Review of City of God (2002) by Emmanuel S — 15 Jul 2016

Ruthless and beautiful. City of God, which tells the story of the lives of assorted hoodlums living in an especially violent slum outside of Rio, captures the energy and negativity of such a life in Brazil over the course of twenty years. Its main character, Rocket, serves as a type of straight man that provides the viewer a place from which to approach the madness. But the real treasure of the film is Lil' Ze, the ruthless slum lord addicted to power and violence. Hard to watch at times, nonetheless one of international cinema's best films and sure to leave a mark on the conscious. The film's seemingly infinite 'rewatchability' is just another feather in its cap.

The film's style and pacing is hectic to say the least, berating the viewer with constant action, mirroring the nature of the life. Beautiful cinematography lends the film an essence of romance, and the central theme of corruption throughout society and one young man's success in resistance of nihilism through his love of art contrasts with the desperation of the episode to leave the viewer feeling defeated, though all the better about the nature and the power of cinema to tell a story that transgresses boundaries of race, class, nationality and language.