Their are certain films that you watch and from start to finish are so engaging and so mesmerizing that by the end of the film, you just have to say "wow." Brazil's City of God is one of those films. The stunning 2002 debut feature from director Fernado Meirelles, who would later go on to direct the disappointing 2005 film The Constant Gardiner and last year's disturbing Blindness. City of God is an inside look at the slums and corruption over the coarse of two decades in Rio de Janerio. We follow the true story of Rocket a boy who is the eyewitness to the devastation of poverty, drugs, violence, gangs and corruption in the City of God outside Rio. Through Rocket's narration and story telling we see the harsh reality of what he must face as a young man. Yet through it all, this does not stop him from doing his best to get out of the slums and make a name for himself. Nominated for four Academy Awards in 2004, City of God is a visually stunning and devistating look at a society that is as brutal as the world that encompasses it. It is one of those films that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Movie of the Month - City of God
Their are certain films that you watch and from start to finish are so engaging and so mesmerizing that by the end of the film, you just have to say "wow." Brazil's City of God is one of those films. The stunning 2002 debut feature from director Fernado Meirelles, who would later go on to direct the disappointing 2005 film The Constant Gardiner and last year's disturbing Blindness. City of God is an inside look at the slums and corruption over the coarse of two decades in Rio de Janerio. We follow the true story of Rocket a boy who is the eyewitness to the devastation of poverty, drugs, violence, gangs and corruption in the City of God outside Rio. Through Rocket's narration and story telling we see the harsh reality of what he must face as a young man. Yet through it all, this does not stop him from doing his best to get out of the slums and make a name for himself. Nominated for four Academy Awards in 2004, City of God is a visually stunning and devistating look at a society that is as brutal as the world that encompasses it. It is one of those films that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.