Movie Passion Post: City of God (2002) by Fernando Meirelles
City of God is a Brazilian film that loosely depicts the real events surrounding Cidade de Deus (City of God), a poverty stricken slum located outside the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Because the story is told in the vernacular, reading subtitles is necessary. Though reading subtitles might appear undesirable, hearing the story told in Brazil’s native language is beneficial as it helps to transport the viewer into places the movie depicts. The films follows the events of this slum from the 1960s to the 1980s and the characters that dominate it. In its origins, the City of God was a small housing development outside of Rio. During this time, the story focuses on a group of amateur thieves known as the ‘Tender Trio’. Accompanied by Li’l Zé, a young but ambitious child, the Tender Trio’s crimes and adventures provide the story’s initial subject of focus. As time progresses into the 70s, the city devolves more into a slum and the characters that dominate it become more dangerous. Li’l Zé has grown up to control the city’s drug scene by eliminating all competition through brutal violence. Li’l Zé controls the city with his less violent and more personable partner Benny. Benny eventually decides to move away from the City of God with his girlfriend to try and evade the violent life he is surrounded by. Tragically during Benny’s going away party, he is mistakenly shot by a formal drug dealer, Carrot, who wanted to kill Li’l Zé. Li’l Zé consequently declares war on the drug dealer who killed Benny which results in a breakout of a gang war between the two sides that extends through the 80s. Carrot teams up with ‘Knockout’ Ned whose father was murdered by Li’l Zé and also whose girlfriend was raped by Li’l Zé. The violence escalates and younger and younger children are drawn into the war. Eventually the story ends when the ‘Runts’, a group of small children who Li’l Zé had recruited and had given guns, kill Li’l Zé so that they control the city and its organized crime. All is the norm in the City of God.
The story is narrated by Rocket who witnesses the events of the story but does not partake in them. Rocket escapes the gang life due to his passion of photography. His passion eventually allows him to escape life in the slum. The City of God, predominately lawless, is too dangerous for photographers so the newspapers of Rio are desperate to obtain photos of the slum and its crime. Rocket is able to take pictures of the activities in the slum and using them is able to secure a job at an outside newspaper.
City of God reveals the harsh and inconvenient realities and truths that accompany slum life. The society that City of God depicts is one marked by deprivation, ambition, drugs, and violence. Characters see the only way out of the slum is through powerful gangs and organized crime. Desperate to climb the ladder, they are inclined to act with more and more violence and recruit young children to pledge their loyalty to them in order to assure their security. These children will eventually come to a consciousness where they will renounce their loyalty in order to climb the ladder themselves, resulting in a never ending circle of violence. However, this pattern is not an absolute as seen through the character of Rocket. Rocket places his passion before everything else and in return is able to his use it as a tool to escape the slum.
City of God is a great film and offers much insight to inner dynamics of the impoverished world. Other films that focuses on similar topics namely Slumdog Millionaire often overshadow City of God. Such attention is unwarranted as City of God is all in all a better film.