Reel Life- Flim Review: City of God (Cidade de Deus)

Well this movie ought to appeal to most Jamaicans. It is an insightful look into the life an motivation of a host of characters in the Brazilian ghetto, paradoxically dubbed "THE CITY OF GOD". An enthralling and exhilarating panorama of similar crime and violence in a neighbouring culture. "City of God" kicks off with a desperate chicken trying to escape slaughter by a gang of gun toting kiddies.

It is a metaphor or symbol that alludes to the frenetic struggle for any semblance of existence for the characters in this bullet blazing gangster epic.

Alexandre Rodrigues stars as Busca-Pé or 'Rocket', a boy who lives in the Cidade de Deus or City of God, and narrates our expedition into the slums of a 60's favela (housing project) in Rio de Janeiro. The favela is quarters to the poorest and most hopeless of Rio's citizens and becomes a den of violence and crime. As a child, Busca-Pé is a spectator to two decades of barbarity, gluttony, rape and vengeance which perpetuate a tragic and cataclysmic gang war. At the start he watches the notorious Tender Trio - a group of older boys - robbing motels and gas trucks. As he grows up, he sees his peers graduate from being petty thieves through drug dealers into cold-blooded killers. In time, vicious gang leader Li'l Ze (Leandro da Hora) and his companions prosper and come to rule much of the favela.

Anxiety, fear, sensitivity and an instinct for self-preservation keep him on the straight and narrow and prevent him frombecoming a real violent criminal, Busca-Pé finds himself at the centre of the favela's action, but separate from it. As he matures, he comes to realize that he views things differently. Preoccupied by cameras and photography, he eventually acquires a camera of his own, and his photographs come to the attention of a local newspaper. As the two remaining favela gangs duel in the 80's, Busca-Pé takes some of the only photographs that the press will see of the events that take place and the people involved. Through his camera and his unique comprehension of favela life, he documents and explains what life is, as the poorest people in Rio. His childhood associate Li'l Zé (Leandro Firmino da Hora) morphs into the ghetto's godfather - a ruthless, demented killer.

In "City of God", desperation and desolation drives children to acts of outrageous violence, crime appears to be the only option in the moral and economic wilderness of the Brazilian favelas. Even the grotesque Li'l Zé is not without humanity, while the fate of other so-called gangsters is poignant.

Based on a true story(Paulo Lins' fact-based novel), "City of God" is a tale that has impact not just because of the level of violence it portrays but due to the fact that the violence is a reflection of real events. The director employs the use of real favela children to fill much of his cast. The main cast does a truly flawless job, and fit seamlessly into their environment. The film is picturesque, and carries with it a grime and originality that unearths the real texture of life in Rio. Terror follows cruel bellylaughs, and the unrelenting action is brought into full focus by unending and inescapable poverty. The story is plastered with gore, blood , bullets and savagery, but and in the tradition of good storytelling offers a message at its conclusion, which is more than what canbe said for most Hollywood blockbusters these days.