Its been a really long time since I’ve seen a really good underworld movie. I think that last one I saw that was memorable was the Hong Kong based thriller “Infernal Affairs” (later remade by Martin Scorcese as The Departed). I have always found this genre very interesting particularly because every time a good director takes on this subject, we always get to see a new take on what is otherwise a done to death genre. If you look at the underworld movies directed by Scorcese to Coppola to RGV to Mani Ratnam, you can notice how these maestros (RGV excluded but all things said Satya was a landmark movie) have shot and executed their respective movies in their own distinctive, individual styles.
Generally, these distinctive styles have more to do with the treatment of the subject than the subject itself. The differences are more to do with how the films are lit, shot, written and edited. The subject matter is almost always about men on the wrong side of the law and the trials and tribulations that their professions force upon them. What is exceptional about “City of God” is that while the treatment in this case is also very unique, the subject is just as distinctive too. In fact, it so brutal and shocking that even after the end credits roll, you will continue to feel a little uneasy about what you have just seen.
“City of God” is a Brazilian film that was released in 2002. It is directed by Fernando Meirelles( The Constant Gardner) and Katia Lund, and is based a novel of the same name by the acclaimed Brazilian born author, Paulo Lins. It received Academy Award nominations for Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Writing. Subsequently it has also been chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. It is partly based on a real life gang war that ravaged a lower class settlement in Rio de Janeiro called Cidade de Deus (City of God in Portuguese).
In fact, the main character in this movie is not an individual but the settlement in itself. We get introduced to a host of characters who live there and the astonishing and often destructive quirks that are associated with each of them, including some truly twisted nicknames. The settlement and its inhabitants are constantly abused by highly violent and murderous gangs that are made up off gun wielding, hot blooded teenagers who steal, rape and kill with incredible frequency and without the slightest bit of remorse.
The story takes place over the course of a decade and a half through the eyes of a narrator, Buscape alias Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), a young, wannabe photographer whose is a native of the settlement but is trying desperately to leave escape his destructive surroundings. He narrates the story of Lil’ Ze (Leandro da Hora) from his days as a cold blooded 8 or 9 year old (if not younger) murderer to his evolution into the most dreaded gangster of the locality. The plot mostly details the events that lead to and encompass his bloody gang war with Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge) a previously honorable and peaceful man, whose girlfriend Lil Ze rapes while forcing Ned to watch. This war culminates in a horrendous blood bath that kills almost everyone and leaves the viewer astonished at the sheer brutality of the sight.
The most striking thing about “City of God” is its lead characters. All of them are young – some even pre puberty - boys, driven insane by the power of the loaded gun. They are potrayed unleashing mayhem on a level that will leave a hangover for days to come. The film is shot beautifully by Cesar Charlone, using remarkably vibrant colours mixed frequently with the sharp crimson of blood resulting in a film, which is shot like a picturesque love story but bathed in blood and violence.
The dialogues are brutal and earthy, filled with colourful insults and graphic descriptions of violence and sex. The common thing about movies with a lot of curse words is that the words always seem to loose their edge by the end of the movie. That is not the case here. Some of the dialogues will cut through you like the bullets that cut through most of the characters.
The scenes of violence are brilliant. I can remember tons of movies that have guns being fired as often as they are here but in none of those movies did I experience such a feeling of shock and horror when a trigger was pulled, as much I felt here. The tempo never really lets up at any point during the film, keeping the viewer completely engrossed as the plot unfolds.
I cant help but admire Meirelles and Lund, for what they have brought to the table here. I haven’t seen the use of a non linear plot being executed this imaginatively since Pulp Fiction. Even though the movie is filled with flashbacks and voiceovers, the viewer is never left confused as to what is happening. This is definitely a top class jobs from two top class talents. The way in which the aesthetics, dialogues, music and performances have been mixed together to create the perfect amount of revulsion and awe in the minds of the viewer reflects glowingly on the astounding vision of these two directors. I also like the way they have managed to depict the lunacy and sheer mayhem that happens in the gang wars, by contrasting it with the humane and subdued outlook of the narrator.
All in all this is a movie that definitely should not be missed. It is one unlike any you would have seen before and probably unlike any you shall see for a long time.
Generally, these distinctive styles have more to do with the treatment of the subject than the subject itself. The differences are more to do with how the films are lit, shot, written and edited. The subject matter is almost always about men on the wrong side of the law and the trials and tribulations that their professions force upon them. What is exceptional about “City of God” is that while the treatment in this case is also very unique, the subject is just as distinctive too. In fact, it so brutal and shocking that even after the end credits roll, you will continue to feel a little uneasy about what you have just seen.
“City of God” is a Brazilian film that was released in 2002. It is directed by Fernando Meirelles( The Constant Gardner) and Katia Lund, and is based a novel of the same name by the acclaimed Brazilian born author, Paulo Lins. It received Academy Award nominations for Best Directing, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Writing. Subsequently it has also been chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. It is partly based on a real life gang war that ravaged a lower class settlement in Rio de Janeiro called Cidade de Deus (City of God in Portuguese).
In fact, the main character in this movie is not an individual but the settlement in itself. We get introduced to a host of characters who live there and the astonishing and often destructive quirks that are associated with each of them, including some truly twisted nicknames. The settlement and its inhabitants are constantly abused by highly violent and murderous gangs that are made up off gun wielding, hot blooded teenagers who steal, rape and kill with incredible frequency and without the slightest bit of remorse.
The story takes place over the course of a decade and a half through the eyes of a narrator, Buscape alias Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), a young, wannabe photographer whose is a native of the settlement but is trying desperately to leave escape his destructive surroundings. He narrates the story of Lil’ Ze (Leandro da Hora) from his days as a cold blooded 8 or 9 year old (if not younger) murderer to his evolution into the most dreaded gangster of the locality. The plot mostly details the events that lead to and encompass his bloody gang war with Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge) a previously honorable and peaceful man, whose girlfriend Lil Ze rapes while forcing Ned to watch. This war culminates in a horrendous blood bath that kills almost everyone and leaves the viewer astonished at the sheer brutality of the sight.
The most striking thing about “City of God” is its lead characters. All of them are young – some even pre puberty - boys, driven insane by the power of the loaded gun. They are potrayed unleashing mayhem on a level that will leave a hangover for days to come. The film is shot beautifully by Cesar Charlone, using remarkably vibrant colours mixed frequently with the sharp crimson of blood resulting in a film, which is shot like a picturesque love story but bathed in blood and violence.
The dialogues are brutal and earthy, filled with colourful insults and graphic descriptions of violence and sex. The common thing about movies with a lot of curse words is that the words always seem to loose their edge by the end of the movie. That is not the case here. Some of the dialogues will cut through you like the bullets that cut through most of the characters.
The scenes of violence are brilliant. I can remember tons of movies that have guns being fired as often as they are here but in none of those movies did I experience such a feeling of shock and horror when a trigger was pulled, as much I felt here. The tempo never really lets up at any point during the film, keeping the viewer completely engrossed as the plot unfolds.
I cant help but admire Meirelles and Lund, for what they have brought to the table here. I haven’t seen the use of a non linear plot being executed this imaginatively since Pulp Fiction. Even though the movie is filled with flashbacks and voiceovers, the viewer is never left confused as to what is happening. This is definitely a top class jobs from two top class talents. The way in which the aesthetics, dialogues, music and performances have been mixed together to create the perfect amount of revulsion and awe in the minds of the viewer reflects glowingly on the astounding vision of these two directors. I also like the way they have managed to depict the lunacy and sheer mayhem that happens in the gang wars, by contrasting it with the humane and subdued outlook of the narrator.
All in all this is a movie that definitely should not be missed. It is one unlike any you would have seen before and probably unlike any you shall see for a long time.
2 comments:
Have heard a lot about "City of God" but have not been able to watch it. Watching non-English foreign movies is not so easy in India.
Violence in cinema need to be handled very carefully. Even when I saw "Godfather", I was attracted to the violence, almost a voyeuristic tendency. Of course, every director need not sermonize and preach against violence but I'm still no fan of the Tarantino style. The style sometimes interferes with the substance and you lose track of the essence of the story.
The violence here is not in the style of Tarantino but still pretty graphic. Although I must say, I am big Tarantino fan.
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