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City of God

One day, in the fall of 2008, my Puerto Rican friend decided that it was time to subject me to one of his favorite movies of all time. It was called “Cidade de Deus,” and it looked really violent – not my cup of tea at all, since my favorite movies involve people spontaneously bursting into song, and happy endings. So I sat down to watch “Cidade de Deus” with great trepidation, and a barf bag, in case my weak stomach couldn’t handle it. I was prepared to brave a movie that I knew I was going to hate for the sake of my friend.

Boy, was I wrong.

“Cidade de Deus” or “City of God” is one of those movies that starts with a cliffhanger moment, and rewinds rapidly to the actual beginning of the story plot, till the story comes a full-circle back to the cliffhanger moment, which is actually the climax. Are you with me?

So because of this excellent, excellent plot device, whether I liked it or not, I was hooked. It began with an incident involving a boy named Rocket, and went on to narrate the fascinating tale of his life spent crouching in the dark criminal underbelly of Rio de Janeiro, escaping hoodlums and dodging bullets, all the while nursing a burning passion for photography.

Rocket grows up with a brother already seduced by the labor-free spoils of crime, and then spends his days growing up trying to not turn into him. There’s gang wars, robberies, drug dealing, drug intake, romance, revenge et al, sprinkled into a tight narrative that never drags.

Based on a novel by Paolo Lins, which in turn is based on his own true story, “City of God” is a cinematic masterpiece that tackles the gritty subject of a boy growing up trapped in the Brazilian underworld and tears through it with a sharp sense of irony. Despite the graphic nature of the movie and some extremely bleak moments, it never loses its sense of humor, or its sense of optimism, and that is what works for it in the end. Like they said when they were reviewing “Slumdog Millionaire,” “City of God” is about the triumph of the human spirit, through and through. A must watch.

Written by: Anuya Jakatdar

Reviewers Rating: 8.5
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