City Of God Reviews

Worth the Effort

I have to be honest I put the film on and saw the subtitles, played around on the DVD trying to find the english soundtrack, no joy. Oh well might as well keep it on while I finish my cup of tea. Two hours later I sat there gob smacked. The photograpthy throughout was superb, acting just as good. But its the story that grips you, from start to finish. Reading the subtitles is no longer a chore. If you have never watched a subtitled movie before (like myself) I can wholeheartedly recommend giving this one a go!

WOW!!!!

What an absolutely fantastic experience. This film well deserves its place in the top 100 films of all time. Made with complete unknowns, without flashy effects and wads of cash, but instead use's a brilliant story to keep you transfixed from start to finish.

The way the story was set out, reminded me a little of a brailian pulp fiction, but without the tarantino dialouge.

Looking at the reviews, a lot of people found this film depressing, I have to say I didn't in the slightest. It did have some subtle black humour in there that lightened it, and the ending was quite uplifting, with a little bit of black around the edges.

The documentary in the extra's was a different story this was black from start to finish, and is definately worth a look, it holds no punches and tells it as it is.

Take a look today, you'll never forget it

Purely Amazing

This is without a doubt the best film i have seen all year. It shows the true the story of a group of young kids growing up in the slums in Rio. It has a little mix of Stand by Me, Lord of the Flies and Pulp Fiction all rolled into one. This film is completely breath-taking from start to its gruesome finish.

If you don't have a strong gut then its not for you as there are some extremely violent scenes, and you have to keep in mind all the time that they are just kids.

The directing is superb, the story is told from one young lad's point of view about several different people with the excellent use of flashbacks. The story itself is an amazing one - this is a must-see film. (Even though it is in portugese).

Best film of 2003

This is the film that embarrasses Hollywood and its lacklustre blockbusters of 2003, by a show of verve and excitement from a cast plucked from the streets of Brazil. It will scare you with the gangsters casual throwaway attitude to life. But in the midst of all the violence is an inspiring story of one person drive to find a better life. It deserves as wide an audience as it can get.

[Highly rated reviewer]

A Classic!

Flawless! One of the best movies I've ever seen and no less a production for resisting the temptation to glorify criminality. As well as magnificent acting and direction the soundtrack is wonderfully appropriate and remains a constant reminder of a truly great production.

Great

A word used too easily these days but sometimes no other word seems to fit. This film really is great. It draws you in so much that you soon forget that you're reading subtitles. The pace is just right and the characters are all memorable. Definately one you'll want to watch again.

when kids turn nasty

"City of God" is a fantastic social comment in the same way that Golding's Lord of the Flies gives us an incite into the innate nature of man at his absolute worst. Without hyperbole it gives a kind of fly-on-the-wall perspective of the forces that drive people who are drowning in the waters of poverty. This hits home and is all the more shocking because you quickly realise that this is not a world of fiction but a docu-soap of 'modern' Latin America. You get to see not only that boys will be boys but more importantly that boys will be ruthless and evil if survival depends on it

Without giving anything away, this film, though strong in content, has to be one of the best films of the decade. This reminded me of an old film called 'Pixote' which delivered a similiar sort of impact, it still is one of the few films that has stayed in my memory all those years ago. The acting, action and dialogue is so bloody real. If this does not win a few awards then there is no justice.

City of God

A fascinating, Tarantino-esque, gang film... a complex character introduction at the beginning soon unravels to bring the various components and their significance to each other together. A film that doesn't try to hide the abject poverty & seediness of 60's/70's Brazilian ghetto life and what the kids are prepared to do to save themselves from it. A violent, sometimes funny, and often tragic depiction of this environment makes this film simply unmissable...even if you don't like reading sub titles!!

The sweet/sour ending is a creative surprise and to find that the characters are actually based on real people, albeit in a heavily dramatised screenplay, ensures that this film is worthy of the 5* rating I give it.

meltdown

I don't give praise lightly. This is an excellent film that tackles a geosociological problem in much the same way as Traffic did but so much more sucessfully. Beautifully told in retrospect, the editing is sharp and original, the performances understated and believeable.

The documentary as bonus material is also fascinating after watching the film. There's no light at the end of the tunnel but isn't that always the way with real life?