first response

I have decided to give this film an 8/10. I really enjoyed the overall look and narrative of the film due to elements such as the handheld camerawork making it feel as if I was watching real events taking place rather than a film, the aesthetics within the film but also the editing enhancing the flow and pace of the film. I also enjoyed the upbeat Brazilian music used and the character development of certain characters such as Rocket, Benny and Li’l Ze because we get to follow their character arc from childhood to their success or demise.  

memorable scene

The most memorable scene for me was the end scene when Li’l Ze gets killed by the Runts and Rocket finally gets the pictures he’s always dreamt of. I especially enjoyed the shaky camerawork as it creates a hectic feel and I also like how this scene gave an ending to the chaos but also gave the protagonist a well-deserved ending. I also liked when we see the point of view of Rocket’s camera filming Li’l Ze’s body because it makes the viewer feel like we are there watching it happen in real-time as well as the still frames we get every time he takes a picture as if the viewer was to see the picture also.  

key characters

• Alexandre Rodrigues as Rocket: The narrator, who dreams of becoming a photographer. His real name is Wilson Rodrigues. 

•  Leandro Firmino as Li’l Zé/Li’l Dice: A power-hungry sociopath, who takes sadistic pleasure in killing. “Dado” is a common nickname for Eduardo and means “dice”, and “inho” is a diminutive Al suffix in Portuguese. As an adult, he is given the name Zé Pequeno in a Candomblé ceremony, which may be unrelated to his actual name and more to his short stature. Zé is a nickname for José, while pequeno means “little”.  

• Douglas Silva portrays Li’l Dice as a child.  

• Phellipe Haagensen as Benny: Zé’s longtime partner in crime, he is a friendly City of God drug dealer who fancies himself a sort of Robin Hood and eventually wants to lead an honest life. 

• Michel Gomes portrays Benny as a child.  

• Matheus Nachtergaele as Carrot: A drug dealer who is friendly with Benny but is constantly threatened by Zé.  

• Seu Jorge as Knockout Ned: A handsome, charismatic gentleman. As a veteran, he is an excellent shot and can shoot better than most “soldiers”. His name was changed from “Mané Galinha” for the English subtitles because in English, “chicken”, which “Galinha” translates to, is a term for a coward (in Brazil it denotes womanizing tendencies and popularity among women). “Mané” is a nickname for Manuel but also denotes an individual not intellectually gifted.  

• Jonathan Haagensen as Shaggy: Older brother of Benny and the leader of the Tender Trio (“Trio Ternura”), a group of thieves who share their profits with the population of the City of God.  

• Roberta Rodrigues as Berenice: Shaggy’s girlfriend, who convinces him to leave the favela and his criminal past. 

• Renato de Souza as Goose: One of the Tender Trio, and Rocket’s brother. He sleeps with a bartender’s wife and gets kicked out by his father when the police arrive, he is killed by Li’l Dice later that day. 

• Jefechander Suplino as Clipper: One of the Tender Trio. He later gives up crime to join the Church. 

• Edson Oliveira as Stringy: Childhood friend of Rocket. 

• Emerson Gomes portrays Stringy as a child.  

• Alice Braga as Angélica: A friend and love interest of Rocket, and later Benny’s girlfriend, who motivates Benny to abandon the criminal life. 

• Daniel Zettel as Tiago: Angélica’s ex-boyfriend, who later becomes Li’l Zé’s associate and a drug addict.  

• Darlan Cunha as Steak n’ Fries: A young boy who joins Zé’s gang. 

• Rubens Sabino as Blacky: Carrot’s manager.  

• Charles Paraventi as Charles / Uncle Sam: A weapons dealer who’s supplied by the police. After returning from a deal empty-handed, the police kill him. 

• Graziella Moretto as Marina Cintra: A journalist for Jornal do Brasil, who hires Rocket as a photographer. 

• Luiz Carlos Ribeiro Seixas as Touro: An honest police officer. 

• Maurício Marques as Melonhead: A corrupt police officer. 

• Thiago Martins as Lampião: Child leader of the Runts gang. 

• Marcos Junqueira as Otávio: Child leader of the Runts gang. 

cinematography

The ‘restless’ style, characteristic of the film, announces itself from the start. It begins not with the customary establishing shot but with flashes that illuminate a series of close ups – knife, hand, and stone – with a cut to black between each shot. Another photographic flash illuminates Rocket with his camera. He zooms out from behind a network of bars, which collapses down into his image. This is in fact a flash forward to the scene that will replay very near the end of the film, where we will see then that the reverse shot has denied us here, with Zé bribing the police after his gun battle with Ned and subsequent arrest. He has been introduced as a key player in the drama, but still only a fragment. The montage of conflicting shots and the collision of the fast-paced editing now gives way to the spectacular circling shots which will morph Rocket from a young man to a boy, and the favela to its former days of low-rise shacks and open spaces. The meeting between two of the principle characters initiates the story; the circular shot will provide the bridge between what they were and what they will become. 

• The series of tight close ups zooms in and out on further fragments of street life – faces, a guitar, a tambourine, hands with tumblers of drinks, hands scraping and chopping carrots, chicken feet and chickens being lowered into the cooking pot. The first mid shot of the film is of a live chicken on the table, tethered by its leg. A cut provides the first long establishing shot of the film. The chicken jumps down off the table making a bid for freedom. Brazilians describe a situation that appears to have taken off and be going but will soon crash to the ground as a “flying chicken”. This apparent freedom is illusionary – the chicken might try to fly but it can’t get very far. A close-up low-level shot from the chicken’s point of view shows a plate of blood on the ground, a reminder of the chicken’s fate. 

editing

Daniel Rezende said, “What we tried to do with the editing was attempt to use ‘effects’ whenever we thought that this could bring something extra to the sensation or emotion that we were aiming to evoke. If the situation is tense, and there’s no time to think, we speed it up and make it even tenser. If the character is going to be important later, then we freeze the face to commit it to memory. If both things happen at the same time, then we split the screen, so as not to lose anything. In the third part of the film, we especially welcomed anything out of the ordinary for the editing style. If a ‘badly made’ cut could increase levels of discomfort in the viewer, then we incorporated it.” 

sound

• “Brazil is a very musical country, and music is part of our lives. If you go to a favela and walk by the houses, there’s always music playing, like samba, funk and rap. I was kind of criticized in Brazil because the film has so much music and because it’s very happy and funny sometimes. But when you go to a favela, it’s a very fun place to be. The film tries to capture that same feeling.” 

• The film’s soundtrack draws heavily from Brazilian genres like samba, funk carioca, bossa nova, and MPB. These styles reflect the cultural richness of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, grounding the film in a strong sense of place and identity. This musical authenticity pulls viewers into the world of the characters and reinforces the sociocultural backdrop of the story. 

• Often, upbeat or celebratory tracks play during scenes of extreme violence or tension. This contrast creates a jarring and ironic effect, highlighting the normalization of brutality in the favelas. It can make the viewer feel uneasy or disoriented, emphasizing how violence has become woven into daily life. 

• Many scenes feature music that originates within the world of the film (e.g., from radios or parties). This diegetic use enhances realism and immerses the audience in the lived experience of the characters, while also reflecting the characters’ emotions and social interactions. 

performance

• Working with non-professional actors: – Used non-professionals as wanted to recreate the same feeling of the book as it would make the events of the film feel more natural and real. – Meirelles learned from Mike Leigh & Ken Loach to not give his actors a script 

• – Meirelles would tell his actors the intentions behind each scene & character and allowed them to improvise which also created a stronger sense of reality through this style. – 70% of what you see/hear on screen was improvised 

Li’l Ze’s story

• Most of the time we see him shooting someone, he is filmed from a low angle implying his power and dominance but also portraying what his victims see in their last moments  

• His masculinity seems to be dependent on his gun which he carries around as a symbol of his violence and power  

• We see him progress from his innocent childhood to his first killing with many more to come after as well as his progression through his teenage years, finally to his demise caused by his tragic death 

book origin

• The film is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Paulo Lins  

• Originally published in 1997  

• The story was based on 3 young men and their lives in the City of God or ‘Cidade de Deus’ which is the favela Paulo grew up in Rio de Janeiro  

• He was doing research for an anthropological work about dealers in the favelas and his boss asked him to write a novel about it 

• Took him 8 years to complete the novel  

• It is the only novel he has ever published  

• it was a bestseller in Brazil because it was very shocking for everyone  

• The novel was praised by critics for it being one of the greatest works of contemporary Brazilian literature  

• Having a skill in writing books and music was Paulo’s way out of the favelas and dealing with drugs  

• Nobody knew exactly what happened inside the favelas and this was a book that was telling the story from the inside 

• Cidade de Deus was established in 1960 in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro as part of a government strategy to systematically move favelas away from the city centre and relocate inhabitants to the suburbs 

how did Meirelles and Lund get involved

• Both Meirelles and Lund had a great desire in bringing Lin’s story to life on screen due to the novel’s brutal realism and character arcs  

• Lund, with her extensive experience in the favelas and her work with youth through organizations like “Nós do cinema” (Us of the Cinema), was essential in finding and training the actors for the film 

• She also played a crucial role in establishing trust and credibility with the residents of the favelas, which was necessary for filming on location 

• Meirelles and Lund worked closely together throughout the production process, with Lund’s expertise being invaluable in shaping the actors’ performances and ensuring the film’s authenticity  

• Meirelles enjoyed the novel when he first read it however, he was not interested in making it into a film as he did not enjoy making action films  

Casting and filming  

• There was only one member of the cast who had prior acting experience (the character of Carrot) 

• Majority of the remaining cast were children from real-life favelas used for the desire of authenticity  

• Beginning around 2000, about a hundred children and young people were hand-picked and placed into an “actors’ workshop” for several months 

• Much came from improvisation, as it was thought better to create an authentic, gritty atmosphere 

• After filming, the crew could not leave the cast to return to their old lives in the favelas. Assistance groups were set up to help those involved in the production to build more promising futures 

• Because the real Cidade de Deus favela was in the middle of a conflict, a large majority of the film was shot in Cidade Alta, a different favela within Rio. During the production, slumlords did not allow for the production company to have their own security, so local security guards were hired for the safety of the set 

• They did not feel unsafe filimg there as they got permission from the community centers of the favelas  

• It was a relaxed shoot  

box office & funding

• In Brazil, City of God garnered the largest audience for a domestic film in 2002, with over 3.1 million tickets sold, and a gross of 18.6 million ($10.3 million). 

• The film grossed over $7.5 million in the U.S. and over US$30.5 million worldwide. 

• The film was a low-budget production, making it a financial success given its estimated production cost. 

• 3.8 million to make  

• Film was first screened at an infamous film festival in France  

• Largest audience in Brazil alone  

• Funded by TV Globo which is Brazil’s biggest TV company and 02 Filmes which is Brazil’s biggest commercials company (both private companies) it was distributed by Miramax  

technology

Daniel Rezende – “many interpretations of the characters were created at the editing stage, different results could be obtained with the same footage, all the scenes evolved from the actor’s improvisations and of course each one was unique”  

critical reaction

• Meirelles didn’t expect for the film to be so loved worldwide  

• 91% rating on rotten tomatoes  

• The film conveyed an understanding of the darker parts of Rio even though Rio is percieved as a holiday destination, usually for wealthy people  

• The film provoked a response  

aesthetics

colour palettes

Flashbacks indicated by flashbacks and scenes in the past which depicts nostalgia, connotations of hot and dry conditions which trick the viewer into perceiving the weather in the film as an endless summer  

• The 70s and 80s parts of the film use a blue lighting, night shoots, shadows, low light, colder colours like greys and browns to indicate the progression of violence in the favelas and portraying how the violence is getting worse as time goes by  

• Social realism aesthetic  

• Handheld camerawork makes the viewer feel as if the film is shot by one of the people in the gangs to give the feeling of realism  

Documentary aesthetic