City of God - 10/10
I heard a lot of praise for this movie after it was released, and I've been meaning to watch it for a while now. For some reason or other I haven't gotten around to it. When a friend of mine told me recently that it was playing on one of the movie channels I decided it was finally time and set my Tivo to record it. And again I resisted: it's been sitting untouched on the HD for a few weeks. Last night I finally dove it and pressed play.
I still don't know exactly what it was that kept me from watching this movie sooner. Perhaps, deep down inside, I didn't want to subject myself to another one of those films that pushes the plight of poorer, violence-ridden countries and societies into our faces for the sole purpose of inspiring us to feel guilt. I have a lot of sympathies for people in these situations, but I mostly prefer to keep my entertainment on a different level. This is not exclusive to movies for me - I didn't get very far in Far Cry 2 either. I might have been able to deal with the sluggish gameplay if I hadn't been subjected to commentary on the plight of Africa at every single turn.
City of God is not one of those films.
Sure, we see some of the terrible things that arise out of a lawless society. But I never felt like I was being lectured about it. The film simply showed me what exists there, the rhythm of life in a place like a Brasilian Favela run by hoods and drug dealers. There are some unbelievably brutal scenes to watch, such as one in which a vicious drug lord seems to make a young child choose which of of his even younger friends he must kill as punishment for stealing. The very realistic crying of the kids as this happens is almost unbearable.
But it's all done with high energy and style, with gritty, believable characters. This is the second film I've seen in a short time that owes much to Pulp Fiction (the film's sections are announced by titles, and it plays with time in a similar way), but unlike so many ripoffs or homages that fact didn't bother me at all. In this case I'm glad it was.
While writing this I was torn about whether to give this film a 9 or a 10, but ultimately decided on the latter. Like all film that deal with violence it's not for everybody, and (unlike Pulp Fiction) I probably don't need to see it again. But it's going to stay with me for a long time.
Watch for a young Alice Braga.