Running time: 130 minutes
Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora, Douglas Silva, Seu Jorge, Luis Otavio, Matheus Nachtergaele
Rating 9 out of 10
The new year gets off to a cracking start with Fernando Meirelles's breathtaking crime thriller, which takes a breakneck journey through three decades of violence and gang warfare in Rio de Janeiro's drug-riddled streets. City Of God (Cidade de Deus) is unflinching in its depiction of the bitter rivalry between teenage drug barons and gangs of gun-toting children, who see intimidation and murder as the only means to settle scores. The film makes the same astonishing visceral impact as Tarantino and Peckinpah at their very best - the young protagonists wield their pistols like toys, seemingly oblivious, or perhaps all too comfortable, with the terrifying power they hold. The scenes of bloodshed and barbarity are all the more chilling because much of the story is true, adapted from Paolo Lins's shattering novel.
City Of God charts events from the '60s until the beginning of the '80s in the notorious Cidade de Deus housing project, one of the most dangerous favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
The film opens in the sepia tones of the late '60s. A poor black kid named Rocket (Luis Otavio) dreams of a life without violence, perpetuated largely by small time hoodlums Shaggy, Clipper and Goose. The balance of power shifts completely with the arrival of Lil Dice (Douglas Silva), a wannabe gangster with a wicked nature who aspires to become the city's most feared criminal. When Shaggy and his gang dive Lil Dice the opportunity to prove himself, and to kill for the first time, he revels in the thrill of the kill. Soon after, he kills Shaggy.
The story then fast-forwards to the '70s. Desperate to escape, yet eager to tell the world about the dangers of Cidade de Deus, Rocket (now played by Alexandre Rodrigues) turns to photography as a means of salvation. In the process, he crosses paths once more with Lil Dice, who has renamed himself Lil Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora), and now controls the local supply of cocaine and grass.
A challenger to Lil Ze's domination emerges in the shape of bus collector Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge), whose girlfriend was raped by the young gangster and his cronies. Joining forces with Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele) and a rival gang of armed kids, Ned plots to bring down the whole of Lil Ze's empire. Rocket witnesses the ensuing gun fights and revenge killings through the lens of his camera.
City Of God bombards the screen with shocking images of brutality that leave you feeling emotionally numb. It seems incomprehensible that small children would spend their formative years roaming the streets, with guns tucked in the back of their shorts, poised to give up their young lives for the sake of their gangs. But Meirelles paints a horribly convincing portrait of wasted youth and shattered innocence.
The young cast, many of whom have never acted before and were cast from open auditions in Cidade de Deus, are extraordinary. In particular, Rodrigues delivers a compelling performance as the film's beleaguered narrator, and Silva and later da Hora radiate seething ambition and rage as the pint-sized killer with a heart of stone.
City of God will blow your mind.
