City of God (2002 film)

City of God

Original poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Andrea Barata Ribeiro
  • Mauricio Andrade Ramos
Screenplay by Bráulio Mantovani
Based on City of God 
by Paulo Lins
Starring
Music by
Cinematography César Charlone
Edited by Daniel Rezende
Production
company
  • O2 Filmes
  • VideoFilmes
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release dates
  • 18 May 2002 (2002-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 30 August 2002 (2002-08-30) (Brazil)
Running time
 130 minutes
135 minutes (TIFF)
Country Brazil
Language Portuguese
Budget $3.3 million[1]
Box office $30.6 million[2]

City of God (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. The story was adapted by Bráulio Mantovani from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins, but the plot is loosely based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and vigilante-turned-criminal Knockout Ned. The tagline is "If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you", a proverb analogous to the English "Damned if you do, damned if you don't".

The cast includes Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Alice Braga and Seu Jorge. Most of the actors were, in fact, residents of favelas such as Vidigal and the Cidade de Deus itself.

The film received worldwide critical acclaim, receiving four Academy Award nominations in 2004: Best Cinematography (César Charlone), Best Director (Meirelles), Best Editing (Daniel Rezende) and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Mantovani). Before that, in 2003 it had been chosen to be Brazil's runner for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it was not nominated to be one of the five finalists. If it had been nominated, it would have been ineligible the next year for any other category. The film continued to be praised.

Meirelles and Lund went on to create the City of Men TV series and film City of Men (2007), which share some of the actors (notably leads Douglas Silva and Darlan Cunha) and their setting with City of God.

Plot

Chickens are being prepared for a meal. A chicken escapes, and an armed gang chases after it in a favela called the Cidade de Deus ("City of God"). The chicken stops between the gang and a young man named Rocket (Buscapé), who believes the gang wants to kill him. A flashback traces Rocket, the narrator, back to the late 1960s.

In the 1960s, the favela is a newly built housing project far from the centre of Rio de Janeiro, with little access to electricity and water. Three impoverished, amateur thieves known as the "Tender Trio" – Shaggy, Clipper, and Goose – rob and loot business owners; Goose is Rocket's brother. The thieves split part of the loot with the citizens of the City and are protected by them in return. Several younger boys idolize the trio, and one, Li'l Dice (Dadinho), convinces them to hold up a motel and rob its occupants. The gang resolves not to kill anyone and tells Li'l Dice to serve as lookout. They give him a gun and tell him to fire a warning shot if the police arrive, but an unsatisfied Li'l Dice fires a warning shot mid-robbery and guns down the motel inhabitants once the gang have run off. The massacre brings police attention, forcing the trio to split up: Clipper joins the church, Shaggy is shot by the police while trying to escape the favela, and Goose is shot by Li'l Dice after taking the thieving boy's money while Li'l Dice's friend Benny (Bené) watches.

Some years later in the 1970s, the favela has transformed into an urban jungle. Rocket has joined a group of young hippies. He enjoys photography and likes one girl, but his attempts to get close to her are ruined by a gang of petty criminal kids known as "The Runts". Li'l Dice now calls himself "Li'l Zé" ("Zé Pequeno"), and along with Benny he has established a drug empire by eliminating all of the competition, except for one dealer named Carrot, and forcing Carrot's manager Blackie (Neguinho) to work for him instead.

A relative peace has come over the City of God under the reign of Li'l Zé, who avoids police attention by having an initiate kill a Runt. Zé plans to kill Carrot, but Benny talks him out of it. Benny and his girlfriend decide to leave the City. During the farewell party, Zé is distracted, and Blackie accidentally kills Benny while trying to shoot Li'l Zé. As Benny was the only man holding Zé back from taking over Carrot's business, his death leaves Zé unchecked, and Carrot kills Blackie for endangering his life.

Following Benny's death, Zé beats up a peaceful man named Knockout Ned (Mane Galinha) and rapes Ned's girlfriend. After Ned's brother stabs Zé, his gang retaliates by killing his brother and firing on Ned's house and killing his uncle. Ned, looking for revenge, sides with Carrot, and a war breaks out between Carrot and Zé.

In the early 1980s, both sides enlist more "soldiers". Zé provides weapons for the Runts, and eventually the reason for the war is forgotten. One day, Zé has Rocket take photos of him and his gang. After Rocket leaves his film with a friend who works at a newspaper office downtown, a female reporter publishes one of the prints, since nobody can get into the City of God anymore. Rocket believes his life is endangered, as he thinks Ze will kill him if he returns to the favela; the reporter takes a romantic interest in him, and he loses his virginity to her.

Rocket agrees to continue taking photographs, not realizing Zé is very pleased with increased notoriety. Rocket returns to the City for more photographs, bringing the film back to the opening scene. Confronted by the gang, Rocket is surprised that Zé asks him to take pictures, but as he prepares to take the photo, the police arrive, and then drive off when Carrot arrives. In the gunfight, Ned is killed by a boy who has infiltrated his gang to avenge his father: a security guard who was killed by Ned during a bank robbery. The police capture Li'l Zé and Carrot, planning to give the media Carrot, whose gang never paid off the police, while they steal Zé's money and let him go. Rocket secretly photographs the scene. Ze is murdered by the Runts who intend to run the criminal enterprise themselves. Rocket photographs Zé's dead body and brings both pictures back to the newspaper.

Rocket contemplates whether to publish the photo of the cops, exposing corruption and becoming famous, or the photo of Li'l Zé's body, which will get him an internship at the newspaper. He decides on the latter and the film ends with the Runts walking around the City of God, making a hit list of the dealers they plan to kill to take over the drug business.

Cast

Many characters are known only by nicknames. The literal translation of these nicknames is given next to their original Portuguese name; the names given in English subtitles are sometimes different.

Name Actor(s) Name in English subtitles Description
Buscapé ("Firecracker") Alexandre Rodrigues (adult)
Luis Otávio (child)		 Rocket The main narrator. A quiet, honest boy who dreams of becoming a photographer, and the only character who seems to keep from being dragged down into corruption and murder during the gang wars. His real name is Wilson Rodrigues
Zé Pequeno ("Little Joe" "Lil Zé")
childhood: Dadinho ("Little Eddy" "Lil Dice") 		Leandro Firmino da Hora (adult)
Douglas Silva (child)		 Li'l Zé
Li'l Dice 		A sociopathic drug dealer who takes sadistic pleasure in killing his rivals. When his only friend, Benny, is struck by fate, it drives him over the edge. "Dado" is a common nickname for Eduardo, and "inho" a diminutive suffix; "dado" also means "dice". When he turned into an adult, he changed his name to Zé Pequeno in ceremony of Candomblé, a religion of African origin, since it was chosen for him at that moment it may also be unrelated to his actual name. Zé is a nickname for José, while pequeno means "little".
Bené ("Benny") Phellipe Haagensen (adult)
Michel de Souza (child) 		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 wants to eventually lead an honest life.
Sandro, nicknamed Cenoura ("Carrot") Matheus Nachtergaele Carrot A smaller-scale drug dealer who is friendly with Benny but is constantly threatened by Zé.
Mané Galinha ("Chicken Manny") Seu Jorge Knockout Ned A handsome, charismatic ladies' man. Zé rapes his girlfriend and then proceeds to massacre several members of Ned's family. Ned joins forces with Carrot to retaliate against Zé. His name was changed for the English subtitles because in English, "chicken" is a term for a coward (in Brazil it denotes popularity among women). "Mané" is a nickname for Manuel.
Cabeleira ("Long Hair") Jonathan Haagensen Shaggy Older brother of Bené ("Benny") and the leader of the Tender Trio ("Trio Ternura"), a group of thieves who share their profit with the population of the City of God.
Marreco ("Garganey") Renato de Souza Goose One of the Tender Trio, and Rocket's brother.
Alicate ("Pliers") Jefechander Suplino Clipper One of the Tender Trio. Later gives up crime and joins the church.
Barbantinho ("Little twine") Edson Oliveira (adult)
Emerson Gomes (child)		 Stringy Childhood friend of Rocket.
Angélica Alice Braga Angélica An old friend and love interest of Rocket, and later Benny's girlfriend, who motivates him to abandon the criminal life.
Tiago Daniel Zettel Tiago Angélica's redheaded boyfriend, who later becomes Li'l Zé's associate and a drug addict.
Filé com Fritas ("Steak with Fries") Darlan Cunha Steak with Fries A young drug addict hired by Zé's gang.
Charles, nicknamed Tio Sam ("Uncle Sam") Charles Paraventi Charles / Uncle Sam A weapons dealer.
Marina Cintra Graziella Moretto Marina Cintra A journalist for Jornal do Brasil, who hires Rocket as a photographer. Rocket has his first sexual experience with her.
Touro ("Bull") Luiz Carlos Ribeiro Seixas Touro An honest police officer.
Cabeção ("Big Head") Maurício Marques Melonhead A corrupt police officer.
Lampião ("Lantern") Thiago Martins Lampião Child leader of the Runts gang
Marcos Junqueira Otávio Marcos Junqueira Child leader of the Runts gang

Production

On the bonus DVD, it is revealed that the only professional actor with years of filming experience was Matheus Nachtergaele, who played the supporting role of Carrot.[3] Most of the remaining cast were from real-life favelas, and in some cases, even the real-life City of God favela itself. According to Meirelles, amateur actors were used for two reasons: the lack of available professional black actors, and the desire for authenticity. Meirelles explained: "Today I can open a casting call and have 500 black actors, but just ten years ago this possibility did not exist. In Brazil there were three or four young black actors and at the same time I felt that actors from the middle class could not make the film. I needed authenticity."[4] Beginning around 2000, about a hundred children and young people were hand-picked and placed into an "actors' workshop" for several months.[3] In contrast to more traditional methods (e.g. studying theatre and rehearsing), it focused on simulating authentic street war scenes, such as a hold-up, a scuffle, a shoot-out etc. A lot came from improvisation, as it was thought better to create an authentic, gritty atmosphere. This way, the inexperienced cast soon learned to move and act naturally.[3]

Prior to City of God, Lund and Meirelles filmed the short film Golden Gate as a sort of test run.[3] Only after then was the casting for City of God finalized. He also made a couple other shorts.

Appropriately, the film ends eavesdropping on the machinations of the "Runts" as they assemble their death list. The real gang "Caixa Baixa" (Low Gang) is rumored to have composed such a list. After filming, the crew could not leave the cast to return to their old lives in the favelas. Help groups were set up to help those involved in the production to build more promising futures.

Reception

Box office

The film was screened out of competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.[5] In Brazil, City of God garnered the largest audience for a domestic film in 2003, with over 300.1 million tickets sold, and a gross of 180.6 million reais ($103 million).[6] The film grossed over $7.5 million in the U.S. and over $30.5 million worldwide (in U.S. Dollars).[7]

Critical reception

City of God gathered 90% favourable reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.[8] Empire chose it as the 177th best film of all time in 2008,[9] and TIME chose it as one of the 100 greatest films of all time.[10] Critic Roger Ebert gave the film a four-star review, writing "'City of God' churns with furious energy as it plunges into the story of the slum gangs of Rio de Janeiro. Breathtaking and terrifying, urgently involved with its characters, it announces a new director of great gifts and passions: Fernando Meirelles. Remember the name.".[11]

City of God was ranked third in Film4's "50 Films to See Before You Die", and ranked No.7 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[12] It was also ranked No.6 on The Guardian's list of "the 25 Best Action Movies Ever".[13] It was ranked 1# in Paste magazine's 50 best movies of the decade of the 2000s.[14]

Top ten lists

The film appeared on several American critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2003.[15]

Awards and nominations

City of God won fifty-five awards and received another twenty-nine nominations. Among those:

Organization Award Person Result Ref
Academy Awards Best Director Fernando Meirelles Nominated [16]
Best Adapted Screenplay Braulio Mantovani Nominated
Best Cinematography César Charlone Nominated
Best Film Editing Daniel Rezende Nominated
AFI Fest Audience Award Won [17]
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated [18]
British Academy Film Awards Best Editing Daniel Rezende Won [19]
Best Foreign Film Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Mauricio Andrade Ramos, Fernando Meirelles Nominated [20]
British Independent Film Awards Best Foreign Independent Film Won [21]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won [22]
Golden Globe Awards Best Foreign Language Film Nominated [23]
Golden Trailer Awards Best Independent Foreign Film Won [24]
Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro Best Film Won [25]
Best Director Fernando Meirelles Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Bráulio Mantovani Won
Best Cinematography César Charlone Won
Best Editing Daniel Rezende Won
Best Sound Guilherme Ayrosa, Paulo Ricardo Nunes, Alessandro Laroca, Alejandro Quevedo, Carlos Honc, Roland Thai, Rudy Pi, Adam Sawelson Won
Best Actor Leandro Firmino Nominated [26]
Best Actress Roberta Rodrigues Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Jonathan Haagensen Nominated [27]
Best Supporting Actor Douglas Silva Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Alice Braga Nominated [28]
Best Supporting Actress Graziela Moretto Nominated
Best Art Direction Tulé Peak Nominated [29]
Best Costume Design Bia Salgado, Inês Salgado Nominated [30]
Best Makeup Anna Van Steen Nominated [31]
Best Soundtrack Antonio Pinto, Ed Côrtes Nominated [32]
Independent Spirit Awards Best Foreign Language Film Fernando Meirelles Nominated [33]
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won [34]
Motion Picture Sound Editors Best Sound Editing in a Foreign Film Martín Hernández, Roland N. Thai, Alessandro Laroca Won [35]
New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won [36]
Prism Awards Best Theatrical Film Won [37]
Satellite Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won [38]
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won [39]
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won [40]
Toronto International Film Festival Visions Award – Special Citation Won [41]

Music

The score to the film composed by Antonio Pinto and Ed Córtes. It was followed by two remix albums. Songs from the film:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Izmirlian, Pablo (4 September 2005). "From Way South of the Border, an Ecuadorean Thriller". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cityofgod.htm
  3. 1 2 3 4 City of God DVD extras
  4. ↑ Bessa, Priscila. "Dez anos depois, diretor de Cidade de Deus diz ter prejuízo de R$ 4 milhões". 4 June 2012. Internet Group / ig.com.br. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: City of God". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  6. ↑ "Informe 269" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Filme B.
  7. ↑ City of God at Box Office Mojo.
  8. ↑ City of God at Rotten Tomatoes.
  9. ↑ The 500 Greatest Movies of All-Time: 184–175, Empire
  10. ↑ "City of God – ALL-TIME 100 movies". TIME. 12 February 2005. Archived from the original on 2005-05-25. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "City of God (2002)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  12. ↑ "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema | 7. City of God". Empire.
  13. ↑ Fox, Killian (19 October 2010). "City of God: No 6 best action movie and war film of all time | Film | The Guardian". The Guardian (London).
  14. ↑ "The 50 Best Movies of the Decade (2000-2009)". Paste. November 3, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Metacritic: 2003 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
  16. ↑ Gray, Tim (2004-01-27). "A wing-ding for ‘The King’". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  17. ↑ Berkshire, Geoff (2002-11-18). "‘Shoujyo’ nabs AFI jury prize". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  18. ↑ Hirsch, Lisa (2003-03-09). "Handicapping Oscar". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  19. ↑ Dawtrey, Adam (2003-02-23). "High notes for ‘Pianist’". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  20. ↑ "Kudos count". Variety. 2004-02-15. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  21. ↑ Dawtrey, Adam (2003-11-04). "‘Dirty’ sweeps BIFAs". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  22. ↑ Rooney, David (2004-01-21). "‘King’ reigns among Chi crix". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  23. ↑ Gray, Tim (2002-12-19). "Miramax & ‘Chi’ fly high". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  24. ↑ Berkshire, Geoff (2004-05-26). "‘Stepford’ steps off with best-trailer trophy". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  25. ↑ "Academia Brasileira de Cinema divulga lista dos melhores de 2002". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Grupo Folha. December 17, 2003. Retrieved February 16, 2015 – via Universo Online.
  26. ↑ ""Oscar brasileiro" anuncia finalistas". O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). Grupo Estado. November 3, 2003. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Finalistas 2003: Melhor Ator Coadjuvante" (in Portuguese). Academia Brasileira de Cinema. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Finalistas 2003: Melhor Atriz Coadjuvante" (in Portuguese). Academia Brasileira de Cinema. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Finalistas 2003: Melhor Direção de Arte" (in Portuguese). Academia Brasileira de Cinema. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Finalistas 2003: Melhor Figurino" (in Portuguese). Academia Brasileira de Cinema. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Finalistas 2003: Melhor Maquiagem" (in Portuguese). Academia Brasileira de Cinema. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Finalistas 2003: Melhor Trilha Sonora" (in Portuguese). Academia Brasileira de Cinema. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  33. ↑ Susman, Gary (2003-12-03). "Here are the Independent Spirit Award nominees". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  34. ↑ Grimm, Bob (2004-01-08). "Las Vegas Film Critics Society 2003 Winners". News & Review. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  35. ↑ Kamzan, Josh (2004-03-03). "Pic ‘Masters’ sound kudos". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  36. ↑ Rooney, David (2003-12-15). "Gotham crix crown ‘King’ as best film". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  37. ↑ "Prism Awards honor actors for portrayals". Deseret News. 2004-05-01. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  38. ↑ Maldonado, Ryan (2003-12-17). "Satellites pix picked". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  39. ↑ "The Critics' Choice". Entertainment Weekly. 2004-01-09. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  40. ↑ Kelly, Brendan (2003-12-17). "Toronto crix speak up for ‘Translation’". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  41. ↑ Tillson, Tamsen (2002-09-15). "A ‘Whale’ of a tale in Toronto". Variety. Retrieved 2015-02-13.

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