City of God (2002)
Directed by Katia Lund and Fernando Meirelles
Rated R
130 minutes.
A few years ago when I was in film school, one of my classmates got a job as a production assistant for Playboy. They were shooting in Cannes, France during the world famous Cannes Film Festival. When she returned all she could talk about was a film called City of God. The film was screened out of competition, which was why she was able to get tickets for it. She went on for months about the film and how amazing it was.
Jump a head a few years and City of God finally gets released in the states, and is now out on DVD. Foreign films are always behind when it comes to getting released in the U.S. Take for example Zhang Yimou’s Hero, which was released to a massive box office draw. The film was released in China in 2002 and has been sitting on the shelf at Miramax until last month.
City of God tells many stories, all set around a group of youngsters in the slums of Rio. The film’s narrative carries over a few decades all the while keeping the same characters in tact. We see as some rise to be great criminals, and how others try with their might to not be criminals. These are the stories of poor people and in effect how being poor reflects the decisions one makes in life.
The film is a gem and to get into plot details would be to give away the amazement of the film. The style is much like that of Pulp Fiction and the many copies that followed it. While the technique of multiple stories going on at multiple times has been done before, City of God still manages to make it seem fresh. The editing and photography are first class as well.
This is one of the better films I have seen in a long time. Don’t let the subtitles get in the way of seeing such a wonderful film. The story has everything from laughs to drama with all the highs and lows in between that you can imagine. This is yet another example of how foreign cinema is putting American productions to shame.
Grade: A
Written by Dave Bohnert