Day 15 - 01/15/2019

  When asked upon the best Brazilian movies of all time, some may disagree among Elite Squad or Central Station, maybe even cite others with a more comedic approach such as A Dog's Will. However, the undisputed best has to have City of God at any respectable list. Based on Paulo Lins' novel of the same name, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund direct the dark side of Rio de Janeiro's infamous slums, through the lenses of not only the cops and the dealers, but the residents themselves. 

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  City of God (Cidade de Deus in Portuguese) in Rio de Janeiro is one of the city's most dangerous places. It wasn't always like that, as the origins show how drug dealing brought foot to the buildings that were later emerged. Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) is a kid who dreams of being a photographer, that and dating Angélica (Alice Braga), a girl that never seems to be unavailable. His friends though don't have such innocent dreams, as some become dealers for the necessity of money, others to get the status or lifestyle they want and one in specific for the pure pleasure of being the kingpin, Li'l Zé (Leandro Firmino) they call him. With an uncertain future for the unironically names "City of God", the lifestyle of even the kids the turns out to either eat or be eaten. 

 

  The realistic mood through and through is what keeps the viewer at the edge of the seat at all times, barely noticing it's an over-two-hours movie. Based on a true story, even the minor characters grasps the attention, as many of the leaders started out as one of them. Corruption isn't something new to the Brazilian society, but the way it's portrayed, such as bribing cops or making secret alliances with them is how the traditional idea of a politician being the only ones accused of corruption isn't always accurate. Another highlight is how well represented the different types of powers such as guns, connections, drugs, money or fame are, where any resemblance with a Brazilian Tarantino told by the views of realism might not be a coincidence. , the kids' lives, despite surrounded by crime, end up being compelling, since they aspire the criminals that came before them, were raised in that world, and the ones that decide to be honest have an even tougher life to make a living out of it.

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  Critiques made to this masterpiece are certainly more a matter of preference rather than objective flaw. For example, at times the violence seems to be overly dramatized, as it becomes hard to believe that how at times, during prosperous periods, Lil' Zé or the kids gang would act the way they do. Following that, some of the rivalries seem over the top. 

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  Taking into consideration we're talking about a city filled with drug addicts, much of my dislikes can be explained with relative ease. Finally, pulling of this almost perfect masterpiece, City of God rates 8.9 out of 10 stones.