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Cidade De Deus
Okay finally got to see whether the hype for this Brazilian film was worth it. It has been described as a cross between Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and Boogie Nights. I can see the similarities but for me the film doesn't quite hit the mark. Narrated by Rocket he tells the story of growing up in the Cidade De Deus (City Of God), a slum neighbourhood full of gangland crime. It's an explosive story based on real life events. What we see is how two kids grow up to realise their ambitions albeit in rather chaotic circumstances, one choses his own destiny and the other goes down an unbeaten path. The bullets fly and the so does the language (Goodfellas style) but the rawness of the film demands that. The eighties scenes are the Boogie Nights of the film full of character and style. I wasn't entirely happy with the jumping in and out parts and the way the narrative was driven. It's not done like Pulp Fiction where it allows you to pull the parts together to make it coherant. Sometimes too much time was spent in one part and it neglected others and they didn't gel together that much. It did get you thinking about the story filling in the pieces and the ending is satisfying. I really enjoyed it but had it been more straightforward maybe it would have even better. Not a five but four out of five. The cinematography captures the mood and setting brilliantly as does the soundtrack.

02/02/2003

Replies: 2 comments

Ali,

I wasn't panning the quality of the acting or the story, it did capture the full slum life brilliantly. I loved the film except the structure. The editing could have been a little better but yes you are right it is an excellent film.

Take it easy.

Edward

Posted by Edward @ 02/04/2003 09:42 AM GMT
Considering it was Meirelles's Debut, I thought this film was excellent. It captured the main elements of slum life. A good scene in the film was where the kid had to choose between shooting one of two other kids. The kid who got shot in the foot was an excellent actor, I was seriously taken aback by the way he genuinely looked scared it seemed so real! A must see film if you ask me.
Posted by Ali @ 02/04/2003 09:13 AM GMT

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