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.” 

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 

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. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• 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.  Hotel Robbery- the Lighting in this scene starts out as golden and warm, suggesting that the tender trio and Li’l Dice are in the exhilarating beginning stages of their criminal careers. The warm lighting and fast cuts also highlight an absence of the inherent evil that is being committed during this scene to represent this gang as “robin hood” figures who are stealing because they have nothing- this creates a stark comparison to the actions we see Li’l dice (Li’l Z) commit in the future acts of the film. The fast cuts of the scenes show the high tension of the film, the editing merges multiple different scenes together, most notably when a man seemingly gets hit in the head the scene cuts to one of the boys breaking in, using the sound of the door banging open to replace the sound of the man getting hit.

SOUND-  

The diegetic sound in City of God is reflective of Brazilian culture. There is a mixture of Brazilian samba music which sets the scene for the film, as well as the sounds of traffic and knives. The sounds of knives in this beginning sequence, along with the layered sounds of music, traffic and scared clucks of chickens creates a sense of rising tension showing the oncoming and current threats for the people living in the favelas suffering through gang violence.  

MISE-EN-SCENE  

The first scene opens in the favelas with high contrast lighting; this technique allows the spectators to get a sense of the Brazilian culture shown throughout the film. There is a series of close-up fast sequences that show chickens running through the streets, as well as being killed, this highlights the jobs in the favelas born out of necessity and poverty. Additionally, Lil Z is introduced with a closeup- the choice of costume for this character presents him as a dominant antagonist, his gun {prop} further highlights his positioning as a villain within this film.  

GENDER.  

Within city of God gender is male central showing young men and boys to be predominant members of gangs and handling weapons, this can be seen through the character of Lil Z who is addicted to the idea of violence. Although, through the character of Rocket we can see that he defies the male expectations of joining a gang deciding to become a photographer and leave the favelas. Female representation is limited throughout the film presenting women as passive figures or victims- more specifically referring to the women who was killed for cheating on her husband- ultimately ending in the death of the man who she had an affair with, meaning that largely women are a plot device to further the events of the film.  

AESTHETICS. 

Throughout this film we are shown sequences that are shot in the slums of the favelas as the spectator is forced into confined spaces with the combination of a hand-held shaky camera constantly shaking and moving into maze-like structures to reflect the growing tensions and threat of violence within the favelas. Oppressive low-angle shots are utilised to show the confinement of the people living in this city, almost like an open-air prison. In comparison, the flashbacks to the old slums show a vast and open area, with warm hues of yellows and oranges representing the innocence of the city and children before gang violence made its way into the city.  

HISTORICAL NOTES

{INFORMATION TAKEN FROM WJEC RESOURCES}

The use of digital editing allowed Daniel
Rezende to experiment and try out new ideas.
He claims that many of the interpretations
of the characters were created at the editing
stage. Brazil was colonised by Portugal in the
16th century resulting in almost genocidal
subjection of the indigenous people. Struggled
for independence, which was then gained in
the 19th century. Economy partly founded on
the transport of huge numbers of slaves from
the west coast of Africa, a practise abolished
in the second half of the 19th century. Their
multi-ethnic communities are today made
of the descendants of these slaves, together
with immigrants from all over the world.-

EXTRA INFLUENCES:

Aside from films and short films, I’m taking inspiration from season 2 episode 5 of Interview With The Vampire, ‘Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start The Tape’. Particularly the cinematography and ambient sound used throughout to gradually build unease and anticipation.

9.5/10 

A memorable scene in my mind was the coinciding scene at the beginning of the film and the end of the film, where Rocket comes face to face with L’il Dice and his gang.  

This scene also matches with my memorable image as it is symbolic as to what Rocket must battle with, the temptations of gang culture throughout Rio, or his career and future as a photographer.  

First response  

Score out of 10	Memorable scene	Iconic image
8/10	A memorable scene for me was when she goes into the pale man’s world and eats the grapes. I think the Mise en Scene of the scene made the room feel magical and otherworldly in comparison to her bedroom. The sound of a humming mixed with a dramatic underscore throughout the scene also creates a lot of tension for the scene. The Proformance of the way the pale man moves are also off putting making the scene even more dramatic	Get screen grab 21:19   The iconic image for me is the stairwell that she walks down to meet the faun. This is where the movies’ magical theme starts and end. I also find the background information of this being an entrance to the underworld really a key feature of why i think the birds eye shot of her walking down it is important as it shows the beginning and the end of her journey.

4 Micro Elements  

The motif of the lullaby that Mercedes hums for her at various times throughout the movie. It is often played in times of sadness when Mercedes is trying to comfort Ofelia in moments of the distress such as when her mother is ill. It also plays in the beginning of the movie to open the scene up and the end when Ofelia has completed her quest. The lullaby i think for me showed vital moments but also for example at the end brought me back to the beginning as i remembered hearing in then possibly symbolizing the beginning and the end of the movie on her journey to go back to being a princess.  

Mise en Scene  

When Ofelia goes on her quest to get the key from the toad. You see her crawl through an underground muddy tunnel which is dimly. However, the set of the muddy tunnel of it somehow are made otherworldly and the composition of the set shows a lot of depth to the area. I personally think the way the set is designed throughout the movie makes the mise en scene so great throughout the movie. The tunnel is purposely muddy and dirty to show the length that she is going to complete these desks eve ruining her dress that her sick mother made for her to get the key. I think showing the area as not natural and giving the scene a great amount of mise en scene really creates the effect that she is almost entering a different world to the viewer and creates a contrast when she returns to the real one.  

Editing  

The editing techniques that stood out to me was the point when the camera pans down to the bath, then pans down into the tunnel stairway seamlessly. The way that the scenes are combined I think show that Shes always thinking about the stairway and quickly moves the change of setting for the viewer. However, I think there is also match cutting in the movie between the wo narratives taking part being the magical world that Ofelia steps in and the captain’s harsh reality of the war. An example where this takes pace is Ofelia handing the key over to the faun then it quickly cutting to the captain opening the door with a key showing the themes are familiar but so different between the two worlds by the editing used.  

Cinematography  

I think the opening shot where it slowly pans in Ofelia laying on the ground dead and slowly moving into her eye is one of my favourite bits of cinematography in the film. The slow movements of the camera allow the spectator to see the character clearly for the first time and establishes her as a main character well as allows you to notice that you are seeing things from her point of view symbolized by her eye. Another feature of the cinematography is that the movements of the camera are more fluid in the fantasy world but in different way to the captain’s world they are steadier and ridged this really creates a contrast with the cinematography between the two worlds showing the raility of the war.  

Gender paragraph  

The binary opposites between male and female  

The binary opposite between male and female is created by multiple features in the movie. The captain is often represented in a blue dark light and is often associated with broken items and knives created a negative light around him throughout the movie. His attitudes also create a binary opposite to those of the females with him being tradiontial  tough and represented as almost a monster who takes power over anything else. However, the females in the film are more caring with a example being Mercedes who cares for Ofelia but also takes on. a strong and powerful female role at the same time which was non tradional for the time. Woman in the movie such as Ofelia are often associated with a warm yellow light possibly showing the good in the woman in the film.  

List 10 things that the viewer knows about the story in the 1^st 10 mins of the film.  

1. It is set in Spain in the year 1944 

2. There is a civil war happening and military pots are placed in the woods  

3. There is an underground realm where a princess lived and escaped but she will come back one day in a different body. 

4. A young girl called Ofelia is traveling with her sick pregnant mother in a car.  

5. The girl’s mother has married the captain of a civil war party.  

6. There is otherworldly creatures such as fairies in the woods which they are traveling through 

7. The captain is an overprotective man and possibly has toxic masculinity as he makes his wife go in a wheelchair when she can walk. 

8. The captain has a servant called Mercedes  

9. There is a labyrinth found of the side of the military base  

10. Ofelias father was a tailor who died during the war.  

Historic and social context 

Pans lab was set in a post-civil war setting  

In the real world setting the rebels did not win the fascists won but pans lab chooses to have a happy ending where the rebels win. 

At the table the priest sits next to them while they discuss starving the poor people while having large amounts of food. 

The director wanted to show the history of the civil war. 

Del toro uses Morden and old school techniques  

He wanted all his monsters to be original  

He used puppets and CG to create the monsters for his movie  

Dark colours at night 

Using a Spanish cast and made in Spain  

Del toro and his friends put their own money into it; he cut out the studio taking control of his film. 

Won 3 Oscars a breakthrough movie