[ MOVIES ]
An unflinching look
at unholiness
The "City of God" is anything but holy, a place where the deity does not live nor hope.
This slum, a short walk from the famed beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is hell on earth where poverty, corruption, ignorance and lack of hope has made human life as worthless as a chicken to be slaughtered.
And that's where this film by Oscar nominee Fernando Meirelles (based on the novel by Paulo Lins and adapted by fellow nominee Braulio Mantovani) begins, with a terrified chicken, momentarily escaping slaughter, that is being chased by a gang of gun-carrying children. It's an apt allegory for the protagonists' frantic fight for survival amid the gangster mentality of the City of God.
"City of God"
Rated R
Playing at Consolidated Aikahi and Varsity
Meirelles' cinematic honesty in this no-holds-barred film makes the cruelties of life a heady experience of violence and compelling storytelling, providing an insider bird's-eye view of one of the South American country's most infamous and dangerous housing projects.
Even the police fear going here, where desperation drives children to acts of outrageous violence, and where crime seems the only option in this moral and economic wasteland.
The narrator is Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), a boy on the edge of pre-teen gangs, too afraid or too smart to join.
Spanning three decades that begins in the '60s, Rocket guides us through all the personalities and dramas of a frightening but very human space. By the '70s, Rocket dreams of being a photographer, though he doesn't own a camera and has never taken a photo.
We watch children navigating through poverty, drugs and murder to find survival. In one chilling scene, a local drug lord punishes two preteens over a minor offense, telling them to choose whether they want to be shot in the foot or hand. He then orders a third child to kill one of the two boys, which he must also select.
Using split screen, voice-over narrative and freeze-frame, the story of the bloody war between two drug lords unfolds almost like a newsreel, seducing viewers to watch.
Rocket's friends -- nicknamed the Tender Trio -- proudly carry guns, rob truck drivers, break into brothels to steal customers' money, then turn to the more lucrative drug trade. The Trio becomes meaner, more cruel and reckless, especially a psychotic child known as Lil Dice who, as a teenager, is called Lil Ze (Leandro Firmano de Hora).
"I smoke, I snort. I've killed and robbed. I'm a man," Lil Dice says early on about the stepping stones to adulthood.
The drug scene is divided between the white-skinned Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele), who treats his gang boys well, and the black-skinned Lil Ze, who wants to eliminate Carrot.
Characters in "City of God" move in and out of prominence -- just when it seems that someone is a protagonist, another slips in. In the City of God, chaos reigns.
Slick, fast-paced editing (also nominated for an Oscar) keeps us on the periphery of the wasted lives and babies shooting babies. Rocket's camera both protects and ultimately saves him from the same death that befalls many of his childhood mates.
The film's impact comes from the performances of the mostly non-professional cast recruited from the streets. This is a work by a virtuoso ensemble.
"City of God" never flinches from the horrors it promises the viewer. To the director's credit, the deaths are never depicted in an artful way.
The film provides no solutions, little hope and fallen heroes. Its value is letting us know how truly awful life can be for so many and maybe, just maybe, someone will try to help.
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