Cidade de Deus (City of God)

A great Brazilian film based on a true story of rivalry between two gangs in Rio de Janeiro’s slums around 70’s. The story is about the turbulence of those times and about the lives of members of the warring gangs and those caught in the vicious cycle of violence, as narrated by an aspiring photo journalist living in the same slum who always finds himself in the thick of action.

Being a true story, there is nothing much to tell about it except that it is amazing. The story tracks the genesis, rise and nemesis of a criminal gang and repetition of this cycle. And as is with any story narrated by a not-so-great raconteur, the wannabe journalist in this case, the story line digresses from the main plot many times. These digressions always recount some interesting story, related to some important character, which finally ends where the main plot was left at. Perhaps this, I felt, was the most brilliant aspect of the film apart from some remarkable performances like those of the characters Li’l Dice and Benny, the coolest gangster in town.

The portrayal of almost every character is good. Most of the characters in the mob are refreshingly different from those in Hollywood movies. Here, apart from the usual shooting, looting, raping and killing stuff, the mobsters dance, party, love and rock too.

But the narration, though not mindlessly gory, is quite disturbing at times. A few scenes like the one where Li’l Dice quenches his blood thirst, the one where a kid kills another kid and the one where a little boy takes to the gun and joins the gang war to avenge his father’s death are shocking. The cinematography, the sets and everything else just reflect just what any slum looks like.

The pace is such that the film never slackens for once throughout its entire length. And to add up everything else, here is a film with many good elements. A must watch if you love good cinema. But I’m afraid same is not the case if you can’t stand violence and killing stuff and wish to enjoy your movies with popcorn.