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Summary: Welcome to the world's most notorious slum: Rio de Janeiro's 'City of God.' A place where combat photographers fear to tread, where Police rarely go, and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. This is the true story of a young man who grew up on these streets and whose ambition as a photographer is our window in and ultimately may be his only way out. [Original Release 2002] (Miramax)
I remember how excited I was to get a chance to see this in my local theater, as we get few foreign films around here. Afterwards, while I basked in the glory that is this tale of crime, I was sad to know that I had only experienced this with 3 other people. Seriously, what sort of crap had the majority of people come to the theater to see that evening?
Hypnotic and harrowing. What a film! In an era where cinemas are over-saturated with hyper-stylized violence, it is rare to find a film that can churn your stomach just by pulling a trigger. The movie is bleak, but not sadistically so. It's honest. The scope of this story is immense, and it is told in a completely organic and immersive manner. Tremendous acting and incredible cinematography. When people say foreign cinema trumps anything coming from Hollywood, this is what they're talking about.
The acting is surprisingly good for featuring such a wide cast of characters. I did not appreciate the fast editing, incessant shaky cam, high contrast aesthetic, and split screens (co0l!) And lol at this being "raw" or "gritty" or "realistic." It's too heavily stylized for those descriptions to ring true, not that that's such a horrible thing. It's a hard movie to hate. I just didn't think it was any more than "good."