City of God  (2002)

Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino Da Hora

Director: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund

Rating: R

Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Release Date: June 8, 2004
Review posted: June 2, 2004

Spoilers: Minor

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

SYNOPSIS

The streets of the world's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's "City of God," are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world and ultimately his way out.

CRITIQUE

Before City of God there was another film that depicted slum life, drug and sex exploitation, and corruption. The name of that film is Pixote, directed by Hector Babenco (Kiss of the Spider Woman) and released in 1981. The film ells the story of Pixote, a 10-year old runaway boy, who is arrested on the streets of Sau Paulo during a police round-up of homeless people. Pixote endures torture, degradation and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of the runaways are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old transvestite hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape where they make their living by the life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death. (Thanks to IMDB.)

I was reminded of Pixote while watching City of God. Despite some small similarities, City of God is more daring and original. Both films use non-actors to play the characters, and the results are awesome. Director Fernando Meirelles, co-director Kátia Lund, and scriptwriter Braulio Mantovani tell an engrossing story about a group of childhood friends who grow up into a world of crime and violence. Drawing from Paulo Lins' novel, the script introduces the characters carefully and creates a story that spans some twenty off years. So much happens, it's hard to describe here.

The amazing thing about City of God is the realism it projects; it is after all based on a true story. While certain liberties were probably taken for dramatic effect, there is no denying the fact that what happens in the film feels and looks real. This type of cinema is partially due to the documentary-like feel to many scenes. It's a very stylish film as well, considering the slick editing and guerilla-style cinematography. The camera is primarily hand-held and sometimes actively shaky, which works perfectly.

Moreover, because the story is so engrossing and covers large grounds and time, the acting is all the more impressive. The characters really come alive in the film, thanks in large part to the young people playing the parts. Some of the non-actors play pretty demanding roles, and the stand-outs among them are Alexandre Rodrigues (Rocket) and Leandro Firmino Da Hora (Lil-Ze). The supporting characters have an impact as well, especially the one who takes a bullet halfway through the film. Because of him, a little war between Lil-Ze and another gang breaks out in the City of God, and soon the war turns greater, creating more casualties, greater danger, and chaos.

There's no point in further discussing elements or events in the story as that would spoil character realizations and a few twists, but rest assured the film has a lot to show and tell. However, some imperfections appear along the way. The story is, for the most part, pretty compelling, but I did not care for every character notion/background the script presents. There are a few scenes that could've been shortened or even cut, which would've cut down the film's somewhat lengthy running time (130 minutes).

THE VIDEO

Miramax presents City of God in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a gorgeous transfer and video presentation. Colors are crisp, bright, and very well-saturated. Sharpness and detail is very good. Some images look soft, but they don't distract. I didn't notice any compression artifacts, but grain shows up occasionally in dark scenes. The print image looks solid without any noticeable flaws. Dark tones and black levels look good, but night scenes tend to get a bit murky. This is a clean and pristine presentation by Disney. Optional subtitles include English, French, and Spanish.

THE AUDIO

Miramax presents City of God in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. This is a strong audio presentation overall. Sound effects come across clearly without any noise or disturbance. The surrounds are active a lot, reinforcing the sound effects, especially during the film's last twenty minutes. The two front speakers emit the audio very well, both dialogue and music; channel separation is almost excellent. Even though I can't understand the film's dialogue, it's loud and presented with clarity. A very fine audio presentation overall.

THE EXTRAS

News From a Personal War (56:37) is a harrowing documentary about life, death, survival, and struggle in the slums (or favela) surrounding Rio De Janeiro. It's shown in the original Portuguese language but title cards are in English. The yellow English subtitles are not always worded correctly; they're a translation after all. The music supporting the piece is very good, and it's interesting to note Kátia Lund co-directed this documentary (as well as getting co-director credit on City of God). Indeed, the docu inspired the film.

The docu takes place during 1997 and 1998, and focuses on a policeman, two dealers (one is 16, the other 29), and a dweller. Writer Paulo Lins is interviewed in this piece, describing the events of the beginning of the drug trade from the 50s to the 80s. There are other interviews with different people as well, such as Rio's (former) chief of police, a community leader, and a young adult behind bars who says that what they do on the streets is for their population, for their society.

The docu also looks at "the combat" between police (BOPE, an urban combat unit) and dealers, or dealers against dealers. Parts of the docu identifies the problems and through interviews tries to explain and put them into context. There are several other things happening in here that I'd rather not spoil, but the ending is interesting in the way it fades to black. As I said, this is quite a harrowing piece especially because of the footage you see and the things you hear from the interview subjects.

A bonus trailer for Dirty Pretty Things rounds out the extras.

The 130-minute feature is organized into twenty-five chapters. An insert showcases the film's soundtrack.

FINAL THOUGHTS

City of God is an incredible film that tells a harrowing story over a span of twenty years, and it's the characters who emerge as the fuel to the film's success. A great-looking film deserves a great video transfer, and Disney provides it. The sole extra, the documentary that inspired the film, is equally harrowing and very well made. It certainly makes for a great companion piece to the film, but it's also somewhat repetitive. I would've liked something on the making of the film or a select scene commentary. Heck, the film's trailer would've been good, too, but it's not included for some odd reason. Nevertheless, the DVD is highly recommended.

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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