You’ll be hard-pressed to find a movie as quirkily entertaining and simultaneously troubling and effective in shedding light on serious issues as City of God, an inventive, intelligent and viscerally compelling film set amidst the violent youth gangs of Rio de Janeiro.
Composed of a series of character sketches that circle back in time to link with each other, this is a horrifying yet at times comic picture of a group of youths growing up in the ‘City of God,’ an impoverished housing project built by the Brazilian government in order to clear away shanty-towns on the periphery of Rio and allow for the growth of the wealthy urban aspects of the city. The tidy looking box houses that make up this community have no electricity, and there is no public transit to serve them, but they serve the purpose of cleaning up the city’s image and keeping the poor out of the way.
Told from the perspective of a young fellow who wants to stay clear of the violence around him, the film focuses on one young man or a small group at a time, covering events in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. These kids – with nicknames like Shaggy, Clipper, Goose and Knockout Ned – have various aspirations, but most are fascinated by the strongest role models they see on a daily basis – small-time gangsters. We see small children grow into murderous thugs, and the transformation is utterly credible. The film, while entertaining in its depictions, makes its point bang-on. The culture of violence is a virtually inevitable product of the poverty and hopelessness of this ghetto. Once you’re familiar with this place, the exception is a kid like our protagonist and narrator – a young fellow who, despite one or two forays into the world of crime – very much wants to steer clear of the violence.
Beginning near the story’s climax and then circling back through flashbacks, we follow the evolution of a handful of characters, all young and male, and all facing the poverty of the City of God. This is a gangster movie like no other that you’ve ever seen, combining straightforward narrative drama with cinema vertité and artistic/symbolic use of the film medium. Even if the stories weren’t fascinating and compelling, the visual flair of co-directors Katia Lund and Fernando Meirelles would have gone a long way toward keeping the film fresh and interesting. The combination of these two strengths propels the film-going experience into the stratosphere.
A testament to the pointlessness of violence, the horror of poverty and the complicity of those with power in allowing both to grow, City of God is violent and troubling but also ultimately ever-so-slightly optimistic. The contradictions are stunning – neat little houses that – from afar – appear to be the makings of a nice little community, in fact are a breeding ground for crime. We see gang wars that begin with a prayer and then explode into gun battles between children. And we see good people drawn into the violence simply because they see no other option. Yet through all this, most of the participants seem like perfectly nice people, there are as many nice guys as psychotics, and the narration is good naturedly matter of fact, characteristics that give the proceedings a simultaneous sense of surreality and credibility.
City of God is a tremendous, skilfully composed film that impresses with its artistry and quirkiness while smacking you in the solar plexus with its message.
A tremendous, skilfully composed film that impresses with its artistry and quirkiness while smacking you in the solar plexus with its message.- Brian Webster
