Navigating Cidade de Deus
Thursday, March 14, 2013
One of the most thought-provoking pictures of the last 10 years is "City of God." CineVerse had a chance to delve deeper into this Brazilian instant classic, and here are the highlights of that group discussion.
WHAT IS VISUALLY INTERESTING ABOUT CITY OF GOD?
·
It’s shot in documentary style, as if saying
what we’re seeing is real, and it is: this is shot on location in “the city of
god” slums and starring nonfactors from the streets and based loosely on real
events
·
The filmmakers tell a visually kinetic,
fast-paced story through amazing camera movement, lighting and editing
·
Examples include a whirling camera (360 degree
shot), jittery handheld style camera movement, Matrix style revolutions around
freeze-framed subjects, point of view shots of a bullet, overhead birds-eye
view shots of violence (as if shot from hidden surveillance cameras),
alternating film speeds (sudden speedups), strobe light effects, split screens,
time lapsed photography
·
Exxageratedly saturated colors for added
interest and effect
WHAT IS NARRATIVELY INTERESTING ABOUT CITY OF GOD?
·
It’s told in non-linear fashion, whereby the
story starts and suddenly stops in the middle of a tense, telling scene only to
drift back into flashbacks for context and backstory and develop characters,
and scenes are revisited; this style harkens back to films like Pulp Fiction,
Goodfellas and The Godfather Part II
·
We have a strong protagonist who guides us
through the story with his voiceover narration, but arguably we don’t learn
much about Rocket, who remains a bit enigmatic; this is a character study of
the characters around him, but interestingly the film doesn’t reveal much about
Rocket other than what he witnesses and the choices he has to make
·
The narrative is episodic in nature, with
vignettes pieced together to create a whole film; each vignette plays out like
a mini movie unto itself
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY THEMES THIS FILM EXPLORES?
·
How cheaply human life is valued in the slums
and among criminals: this is exemplified in how easily some criminals injure
and kill other human beings, and also in the poor dumb chicken on the run in
the opening scene; the chicken symbolizes Rocket, who is suddenly caught
between two opposing forces on either side of him; the fact that the chicken
escapes gives us hope that Rocket will, too
·
The corrupting influence on children of a
lawless, impoverished environment devoid of true adult authority
·
How young males are often fixated and obsessed
by violence and the need to climb the social hierarchy ladder
·
The transformative nature of art: how art can
depict the harshness of life and also provide a means of escape from it; the
“art” being discussed here is Rocket’s photography, which gives him a lens
through which to frame his reality and through which he can choose a better
life with better choices
SOME CRITICS HAVE ARGUED THAT CITY OF GOD GLAMORIZES
VIOLENCE AND GIVES IT AN APPEALING SHEEN TO IMPRESSIONABLE YOUNG VIEWERS; DO YOU
BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE OR NOT?
·
The cold blooded ruthlessness with which Lil ‘Ze
and his cohorts inflict extreme violence on young children (the boy shot in the
foot, the other in the head) and innocent victims (such as the ones in the
brothel) gives credence to the opposite argument; these scenes should turn your
stomach, not make you want to become a criminal
·
The passion that Rocket shows for photography—an
art that provides a creative outlet for him and which represents a positive
contrast to the dark allure of the underworld—is a powerful, life-affirming
love that shows how there can be things more attractive than becoming a
gangster
·
On the other hand, we see the somewhat
romanticized, pleasure-rewarding lifestyle of the gangster, who can have almost
anything he wants, and understand how that may be magnetizing to an
impressionable youngster
DOES CITY OF GOD REMIND YOU OF ANY OTHER MOVIES OR BOOKS?
·
Goodfellas, in its characters and structure: a
picture voiceover narrated by the main protagonist; an evil supporting
character (Joe Pesci and Lil’ Ze)
·
Gangs of New York, in how each film depicts two
cities: one served by the law, the other by castaway criminals
·
Luis Buneul’s The Young and the Damned
·
Oliver Twist, in how the street gang run by
Fagan and the Artful Dodger lead youth to crime
NOTABLE FILMS AMONG THE RECENT LATIN NEW WAVE
·
Central Station directed by Walter Salles (1998)
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Amores Perros directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (2000)
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Son of the Bride directed by Juan José Campanella (2001)
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Behind the Sun directed by Walter Salles (2001)
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Y Tu Mama Tambien directed by Alfonso Cuarón (2001)
·
The Motorcycle Diaries directed by Walter Salles
(2004)
·
Pan’s Labyrinth directed by Guillermo del Toro (2006)