Goose Egg Marathon Film #14
Cidade de Deus (City of God)
(2003, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund)
Wow, some powerful stuff here. Y'all don't want me to sleep well at night do you? Between this, Children of Men and United 93!
It doesn’t take long to digest the irony of the title of this film -- refering to the government housing and sounding slums outside of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Here society is so overtaken by drugs and violence that prepubescent children take up sides in territorial gang disputes and kindergarten-aged kids imagine themselves the next drug lord. I was amazed to read later that City of God is based on actual events in that area from 1960s and 1970s.
The directors brought this to life with a frenzied, gritty look. For instance the film opens with a scene of chickens being cleaned for a meal - the use of fast cuts and hand-held camera sequences throw you immediately into the high intensity of this world. I can't say I was let out once.
I have to say - this film certainly did it's job of immersing you in this culture - perhaps unmericilessly so. This, Munich, and Slumdog Millionaire would make for a interesting triple bill for "cultured westerner" griping about his iPhone's download speed.
The film is narrated by a character named Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), a would-be photographer who manages for a while to avoid participation in the violence that surrounds him, despite being a degree of separation from Li'l Zé's – the young gang lord. Rocket’s narration anchors the story and provides a bit of levity and perspective in places that is a nice break for what otherwise is very difficult material to sit through.
he violence in the film is pretty shocking at times – mostly because of the involvement of young children. I caught myself rooting for violence against a six year old at one point – I shook my head and realized how deep the tragedy is in this part of the world on how I myself had got caught up in it.
It was pretty interesting to read that most of the actors here were people taken right from these same villages - having no background at all in front of a camera. You wouldn't know it from the performances. They were amazing across the board. I think in particular the character of Li'l Zé' (played by Douglas Silva) was played so unflinchingly unsympathetic but not at all one-dimensional.
The message here is one also so well told in Munich - that, in any culture where violence begets violence, only the names change. When one member is killed, another will rise in his place. The difference here is how young they get started.
Tough watch, but I’m so glad I watched it. Thanks for this recommendation.
So the interest of this marathon I’m doing is to help me form a legitimate top 50 for the decade. I can certainly see this in the running.
Verdict:
Difficult material well told and well grounded. High respect, but I have little interest in rewatching!
Grade: B+