the TV, you can do it with two. As the narrator of this story managed to maintain neutrality and not get involved in anything, it's a mystery to me. Yes, of course, he was harmless and not fit for gangsters, but do not fall under anybody's hot hand - you also need to have a unique talent. The dream of becoming a photographer and blind luck carried him out of the City of God, he escaped - to show us unusual realities and shocking lawlessness.
In general, it was interesting to watch, sometimes scary (for these people), but I cannot say that the film left an extremely depressing impression.
Very good review for a strong movie as a beginner movie reviewer ı am inspired. Thanks for the post.
I was a kid when this movie was released, somehow I liked the trailer, but after reading your review, it makes me think weather to watch it or not. anyways I liked the thorough review. Is this movie 'loosely' based on real events ?
i only did a little research as to how truthful it is to life. It seems to be generally regarded as being very loosely based on real events. Like the major characters are real but the actual events are very exaggerated.
You should still watch it though - it is a great film, I just don't think it deserves the EPIC status that it has received from many online critics.
Exaggeration in stories are found in many movies. but considering your point I will surely spare out time to watch this movie.
exaggerated
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this one I didn't watch it i will give it a try XD
its really nice