My Rating: 8/10
Should I watch it?
Yes, as long as you know this movie is not simply entertainment. While there’s some light humor here and there, there’s violence that borders on the overtly casual, and a particularly upsetting rape scene.
I’d seen the opening sequence a few times, having studied it for visual storytelling purposes, but I’d never had the opportunity to watch the whole film. In retrospect, this was actually for the better, because I don’t think I would have had the disposition to handle it. The story is centered around actual people, and portrays a painfully honest reality. I think that I’ve toughened up considerably since I was younger (although still annoyingly sensitive), and I’m sure this film would’ve given me nightmares back in the day.
We follow the story of Rocket, a young boy who lives in the favelas, or slums, of Brazil. “City of God” refers to Cidade de Deus of Rio de Janeiro, which was created when the government built housing projects outside of the city and moved the lower classes there. I learned this in minimal follow-up research, which is an inevitable and annoying habit I have after watching a film based on actual events. I can’t really count how many times I asked myself, “Is it really like this?!?”, and the film has been haunting me for a few days now. The thought that people are subjected to such hardship, violence, and helplessness on a daily basis is a difficult one, and I commend the filmmakers for turning our heads in this uncomfortable direction.
Rocket narrates the duration of the film. His pure-heart and matter-of-fact explanations are sometimes funny, but mostly resigned. He doesn’t seem to understand that there is a better life to be had, because he’s known nothing else. The casual way he discusses the atrocious violence that happens onscreen is a testament to the realities of so many people in this world who have known nothing else, and probably won’t have the opportunity for a better and more peaceful life.
The menace is condensed to a hood, or gangster, named Lil’ Dice (he later renames himself Lil Ze). Like all of the other characters, we’re first introduced to him when he seems no older than 8 or 9, yet he has an insatiable thirst for violence. He is bone-chilling scary, but I was unable to spare hatred for him. This doesn’t mean I liked him, of course, but he was a “bad guy” I could accept since there are such strong parallels in reality.
He was the product of his environment, a victim of a group of people that were tossed away, and taught to idolize the ice-cold gangsters who controlled the neighborhoods. His actions are truly despicable, but his background was so well-established that we understood why he did the things he did, why he thought he was doing the “right” thing, and the path he chose to ensure his own survival.
The appearance of Seu Jorge as “Knockout” Ned was really awesome, until Lil Dice (now Lil Ze) beat him and assaulted his girlfriend in a jealous rage. Ned is the perfect example of someone who has endeavored to escape the favelas, to avoid a life of crime, and try to make it out the honest way. His subsequent corruption per revenge is hard to watch, and his actions come to be his downfall in the saddest way. But, Seu Jorge, yay!
Too soon?
It is in Rocket that we must place our hopes, because even though he is faced with the temptation to kill, hold up stores, or sell drugs, he is unable, even after taking his late brother’s gun. He passes up the opportunity to take revenge for his brother, and abandons the rules of the hood. Though he is a witness, there are moments where he is tested, and comes through.
This film presents the reality of living in such a place without gratuitous pity-mongering or careless dismissal. It feels real, it feels accurate, and it feels like those people aren’t actors-which was true in some cases, as they recruited inhabitants of the slums to be in the film. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but is sincere in its storytelling. All of the things that happen are truly believable, no matter how tragic or upsetting they might be. And they were upsetting. The knowledge that this is the daily life for some of the people in this world is a lingering sorrow. In the days after, I felt more appreciative of the circumstances I was born in, and wondered how the filmmakers could handle such volatile subject matter.
City of God is a beautifully executed film. The story it tells is precise and articulate, and its characters pull us in with their variety of choices in dealing with abject poverty and abandonment.
Success?
Yes.
Cry Count:
0