Spoiler filled review.
What can be said about City of God that cannot already be said? Probably nothing as this is easily one of the greatest crime films ever; and arguably one of the greatest features ever made. There is the obvious comparison to make by saying that it is the Brazilian GoodFellas, after all they share much common ground, -crime epic based on real events-check, -narrator controlling the proceeds-check, -large cast of characters-check, -episodic structure-check, -monstruous villain-check. However City of God takes these similarities and surpases GoodFellas at every turn: Leandro Firmino da Hora's Lil Ze would eat Joe Pesci's Tommy for breakfast. And wouldn't be full.
There is an awful lot bubbling under the surface of City of God, themes of corruption, power, poverty and morality are all present here and CoG tackles them head on. Corruption is can be seen in the story of the City itself - when the City was just beginning in the 60's the hoodlums were Robin Hood type figures known as the Tender Trio, that robbed gas and money from corporate vans to give to the people whereas by the time the 80's roll around everyone is a mad dog - shooting anyone in a war that consumes the City; even to the point that no one remembers why it started.
Meirelles cleverly uses filters to highlight the decline of the favela, the 60's are presented with a warm, soft gold - like the City is in sunset (which in terms of living standard it is), where as the later decades are shown through a cold, drained blue subtly reinforcing the notion that its all gone to hell, with everyone and everything decaying from the inside.
Morality of the favela can be filtered through our three main characters Rocket, Lil Ze and Knockout Ned, Rocket is never involved in criminal activity throughout and even when he tries to enter a life of crime he can never bring himself to do it. Although you could write Lil Ze off as a monster, even as a child he takes sadistic pleasure in slaughtering innocent people he too is not without humanity, our reliable narrator Rocket even states that when Ze took over the slum there was no shootouts or robberies or rapes because people knew Ze would punish them. Although inadvertadely as all Ze was wanting was power over the favela, he creates a sense of law and order within the slum. Initially Ned holds some of the strongest morals in the City, being a pacifist, believing that hard work pays off, no killing off innocent people, yet he discards his ideas in favour of revenge.
The notion that the City corrupts is also a major part of Knockout Ned's storyline, originally in the army, trained in martial arts, trying to find work as a teacher, Ned has the potential to escape, that is until Lil Ze storms into his life, forcing Ned to abandon his pacifist believes in order to avenge his loved ones Ned starts as a hero for the CoG but just ends up becoming another violent gang member.
The only one that gets away is our protagonist and narrator Rocket, a narrator who includes an extra peice of information here or drops a hint every now and then, keeping the audiences attention and directing them through the madness inside the favela effortlessly - you never feel lost in his world.
Besides the subtext City of God also possesses scenes that are both devastating and enthralling, sheer distress when a young initiate of Ze's gang most choose hand or foot, contempt for Lil Ze when he commits arguably the worst crime, disbelief as a character is gunned down at the end.
The actors must also be celebrated, Alexandre Rodrigues' Rocket is charming throughout and his struggle with a life of crime is convincing, Phellipe Haagensen's Benny is easily likable as the "coolest hood" Benny yet the most applause must go to Leandro Firmina da Hora's Lil Ze who is able to make Ze sympathetic as he adjusts his shirt in order to try and impress some girls and despicable as the monster that rapes and shoots kids in the street.
I believe that 5's should only be awarded when a film has genuinely reached its potential, when it can seen as a benchmark of excellence, when it has been able to define and add to its genre, when it is a testament to the power of the medium itself. City of God is that sort of movie.
5.
It deserves it.
What can be said about City of God that cannot already be said? Probably nothing as this is easily one of the greatest crime films ever; and arguably one of the greatest features ever made. There is the obvious comparison to make by saying that it is the Brazilian GoodFellas, after all they share much common ground, -crime epic based on real events-check, -narrator controlling the proceeds-check, -large cast of characters-check, -episodic structure-check, -monstruous villain-check. However City of God takes these similarities and surpases GoodFellas at every turn: Leandro Firmino da Hora's Lil Ze would eat Joe Pesci's Tommy for breakfast. And wouldn't be full.
There is an awful lot bubbling under the surface of City of God, themes of corruption, power, poverty and morality are all present here and CoG tackles them head on. Corruption is can be seen in the story of the City itself - when the City was just beginning in the 60's the hoodlums were Robin Hood type figures known as the Tender Trio, that robbed gas and money from corporate vans to give to the people whereas by the time the 80's roll around everyone is a mad dog - shooting anyone in a war that consumes the City; even to the point that no one remembers why it started.
Meirelles cleverly uses filters to highlight the decline of the favela, the 60's are presented with a warm, soft gold - like the City is in sunset (which in terms of living standard it is), where as the later decades are shown through a cold, drained blue subtly reinforcing the notion that its all gone to hell, with everyone and everything decaying from the inside.
Morality of the favela can be filtered through our three main characters Rocket, Lil Ze and Knockout Ned, Rocket is never involved in criminal activity throughout and even when he tries to enter a life of crime he can never bring himself to do it. Although you could write Lil Ze off as a monster, even as a child he takes sadistic pleasure in slaughtering innocent people he too is not without humanity, our reliable narrator Rocket even states that when Ze took over the slum there was no shootouts or robberies or rapes because people knew Ze would punish them. Although inadvertadely as all Ze was wanting was power over the favela, he creates a sense of law and order within the slum. Initially Ned holds some of the strongest morals in the City, being a pacifist, believing that hard work pays off, no killing off innocent people, yet he discards his ideas in favour of revenge.
The notion that the City corrupts is also a major part of Knockout Ned's storyline, originally in the army, trained in martial arts, trying to find work as a teacher, Ned has the potential to escape, that is until Lil Ze storms into his life, forcing Ned to abandon his pacifist believes in order to avenge his loved ones Ned starts as a hero for the CoG but just ends up becoming another violent gang member.
The only one that gets away is our protagonist and narrator Rocket, a narrator who includes an extra peice of information here or drops a hint every now and then, keeping the audiences attention and directing them through the madness inside the favela effortlessly - you never feel lost in his world.
Besides the subtext City of God also possesses scenes that are both devastating and enthralling, sheer distress when a young initiate of Ze's gang most choose hand or foot, contempt for Lil Ze when he commits arguably the worst crime, disbelief as a character is gunned down at the end.
The actors must also be celebrated, Alexandre Rodrigues' Rocket is charming throughout and his struggle with a life of crime is convincing, Phellipe Haagensen's Benny is easily likable as the "coolest hood" Benny yet the most applause must go to Leandro Firmina da Hora's Lil Ze who is able to make Ze sympathetic as he adjusts his shirt in order to try and impress some girls and despicable as the monster that rapes and shoots kids in the street.
I believe that 5's should only be awarded when a film has genuinely reached its potential, when it can seen as a benchmark of excellence, when it has been able to define and add to its genre, when it is a testament to the power of the medium itself. City of God is that sort of movie.
5.
It deserves it.
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