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CIDADE DE DEUS (City of God, 2002)


SYNOPSIS: Cidade de Deus (City of God) is a housing project built in the 1960's that--in the early 80's--became one of the most dangerous places in Rio de Janeiro. The tale tells the stories of many characters whose lives sometimes intersect. However, all is seen through the eyes of a singular narrator: Buscapé, a poor black youth too frail and scared to become an outlaw but also too smart to be content with underpaid, menial jobs. He grows up in a very violent environment. The odds are all against him. But Buscapé soon discovers that he can see reality differently than others. His redemption is that he's been given an artist's point of view as a keen-eyed photographer. As Buscapé is not the real protagonist of the film--only the narrator--he is not the one who makes the decisions that will determine the sequence of events. Nevertheless, not only his life is attached to what happens in the story, but it is also through Buscapé's perspective of life that one can understand the complicated layers and humanity of a world, apparently condemned to endless violence. (Source: IMDB)


TRIVIA: All of the amateur actors were recruited from favelas (slums) in Rio de Janeiro, and a couple of them--e.g. Buscapé/Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues)--actually lived in the Cidade de Deus (City of God) itself.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM: City of God received positive acclaim from major publications in the United States, gathering 92% of favourable reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Empire chose it as the best film of 2003 and TIME chose it as one of the 100 greatest movies of all time, while E! ranked it the 3rd "movie to see before you die". It currently ranks at 18th in Internet Movie Database's top 250 films list. (Source: Wikipedia)

RATING: Philippines: R-18; Japan: R-15