Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
David Poland of The Hot Button went all gooey for CITY OF GOD on Wednesday, and now here’s another review by someone just ecstatic about the film. Sounds like it could be a real winner based on these descriptions, and I hope to see it soon:
Moriarty and Father Geek;
I'm a brazilian movie critic and I really think "City of God" is one of the best brazilian movies since "Pixote". Unfortunnelly, I'm not so sure the "comitee" responsible for chosing the movie that will run for an Oscar nomination will select this movie (some critics believe "City of God" shows a degrading image of Brazil, since we never see any other reality than the "slum" one. But I understand why Fernando Meirelles did that: for those people, there is NO other reality!).
Well, I'm going to try to do something: I'm really trying to "push" the movie - and I would appreciate if you could help me. I really thing "City of God" could be the first brazilian movie to win an Oscar. But it won't be easy. First of all, the "comitee" must chose it - and so I will make a lot of "noise", so they won't have another choice but to chose it (why chose another film when "City of God" is so well received by the international press?).
So, here is the review I wrote about the movie (I tried to translate it, but my grammar is far from perfect, so...).
City of God is the right film at the right time. Released during one of the worst violence crisis of Brazil's history, this production portraies in a realistic - and, consequently, chocking - form the terrible universe of traffic that is, without a doubt, the great responsible for the barbarities that we all face currently. Diving without reservations in a practically unknown (for us) world, City of God proves that the problem is infinitely more complex than the media show us: to capture any great drug-dealer will be as efficient in the combat to traffic as the death of Osama bin Laden will be to end the world-wide terrorism. The problem does not lies in a person, but in a system whose code of honor is bloodier than the Vietnam war and whose profits are bigger than the ones made by the tobacco industry.
Adapted from the homonym book written by Paulo Lins, the film tells a series of true cases that are part of the history of City of God, one of the most dangerous slums of Rio De Janeiro. Created in the 60s to serve as a home for homelesses (eliminating the "imperfections" in Rio's landscape), the place started to be the stage of violent battles between different gangs disputing the traffic's supremacy - and the script concentrates in the rivalry between the dangerous Zé Pequeno and the tragic Mané Galinha. At the same time, we are presented to the young Buscapé, whose great objective is to become a professional photographer and to run away from that life.
Analyzing in a didactic manner the hierarchy of this cruel industry, the film makes us understand the difficult choices presented to the "civilians" in the middle of the crossed fire: to remain honest and to live in a honoured misery or to form an alliance with the bad guys and dream of a more generous income? At certain moment, Buscapé is fired by his prejudiced boss and sees Zé Pequeno riding his new motorcicle, and then questions the merits of his own honesty. Either way, one thing is for sure: criminal or not, the inhabitant of the slums is seen with diffidence by the society. Then, why to insist on honesty?
Skillfully directed by Fernando Meirelles (who shares the credits with Kátia Lund), City of God shines in its technical aspects: working with different photograph styles for each of the decades portraied along the story, the director makes an excellent recreation of that time and uses the soundtrack in an efficient form. Moreover, the film has an energetic and fast edition: the time transitions, in particular, are beautifully done (observe, for instance, the way Meirelles presents Zé Pequeno getting old and his increasing cruelty by showing a sequence of shootings). And, of course, the narrative structure of the story is very interesting, showing the same incident from various points of view, presenting important characters in casual ways and even using freeze-frames and split-screens at some moments.
However, Meirelles never allows the style to become more important than the content, proving that the violence of that world is still more chocking than what we could imagine. And what is worse: this violence is inevitable, since, in the heat of war, a slap in the face could be a reason to commit murder. There is a particularly terrifying scene that illustrates a fact: in a battlefield, there is no children; everyone is a soldier - and Zé Pequeno applies this rule with ferocity when a group of boys assaults a bakery protected by the traffic.
But the script is intelligent enough to perceive that no one would support a total immersion in this reality and, thus, adds small moments of comic relief in the story - and, in a Quentin Tarantino's style, makes us laugh by showing us the absurdity of the violence, as in the moment when Zé Pequeno walks away after beating an enemy and, suddenly, stops and says: "Wait a minute! Why didn't I kill that son of a bitch? Let's go back, people!".
By the way, the greatest triumph of City of God lies in its cast, formed by amateur actors (inhabitants of the slums): Leandro Firmino, as Zé Pequeno, is absolutely frightful; Alexandre Rodrigues, as Buscapé, confers sanity to the story; and the Haagensen brothers (Jonathan and Phellipe) captivate the audience as Cabeleira and Bené, respectively. Moreover, the young Douglas Silva (who plays Zé Pequeno in his infancy) makes us laugh and makes us fear him.
Amusing, intelligent, tense and always interesting, City of God also portrays the corrupted police and scores extra points when illustrates the hypocrisy of the media, which denounces the terror of the traffic, but feeds their industry by buying their "innocent" pot. And for those who condemn the film for its optimistic outcome, I ask only one question: what is positive about that last take? The answer: nothing. That's a sad, frightening vision. A tragically real one.
Do yourself a favour and watch City of God. You will have "fun" for two hours (yes, the film also works as entertainment), and will learn much more about this other country that exists inside of our old Brazil.
Abraços;
Pablo Villaça - Editor
Membro da Online Film Critics Society
Thanks, man, and don’t worry about the translation. Your love of this movie rings through, loud and clear.
"Moriarty" out.
