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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

City of God

10:22 / 12.01.03

Went to finally see Deathwatch the other week and found that it had been misadvertised and was no longer on (That'll be a dvd viewing now, then), strangely enough I had arrived just in time to view a screening of City of God
I had read the Sight and Sound review and was eager to catch it. I'm soo glad I did. After a somewhat awkward first 15 mins, the film gathers its pace and form, touching greatness on many levels, not least the performances and camera use.
Though Goodfellas is used to describe this film, I'd also add Le Haine to the mix. It has a dynamic between the humour and the upsetting acts of violence that gave me a sense of the South American mentality experience. Certainly a film for the broadminded and very rewarding at around 2hrs+.

The Natural Way

08:36 / 13.01.03

Saw it Saturday. Enjoyed pleasure. I liked it when.

My feelings in a nutshell: Definitely a film nursed and suckled on the mid-nineties gangster flick, but enjoyable in its nown right without ever feeling unpleasantly derivative. Not exactly revelatory, but very nice. Characters are nicely fleshed, too.

And South Americans, what with all that inter-racial mixing, really are the most beautiful people in the world. So much novelty

08:39 / 13.01.03

I thought it ws absolutely amazing - more critque when I've got time but I think it's the best thing I've seen at the flicks for a very long time.
Saw that and "gangs of NY" this weekend - GoG blows it away - no pun intended.

The Natural Way

07:48 / 14.01.03

Really? I'm quite surprised you found it quite so exceptional. I really think it's a good film, but it didn't strike me as offering anything incredibley, well....new.

11:05 / 14.01.03

Well, didn't really offer anything "new", I suppose, but what it did offer it did WELL, exceptionally well, in fact. Maybe it was seeing it back to back with Scorsee's latest - I just felt in contrast with Gangs of NY, "now, THAT is how you tell as story!". From the opening sequences - the cut ups of the knife blade/salsa/chicken chase, I felt like there was never a dull moment, never a point where I didn't sympathise with the characters (apart from Lil' Ze obviously) or wasn't on the edge of my seat.

I thought the cintematography was great (remember The Story of the Apartment?), the use of colour and sound was exceptional, total overload. And as to the story, I just thought there were a lot of really gripping moments and a lot of sadness- probably due to the amount of gunshots fired admittedly - but a lot of humour and a lot of characters to empathise with as well. After suffering Leonardo Di Caprio's crude attempt to manipulate my emotions (is boredom an emotion?) the previous night, this just got me.

Also - I know it's obvious to say so, but I liked the fact he seemed to be addressing the consequences of poverty and violence in a way that "Goodfellas" or a lot of other crime dramas don't. I nearly got knocked down by a bus on coming out I was so overawed. Anyone else seen it yet?

(BTW, anyone seen "Pixote" another Brazilian film, with similar kinds of themes from the early '80s. I think? - another great movie).

The Natural Way

12:07 / 14.01.03

Yes, yes, everything you say is right and true, but somethingaboutit just didn't quite cut it. It didn't cross over into the this-is-the-most-excellent-thing! zone.

The Natural Way

12:23 / 14.01.03

For me, at least.

23:27 / 19.01.03

Where children rule with guns

City of God, the Brazilian film on drug gang violence, is shocking the world, but the reality is far worse

Alex Bellos in Rio de Janeiro
Sunday January 19, 2003

For the four officers, it was a routine patrol. Their police car was cruising along one of the main roads in Rio de Janeiro's North Zone on Wednesday evening when it was ambushed.
Thirty men appeared, armed with shotguns, pistols, rifles, submachine-guns and grenades. Bullets rained on the car, killing two of the policemen and, by mistake, a 51-year-old woman in a passing bus. The ages of the gang members, one of the city's most feared drug factions, said police, were between 10 and 25.

As the Brazilian film City of God opens in the US this weekend, after earning the third highest opening weekend figures for a foreign film in UK history, the horrors of Rio's urban violence are reaching a mass international audience for the first time.

More here

09:19 / 18.02.03

Saw this yesterday, having meant to for a good while since reading so many good things about it. And wasn't disappointed, in fact I loved it! Shades of Goodfellas, true, but reminded me more of Trainspotting with its encapsulated little vignettes taking you under the skin of a very different culture.

It looked marvellous and there was a lot of inventive and well executed photography and montage. The handling of light was great and you could really feel the heat. Long film, in a language I don't speak at all, about a culture I know nothing about, and I was thoroughly absorbed for over two hours.

Its complexity became even more apparent as the three of us who'd seen it together sat in the pub afterwards talking it through and each of us had caught connections or interpretations which the others had missed.

Astonishing accomplishment too, considering how much of it had been shot unscripted and with first time actors. When you think how hard it can be to find one good child actor for a standard Hollywood production, then look at the scores of Brazilian kids in City of God being utterly believable in some barely believable roles and situations. Wonder if I'd have thought this had I been a Portuguese speaker?

So happy to have seen it. The last scene, of the little boys with big guns, making up their shit list as if they were just discussing fantasy football, was magnificently comic and simultaneously so horrific.

The Jungle Keeper's Old Smoky Pipe, Haunted by The Black Dog Spirit

23:04 / 01.04.03

It's really interesting to see how the brazilian culture has been passed by this film. I must warn you guys, that story shows only a small particle in the huge and complex brazilian life: it shows a particular aspect from a particular place - like trainspotting do with the scotland. When it comes to Brazil, culture and lifestile is as diferent from a state to another as it is between european countries.

I liked the movie too. Its the best brazilian production ever, with good script, direction and actors... but the best is the technic issues, which usually are horrible in our movies.

If you guys like it, I could name a few more good brazilian movies which shows diferent aspects of brazilian culture.

04:10 / 02.04.03

please do... also, i was wondering if city of god is a kind of movie that's common in brazil, if its unique for showing those kind of people in those kind of situations?

The Jungle Keeper's Old Smoky Pipe, Haunted by The Black Dog Spirit

17:57 / 03.04.03

You could start watching "Central do Brasil", which shows the poorest brazilian countryside. Very good photography! Theres also "Lavoura Arcaica" and "Abril Despedaçado", in the same line.

If you want something with "Cidade de Deus" (City of God) theme, try "Edifício Master". It's about a man's underground lifestyle in the 70's.

But brazilian movies are not very common, since there's very few studios and producers here, and most brazilian movies depend on foreign investitors. We see as many brazilian movies here as you guys do in the US or Europe.

And YES, it's unique for showing those people in those situations, but not because nobody had the guts to show that till then, but because we really don't have many national movies. That kind of violence is shown everyday in 3rd cathegory tv news (something like those "world most amazing police videos"), but which 20 million people city (as São Paulo, where I live, or 6 million, like Rio) doesn't have that kind of violence in these days?

Wait for a movie called "Carandiru". I has just been launched here, and its about one of the largest brazilians prision, based on a true story.

The Jungle Keeper's Old Smoky Pipe, Haunted by The Black Dog Spirit

17:59 / 03.04.03

And sorry about the portuguese movie ttles, but I have no idea of how you call those movies outside Brazil.

08:48 / 04.04.03

I saw City of God the other day and would like to concur that it's fucking excellent.

I'm usually not much of a fan of the whole gangland / gangster thing - it's been done to death in Hollywood. But the Brazilian setting gave all the old elements enough new momentum to propel them pretty nicely, and the characters were all extremely well drawn.

Mostly though, what got me was the filmmaking - fucking incredible! Not just in a "it's beautifully shot" way, but .. every single shot had so much depth and power .. it was as if they'd spent a whole year working on each minute of film or something.. and the combination of such skill and attention to detail combined with genuine locations and untrained actors just leads to an amazing combination of realism and stylisation..

It just kicks the ass of most Hollywood films I've seen in recent years, not just in terms of emotional engagement, artistry etc., but also in terms of spectacle, excitement and general 'epicness', which considering the much smaller budget I'd imagine the makers of City of God were working on, is an amazing achievement.

Here's hoping they get given lots of money to make more films.