Film Review: City of God (Cidade de Deus, 2002)

These days, it is becoming increasingly popular to claim that the 21st century will ultimately belong to the Global South and that phrases like “Third World” will lose their meaning. One of the countries that looks likely to achieve this is Brazil, which is becoming increasingly important in the global economy and politics, just as it was important in the world’s culture and sports in the 20th century. Brazilian cinema, on the other hand, still hasn’t earned its rightful place among the world’s cinematic powers, but the path towards that goal is already set by City of God, a 2002 epic crime drama directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, one of the most celebrated works of global cinema from two decades ago.

City of God is based on the eponymous novel by Paulo Lins, a semi-autobiographical work inspired by the author’s life in Cidade de Deus (“City of God” in English), one of Rio de Janeiro’s notorious impoverished neighbourhoods. Although considered a favela, Cidade de Deus began in the 1960s as a planned community, created by the government to move lower-class citizens and their infamous favelas from the centre into the suburbs and outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, thus maintaining the city’s postcard-like image. As soon as the settlement was built, authorities left its inhabitants and their needs neglected and in poverty, leading many young people to turn to crime. This process was witnessed by the protagonist and narrator "Buscapé" (“Rocket” in English, played by Alexandre Rodrigues), whose own brother “Marrecco” (“Goose” in English, played by Renato De Souza) became a member of a small gang that made money through petty robberies, sharing part of the loot with their neighbours to buy their silence towards the police. Marrecco died as a result of a brothel robbery gone terribly wrong, and for ten years, Buscapé tried to avoid suffering the same fate and survive through legitimate means, while dreaming of becoming a photographer. His chance arrives through a series of events starting with his friendship with a group of self-declared hippies, which includes the beautiful Angélica (played by Alice Braga), with whom he falls in love. In order to supply them with drugs, Buscapé has to make regular contacts with dealers that include his childhood acquaintances – kind-hearted and charismatic Bené (“Benny” in English, played by Phellipe Haagensen) and his partner, the vicious psychopath “Zé Pequeno” (“Lil’ Zé”, played by Leandro Firmino), who dreams of becoming the big boss of the favela. The only obstacle to his plans is minor drug boss Sandro Cenoura (“Carrot” in English, played by Matheus Nachtergaele), Bené’s old friend, who is very careful not to start an open conflict. However, when an attempt on Zé’s life accidentally claims Bené’s life, it starts a cycle of violence that involves Mané Galinha (“Knockout Ned” in English, played by Seu Jorge), a bus driver, former army veteran, and expert marksman who initially wanted to live an honest and peaceful life but joined Carrot’s faction to avenge his family. After a year, the favela becomes a battleground in an increasingly bloody war, during which Buscapé gets a camera and the opportunity to take photographs to sell to newspapers.

After City of God reached cinemas, it was almost impossible to find a review that hadn’t compared it with Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Comparisons were, in a way, inevitable because the two films have many things in common – a cynical narrator with deep personal knowledge of the characters and their milieu; an episodic plot based on a true story and real-life personalities that unfolds over various decades; acts of random and brutal violence accompanied by black humour; and attempts to paint events through a semi-ironic prism of nostalgia with the use of a period soundtrack. What sets City of God apart is its specifically Brazilian setting and the world of favelas, where poverty, violence, and crime often have a racial component, and where corrupt and violent law enforcement often represents more of a problem than a solution. Meirelles and Lund, who prepared for the production for years, also insist on authenticity; many of the actors were actually children, mainly black, from favelas who had no previous acting experience and were allowed to improvise scenes during production. This makes City of God appear very raw and naturalistic, while also enhancing the emotional impact of certain scenes that might be quite unpleasant for more sensitive viewers. One of them involves Zé Pequeno taking two street urchins captive and forcing them to choose whether to be shot in the arm or foot. This scene, which involves children as both victims and perpetrators, is one of the most horrific in the history of cinema. Meirelles and Lund manage to make this film bearable by adding a little light-hearted content, like the protagonist’s attempts to lose his virginity, which ultimately bear fruit in a surprising and semi-comical fashion.

City of God, which was publicly praised by Brazilian president Lula da Silva, is often, with good reason, described as “powerful”, but it isn’t perfect. Meirelles, who had previously built his career as a director of commercials, too often allows the audience to become aware of the fact with “clever” MTV-style editing and hand-held cameras that make his film a little too “artsy” for its own good. Nevertheless, it is a very good piece of cinema that would please even audiences who are usually not too enthusiastic about gangland epics or cinemas that were once considered exotic only a few decades ago. City of God had quite beneficial effects on Brazilian cinema, although some Brazilian commentators, like MV Bill, a rapper and Cidade de Deus native, accused it of putting the country and its troubled communities in a bad light. The film, on the other hand, had a beneficial effect on the careers of Fernando Meirelles and Alice Braga. The fate of the other participants in the project is covered in City of God – 10 Years Later, a 2012 feature documentary directed by Cavi Borges and Luciano Vidigal.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)

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