City of God

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: if any of you have seen gangs of new york and wondered if there is a movie that could possibly be better, then this might be the one. The only word that comes to mind is unbelieveable. The depth of the characters alone make this movie a movie you need to watch over and over. And i have read some of the negative responses. This is not a US movie. it was made by Brazilians and does no way glorify the american way. either way it is a movie that opens your eyes to the harsh reality of non-american cultures. if you have a problem with violence you may not want to watch this, either way, violence is everywhere and you need to deal with it. gracias

Rating:
Summary: Profoundly disturbing, but does it show us reality?
Review: The violence of this film disturbed me profoundly. I have worked in the favelas of another Brazilian city, and maintain close relationships with many persons there. I despair when I am confronted with the fact that the faces of poor Brazilian youth I have befriended in my own life -- friendly and innocent -- are so similar to the faces I see perpetrating such horrendous acts of inhumanity as I witness in this film. Frankly, I wonder if it is really a true depiction of the reality on the ground in Rio's "Cidade de Deus", or is it, like so many North American films, a fantastic, overblown, over-the-top depiction of a narrow slice of life in the inner city? There is a fine line between DOCUMENTING real life on the streets and GLORIFYING and MAGNIFYING the violence of life on the streets. I fear that this film will have the effect of reifying the violence of the slums, and will actually make things worse than they are already. I see this film as a step in the direction of Life imitating Art -- in other words, it is similar to the way that life in the USA imitates the violence of American films. No doubt, it is an effective and controversial film. But as a person who has personal relationships with individuals who live in similar neighborhoods in Brazil, I recommend extreme caution in accepting this film as a depiction of what real life in the Brazilian slums is like. I recommend it only for those who are intellectually capable of balancing it with other images of life in Brazil.

Rating:
Summary: City of God
Review: Really a spectacular movie, deserving all the praise it has received. I appreciated that it didn't attempt to be a morality play, letting me interpret events instead of preaching. It did, however, generate a good amount of empathy and sympathy. Tarantino comparisons are seemingly obvious, but innacurate and unfair. "Goodfellas" is probably a better comparison, though the film creates a cinematic world of its own, and one that is totally convincing. The acting, writing, photography, design and editing are supreme. The music is very fitting, and while not drawing attention from the film, adds to it. I'm excited to see more work from all involved in the making of the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Even more gangsta than Tupac..
Review: And even more awesome. As soon as I walked away from City of God (I was actually the only person in the theater), I actually said aloud to myself that it was one of the best movies that I have ever seen. It captured the essence of the place so well, which is something that I really haven't seen in an American movie about crime since The Grifters in 1990. The "actors" are incredible and the cinematography is perfect. There are some people who say that they don't like to watch depressing movies, because they "depress them," and I suppose that if one of those people watched this movie they would end up feeling depressed. Unsurprising. But everyone who watches this movie, whether they are faint of heart or jaded, will end up feeling enlightened and aware of something that could never be portrayed as poignantly in an American film. Go rent this movie - no, buy it, as I am planning to.

Rating:
Summary: The stench of wasted lives.
Review: Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund's "City of God" makes "Pulp Fiction" look like "Lassie," both in style and content. Meirelles and Lund use jittery hand-held cameras at odd angles, strobe light effects, and just about every other stylistic tic they can to tell a punch-in-the-gut story about the youth gangs of the Rio de Janeiro slums. These are just about the meanest streets in the world, and Meirelles and Lund spare us nothing. Ten-year-old hit men; corrupt, cowardly and murderous cops; teenage drug lords who shoot down their best friends in momentary pique--it's all here, in horrifying detail. Stretching out over about a decade in the '60s and '70s, "City of God" tells an elaborate, almost Dickensian story with scores of characters, ultimately concentrating on four: the psychotic teenage crime boss L'il Ze; Carrot, his marginally less despicable rival; Knockout Ned, a law-abiding veteran turned murderous brigand in his lust for revenge against L'il Ze; and Rocket, who longs for a way out of the slums and sees one in photojournalism. The film depicts an almost total moral void, and it's not for every taste; several people walked out during the screening I attended, including one of the friends I came with. But the hyperkinetic direction and the excellent performances of the mostly non-professional young actors make it compelling viewing for anyone with a strong enough stomach. There is hope, however fragile, at the end, and the inescapable Biblical wisdom: those who live by the sword shall die by it.

Rating:
Summary: Greatest Movie Ever
Review: City of God was undeniably the best movie I have ever seen in my life. The cinematography was outstanding. After I saw this movie I could not stop talking about it, I knew I would have to own it as soon as it was released on dvd. This movie is a must see and I recommend that if you like movies you will love City Of God.

Rating:
Summary: Exhilarating Existentialism
Review: This is a very VIOLENT FILM. That said, it is also ironic, hypnotic, touching and intelligent. The narrative structure is fractured, like a tale told with endless digressions. The City of God is a favela outside of Rio that was created in the 60's to house the poor. This is the story of urban poverty's effect on humanity. As the story progresses, in the distance we see hints of how close Rio the beautiful is to Rio the frightening. Pao de Acucar and Corcovado appear on the horizon, just peeking over the landscape, while in the foreground is the impoverished concrete landscape of the City of God. When the film jumps to the 70's we see the beauty of Rio a few more times, like when the young heroes hang out on the beach, flirt and get high. The soundtrack is amazing, mixing Brasilian music with James Brown and 70's disco. By the end of the film, I started to feel that maybe the real subject of the film was War and how it devastates a local population. Not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutly Amazing
Review: City of God is a brilliant film that really takes you into the heart of the 60's and 70's street life in the Brazilian slums. The pictures are incredible, the story is told in a manner greater than the best American story tellers can tell any of the trite themes that American cinema has been reduced to. Although it's sub-titled, for those of us who have not quite mastered Portuguese, at the end you don't even realize that you've been reading for close to two hours. The film moves with grace and it's a must see for anyone who enjoys movies with meaning and substance.

Rating:
Summary: GANGS OF BRAZIL
Review: Classy, hyper-active monster of a movie that is a constant barrage of viscious violence overruled by the enthralled viewer's and unsympathetic but wonderful lead character's adaptation to an environment that is indeed a city of God, if truly even one person escaped it's grip. Picture "West Side Story" run wild in living hell standing off and challenging a colorful Brazilian street carnival stomping across switchblade slashing and gun-popping gangland violence with more trafficking than a thousand crushed ant hills. There is so much artistry here but I was particularly delighted with the jam-packed nightclub scenes with dance-crazed patrons looking primitive and clumsy compared to the electrified ballet of life going on out in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. A superb film, beautifully conceived and executed with a dynamic enormous cast, some of whom were recruited from the very slums of Rio where the film is based and apparently shot. Magnificant.

Rating:
Summary: CITY OF GOD
Review: Recently a friend of mine took me to see the Indie movie City of GOD. Although I am a fan of indies and support the indie movement I have yet to see an indie movie that hit me like wow. I walked into the small Angelica theater here in New York expecting to see an poorly directed, poorly casted, low budget movie. I have to say never have I been so wrong in my life. From the beginning scene the movie was action packed. The life of the brazillian streets are no joke. And believe me I know about the streets growing up on the North Side of St. Louis. For all those who don't know... That's nowhere near Nellyville...The way the director told the story was incredible. It's not often that a director can tell a story out of sequence with so many characters without losing the audience. For all those who wish to do it writers and directors. I urge you to study how this one was done. This is one that should go down as a classic with dare I say it... Scarface..... This is a definite [...] I gotta get that on DVD movies. Never again will I underestimate an indie film. When it's all said and done. This is one of the best movies I have seen in a very, very long time. [...]