City of God (2002)
84% User Rating
2h 9min
"If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you."
In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.
Fernando MeirellesDirector
Reviews (2)
All Reviews
Crazypiglady
May 6, 2023
It’s a great film and well worthy of its the respect it has. It’s gruelling too, the 18 rating is due to the thread running through the film of continuous and ruthless violence of gangs trying to control their drug area. The is the story told through the eyes of ‘Rocket’ who avoids getting in to the gang war of his brother and friends by trying to find a safer life.
The film combines slick production without losing a genuine documentary feel which I think it is why it’s so enduring. While it achieves a feeling of reality, it isn’t specifically a true story. However, the Cidade de Deus is real (being created to rehouse the slums away from Rio de Janeiro) and this story of its underworld and the film’s production makes one believe it may not be too far from the truth. There is hope in the story but not a lot.
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