anyone seen this yet? is it any good?

and in south america, miramax is releasing it in north america this month, ive heard its amazing.

saw it this past September. Great film

and it just came out here in a few theatres here so i saw it again

first of all it's a brilliant film. but i think i recommended it to some ppl who won't be able to handle it. see, it is very real and intense and many ppl won't be able to handle the violence. since i hadn't seen it since september, i kinda forgot how violent it was since i focused on its brilliant points

still it's an amazing film and u have to see it.
ebert put it as #2 of the year and i can't decide myself whether to rank it first or second

I can't think of anything better.

>I can't think of anything better.

Ebert ranked it 2nd behind Minority Report and while I dont think Minority Report was a bad movie, it certainly wasnt better than City Of God. IMO City Of God is the best film of 2002 and my favorite film to come along in years

my fav films of the year are all quite different and for that reason i haven't ranked them in any order.
city of god, bowling for columbine, talk to her and adaptation
and after seeing it again, i'm pretty sure if i ranked them, it'd be number 1

>anyone seen this yet? is it any good?

Although I haven't seen it yet, I think your answer is here......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/12/02/city_of_god_2003_review.shtml

i loved "Maids" and "Cidade de Deus" looks like it's pretty tight, too... anybody know when it's opening Stateside? i know it's already showing in the UK...

i saw it in cannes. its amazing. when i got back to the us i learned that studios everywhere were trying to get this guy to come to america. its sick gangster stuff. i cant wait to see it again, its been a long time since i saw it.

aaron.

just came back from the cinema and saw it. incredible movie.

hope the film doesn't suffer from over hype
"i believe in forgiveness hate
will eat you whole"
-primal scream

"Why should you die to go to heaven"
-Killah Priest

Sometimes I feel like throwing
my hands in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying
Lord I just don't care
But you've got the love to see me through
-THe Source feat Candi Staton

illguluminati till you bury me

i think it's strong enough to handle it. everyon is giving it rave reviews because through and through, it deserves them. u don't exit the theatre saying "man i loved that movie i want to see it over and over" especially with it's reflective ending, u instead just take in all that you have just experienced.

Was it hard to keep up with the movie and the sub-titles? I saw a clip and it looks visually stimulating but the sub-titles seemed distracting. From what I can tell the story sounds really good

erm, haven't u ever seen a foreign film before? it's no problem reading sub titles and watching the movie. it is an incredible movie though!

I was watching clips for THIS one and the subtitles seem to move a little fast. THIS movie looked so visually stimulating that my concern was that one would have a hard time taking in the visual while keeping up with the dialogue. Comprende?

I seem to remember all the words as it they were spoken. They didn't distract me at all.

EXCELLENT, I saw it last year at the chicago film festival

simply stunning. i don't think i even adjusted in my seat during the course of the film.

it's a gangster flick. but these are different kind of gangs than scorcese tarantino or guy ritchie might portray. i drop those two names cause the stylistic influences are obvious.

it moves very fast - though the subtitles are easy to keep up with - and covers a lot of ground in the history of the favela in question. essentially from the creation of the "city of god" to the point in its history when its a territory of some substance when competing factions can grapple for power.

the acting is hella real. which makes sense 'cause they used a lot of previously untrained folks in nearly all the key roles. one scene involving the runts (a crew of lil knuckleheads that seem to be about 10-12 yrs old) is especially powerful and gripping. it's worth the price of admission alone.

this is probably the best film that came out last year. in any country. there are so many interesting and well told stories within the central narrative. and though the subject matter is oh so familiar, it is as far from cliche as one could possibly imagine.

i don't wanna spoil it. but if you're thinking about seeing it, then get your ass out there and do it. you won't be disappointed.

gangsta!!!

read the bio....that alone had me sold....


after seeing it...really enjoyed that flick....

1yerself

I have been a fan of film since I was a toddler. I have probably seen hundreds of thousands of movies. I see hundreds of movies every year. Maybe close to a 1,000 not counting movies in theaters, foreign films, etc. "City of God", after one viewing, has become one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Period. The stylistic flourishes, the acting, the music, the portrayal of the desperation of poverty, and the cycle of violence it produces, just blew me away. One of the most accomplished films I have ever seen. I can not imagine seeing a better movie this year (and I know there are some good ones coming out). See this, or miss out on a true cinematic event.

oops...meant to say, not counting movies NOT in theaters, as well as foreign films, etc.

you see three movies a day?

The most gangsta movie ever I have ever seen. incredible violent and yet the movie mantains a heart. it makes the characters in "boys in the hood" and menance look like a bunch of whiney kids from the suburbs. kidding. but its great.

Pulls off an amazing trick of being ultra-violent and humorous, without the violence seeming gratuitous or trivialized. Even with a lot of levity and humor, you seriously feel for the people trapped in this world. There is a spirit of life even surrounded by what would be portrayed as hopeless in any other culture. In other words, it realistically captures that dichotomy that so many before have noted in Brazilian culture.

It's a visual treat, with some nice editing tricks that never become overbearing or excessive.

Ultimately, it loses a little steam in then climax, with too many resolutions in succession. There's no chance to appreciate the end of each story.

Still, for a gangsta story, it relies on suprisingly few clichés, turning in unexpected directions at almost every step of the way.

Definitely a worthy entry in the best foreign film category.

RED
Ora et labora

that's exactly how I feel about it. I seriously loved this movie. And as for the cliches about "gangsta life," I think that's why this movie was so powerful for me. It really injected some reality to contrast the hyped up, mainstreamed ideas of gangsters and thugs that have become so lucrative for some nowadays.

exactly, u highlighted one of my favourite things, the spirit of life in this movie. there is so much life, and the characters love life, despite so many of them taking life.

Absolutley loved this film! Intriguing as hell, beutifully shot. The acting, storyline, character development, pacing, editing...all superb IMO.

One of my favorite films ever

I have to agree with one of the posters above that at times at the very begining I had a tiny bit of trouble reading the subtitles, not because they were going too fast or anything, but because the film was SO visually stimulating it was difficult to make a choice whether to sacrifice that 1 second to read them, but that went away REAL quick and for the most part it wasnt a problem at all

I cant wait to go see this again. I'll probably see it at least 2 more times in the theater and I cant WAIT for the DVD

Hell, even the soundtrack is awsome

>Absolutley loved this film! Intriguing as hell, beutifully
>shot. The acting, storyline, character development, pacing,
>editing...all superb IMO.
>One of my favorite films ever
>I have to agree with one of the posters above that at times
>at the very begining I had a tiny bit of trouble reading the
>subtitles, not because they were going too fast or anything,
>but because the film was SO visually stimulating it was
>difficult to make a choice whether to sacrifice that 1
>second to read them, but that went away REAL quick and for
>the most part it wasnt a problem at all
>I cant wait to go see this again. I'll probably see it at
>least 2 more times in the theater and I cant WAIT for the
>DVD
>Hell, even the soundtrack is awsome

Apt, concise/succinct description - good article in a recent Sight & Sound issue as well...

like 20 minutes into the film, i knew i was gonna see it again, and 15 minutes after that, i'm thinking "WHEN is the DVD gonna come out??"

Goddamn this town and them closing the other indie movie house.

will probably go see it for the 3rd time this week

cant remember the last time I've done that

night. Can't wait. My ears are hurting to hear people "conversate" in Portuguese. Hope its decent.

Heads up for Chicago peeps, Cidade de Deus is playing at the Water Tower Theater dwntwn. I wonder why it's not at some of the smaller venues. at least it's here.

I'm seeing it two more times and then I'm copping the DVD.
I'm a big fan of photography and this movie is like a series of great pictures. Even you take away the interesting narrative and take away the fantastic acting and you still have a movie that's visually pleasing to watch.
PLEASE GO CATCH THIS FLICK!!!!!

More later.

best i have seen in a long while, i too had trouble reading the subtitles, because i was captivated by the visual imagery.

excellent insight on the crime world of 60s70s&80s City of God, Brazil. Great actors, great action (blackhawkdown-caliber at times). i found it derivitive of pulp fiction & menace2society too. Story telling style was exactly like Pulp. The story of the bad homie (ODawg=Lil Ze) story of menace too. I thought the 70s were portrayed well w/the clothes, style, music & scenery (esp benny's going away party w/the dance crews, etc) was dope. Overall, its a predictable, super-violent gangsta movie & def worth watching.

dopeness. Be forewarned to forewarn those that it's really violent. One chick we went with said it was 2 violent for her, but I thought she was forewarned so....

Anyway, the realistic feel is the tightest part, but you're still left to wonder how much is real and how much is speculated. That's one of its best features. The reallife interviews included even blur the lines farther to those of us who've never been there or to any favela.

The acting was really good with the cheesy parts seeming intentional. I was laughing at some of the most inopportune times.

"I'll inbox you my address after they lose or you can send me yours if they can somehow pull this one out. And I hope you're not one of those cats who come in here and don't pay up if they lose. Because I know I'll pay if necessary, my credibility/integrity even on this little site is worth more to me than $50. peace."- Bombastic, the Philly Eagle Supporter.


ruckspin.

----------------------------
"I'm never hesistant to say:
fuck the president!!"
-Akil, J5

www.summerproleague.com/photo
s.html
www.summerproleague.com/highl
ights.html


"Friend, you have a .45
automatic on your lap. I've
got a 35-millimeter camera on
mine-- and I feel my weapon
is more powerful than yours."
-Gordon Parks to Black
Panther David Hilliard, 1969


''Ang hindi marunong lumingon
sa pinanggalingan, hindi
makakarating sa
pinaroroonan.'' Those who
cannot see where they came
from will never get to where
they are going.
-Jose Rizal

and there's even some photojournalism in it.

great depiction of photojournalism in all its dopeness / realness




----------------------------
"I'm never hesistant to say:
fuck the president!!"
-Akil, J5

www.summerproleague.com/photo
s.html
www.summerproleague.com/highl
ights.html


"Friend, you have a .45
automatic on your lap. I've
got a 35-millimeter camera on
mine-- and I feel my weapon
is more powerful than yours."
-Gordon Parks to Black
Panther David Hilliard, 1969


''Ang hindi marunong lumingon
sa pinanggalingan, hindi
makakarating sa
pinaroroonan.'' Those who
cannot see where they came
from will never get to where
they are going.
-Jose Rizal

i didn't really read the reviews on this thread or anywhere else so i can gain my own unbiased perspective of the movie and i have to say it was not what i expected - and that's a good thing. i knew that it was semi-autobiographical and i expected it to be also like a semi-documentary - but it was so much more. everything from the dialogue, the camera angles, the music, the clothing, the pace a la Wong Kar Wai etc. was SO DAMN GOOD. one of the moments i liked/disliked (because of the emotional rollercoaster of it) was when Li'l Ze asked one of the kids to pick a kid to shoot - just the emotion on the two targeted kids made my stomach swirl, especialy the little guy. it was also dope to see the original newsreel at the end of Ned because it put a real timestamp in history for the audience. i know this is going to be in my top 5 for this year.

it's easily the best movie of the year so far.

the runts n shit.

I thought it was such a great movie. I was both disturbed and amused by so many scenes.
Jokingly I told my boyfriend that if a lot of rappers knew about this film, we would hear lines about Lil Ze and quotes all the time, and just this morning I saw a commercial for the movie mentioning nationwide release. So we may have the opportunity to hear our favorite rapper spit rhymes about it. *sarcasm*
I wish the film much success.

Stunning! And you may get your wish on the rapper thing. Apparently the urban radio stations have commercial spots with RZA hyping the movie... Scarface references and all

Movie. Have to see it again this weekend.

Just had to put my two cents in. It's good to see a movie get this much hype on word of mouth alone. That's the way it should be. This movie is the 50 cent of films. Except I think at this point , 50 is a little more hype than talent. Please don't respond to the 50 cent part. I don't want him to take over this post.

I didn't know what to expect bu this is arguably one of my favourite movies these past 18 months.
I knew I would like it when I saw the first scenes.I've lived in a third world country and seeing the live chicken made me smile.

I was impressed on how touched I was by so many charcaters in such a little time. Very strong storytelling!
One scene I particularly enjoyed was Benny's farewell's party. It was nice to see the many groups that form Brazil's youth at that time.
Yes, it was violent but it was never cheap violence we are used to in American movies. We have to remember that street kids are still dying in Brazil.
The director showed many aspects of Brazil's life without ever being patronizing. For example, white privilege was shown when Tiago ( the readhead guy) had to go buy clothes for Benny.
I dont'own a DVD player but for this movie, I am willing to get one and cope the DVD as soon as it comes out.

I need a poster!

FIRST...What would be NICE (like really nice) is if Criterion did the DVD set when it came out. Only they could do this film justice...but I feel that won't happen.

But just from a photographer's standpoint...i really enjoyed the rise of Rocket in the newspaper business. I mean, the movie as a whole was great...SUPERB even. But watching Rocket take those pictures of Lil'Ze and his gang, and then have them printed in the paper was just fantastic! Oh, even better was him shooting that final gang shoot out, and then it's conclusion.

Like I said, from a photographer's stand point, that story was like an added bonus to an already bomb movie.

YES, this was a beautifully shot film. Words that come to mind when I think of the pictures in this film:

sweaty
dirt
sizzling
sun
grit
dust
eyes (Lil' Ze)
triggers
crimson

that's all I can think of right now.

watching that as a photographer myself was outstanding! that was hot the way his first freelance shots were front page drama with the paper running the photos, asking questions later. i FELT his adrenaline whenever photography was involved.



----------------------------
"I'm never hesistant to say:
fuck the president!!"
-Akil, J5

www.summerproleague.com/photo
s.html
www.summerproleague.com/highl
ights.html


"Friend, you have a .45
automatic on your lap. I've
got a 35-millimeter camera on
mine-- and I feel my weapon
is more powerful than yours."
-Gordon Parks to Black
Panther David Hilliard, 1969


''Ang hindi marunong lumingon
sa pinanggalingan, hindi
makakarating sa
pinaroroonan.'' Those who
cannot see where they came
from will never get to where
they are going.
-Jose Rizal

i just came in here to check out if anyone has seen it. wasn't anticipating a thread this size.

anyway, yeah, easily one of the most incredible movies i've ever seen. if you haven't seen it, you should. its violent and disturbing but beautiful... funny too.

but its contradictions make me sad. i feel guilty in some wierd way... as if the film will be taken the wrong way, exoticized..

It's been playing in LA for about a month.

Run-don't-walk to see shit. Really.

Okay, I've been wanting to see this movie for a while and didn't want to check into this thread until I saw it. Saw it yesterday and it was an incredible film. The story the way it wraps itself around, I love it.

I just hope people don't get discouraged about the subtitles. When I bought my ticket the guy at the counter was like ' uh, it's in subtitles, is that alright' fargin idiot. I'm trying to get everyone I know to see it but some are held up on the subtitles.

My peace

the film jumps back to tell the stories leading to the many flashpoints and the numerous stories lock you in. with a some of the violence potrayed against a hype soundtrack it ran the risk for me of too much stylish death. very engaging, rich, and gangster.

the photojournalism theme was doooope- especially for me as one. an ill look at brazil realism.




----------------------------
"I'm never hesistant to say:
fuck the president!!"
-Akil, J5

www.summerproleague.com/photo
s.html
www.summerproleague.com/highl
ights.html


"Friend, you have a .45
automatic on your lap. I've
got a 35-millimeter camera on
mine-- and I feel my weapon
is more powerful than yours."
-Gordon Parks to Black
Panther David Hilliard, 1969


''Ang hindi marunong lumingon
sa pinanggalingan, hindi
makakarating sa
pinaroroonan.'' Those who
cannot see where they came
from will never get to where
they are going.
-Jose Rizal

to add..lots of parallels in this movie

and i like how rocket wasnt really the protagonist in the movie

it was like a bunch of protagonists...

i don't know about all of you, but i found that one scene where they recap Lil Dice laughing after the motel raid spine-chilling.
that and of course, the two 'runts' being held up by Lil Ze and his boys.
there were more but i personally thought those two stuck out.

i went with my dad, of all people, to see this and although he thought it was a good film, he felt that the intensity of it was overwhelming and it was like the directer left the viewer no time to even breathe...which is true to a certain degree.
how i feel is that it wouldn't have made sense to slow the film down for four or five minutes. the fast pacing of it coincided with the lifestyle of the 'hoods', and City of God.

this was one of the most enjoyable and captivating films i have ever seen in my life. though there is plenty of violence, none of it gratuitous. great sequencing and story-telling. unbelievable acting considering most of them weren't 'actors'. and of course, as mentioned by everyone else, a piece of eye candy.

Denver particularly

One of my favourite films of all time!

Just won a BAFTA award for best editing...and deservedly so!
'Watch more Brazilian films' was the guys speech (forgot his name!)
__


'from the muscle kid, i'm one a da illest a all time'

'if you talk you can sing, if you can walk you can dance'

'she told me her name was ice cream cone'

I didn't know about this thread, but if I had, I wouldn't have hesitated to post.

I saw this film and like most people who posted, was blown away by it. I can't even begin to describe how much I loved it. It was extremely violent, but I wasn't even really caught up in that because of the story, or rather the different stories. Like someone mentioned earlier it is extremely fast-paced, but not to the point where you are unable to follow. As for the sub-titles, it's like any other foreign film, it doesn't really take away from the action on screen, well at least not for me anyway. I thought the visuals were stunning and it was beautifully shot, the style was incredible, very gripping and extremely intense. It was a fine balance between humour, violence and tragedy. It is definitely one of the best film I have watched in a long time. What I really enjoyed was the fact that it plays on previous gangster films, but somehow is completely original. By the way did anyone else think that Lil Zé looks like Beenie Man? LOL.

Join the Army! Travel to exotic, distant lands. Meet exciting, unusual people, and kill them.- Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket.