The City of God (Cidade de Deus) Mereilles, F. 2002

When critiquing a film it is crucial to analyse the central theme to assess the message it aims to portray. In the case of the Fernando Mereilles’ City of God, set in the Cidade de Deus area of Brazil, the film asks the central question: ‘Does crime pay?’ As the film focuses on two young men from the slums of Rio de Janeiro, one (Li’l Ze) turns to crime at an early age, seeing it as an opportunity to be respected. In contrast Rocket neither wants to sell drugs or kill people. Rocket is both frail and awkward and wants nothing but to be a photographer. Crucially, it is when Rocket finally gets a camera that his path crosses Ze’s and ultimately it is he who gives Rocket an opportunity to make something of himself. Based on a true story, it could then be argued that a parallel theme within the piece is about following a dream and how lives can change at the slightest turn within somewhere like a favela. The City of God is one of the most dangerous places in the world. This film asks if one man turns to crime, and strikes fear into those who meet him, is he successful. Or is it the man who turns away from crime out of fear to realize his dream that is the true success?
In terms of story, the City of God has a linear plot telling the story of the favela through three segments divided into the 1960s, 70s and 80s in the manner of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Narrated by Rocket, the film jumps telling the same story in a number of different ways (for example the story of the apartment) but in all the film follows a clear path to tell the story of the characters. The piece is also book-ended by one event, a race to catch a chicken. When the chicken escapes in the favela it runs past Li’l Ze catching his attention. Ze immediately joins the race for the chicken, demanding that his gang of runts (children aged five to ten) help him catch it. As the gang gets closer to the chicken, a stand-off is also ensuing with the police. It is here Rocket also enters the picture, sauntering into the favela with his camera. As the scene unfolds, Rocket is placed in the middle of the group, next to the chicken. The police are behind him, armed, and Ze and his gang are in front of him, also armed. It is at this point the camera pans around from Rocket’s point of view to survey the whole scene, outlining the message of the film. Rocket is trapped between two worlds, the law-abiding police and the lawless world of the favela he comes from. The fact this crucial scene book-ends the film also portrays a message to the viewer that this is life in the slums: a life that will continue to turn in circles of crime and violence if nothing is done.
A telling factor within this film is a lack of stereotypical or stock characters, supported by the fact the main character throughout the film is not a person, but the favela itself. Other character stories are intertwined around it and there is little need for a stock or stereotype character – nothing that happens in the slum is stereotypical. There are four key characters who define the film as a piece about life in the slums:

• Rocket, wants to get out of the favela, but is realistic in that he may have to break the law to do it. Indeed, this piece appears to focus more on the fact that Rocket reaches his goal by failing to measure up to the violent acts of his counterparts, as opposed to blind ambition. In terms of the characters image, he is also notably plain in comparison with the other subjects. This is even more evident when he is attempting to win Angelica, the “easy” girl of the group. Whereas she is idealistic and outgoing, Rocket’s attitude is amplified by his inability to communicate with her properly.
• Bene is Ze’s only real friend, and his partner in crime from a young age. When the film reaches its 1970s segment, Bene makes the conscious decision to become “a groovie,” buying new clothes and dying his hair. He takes a risk in making the decision, as is apparent when he announces his new image to Ze and his gang, but soon becomes popular with everyone in the slum, and quickly wins over Angelica. Indeed, Bene is the only real likeable character within the piece, exhibiting a calming influence on Ze, and it is ultimately this character’s death that drives the gangster over the edge.
• Ze is perhaps the key protagonist in the film, and although it would be easy to portray him as a violent criminal with no feelings, it becomes clear it is the characters’ insecurity with women that drives his hate, as Rocket confirms: “Ze had a problem, Ze was ugly.” It is to this end that when Ze decides he wants something he takes it, which leads to a key event in the film – the rape of Knockout Ned’s girlfriend.
• Knockout Ned is portrayed as an honest, good-hearted man, a bus conductor who makes a good living, allowing Rocket to avoid paying a bus fare because he lives in the favela. It is also worth noting that Knockout Ned is named as such not because of his fighting prowess but because of his good looks, a factor already infuriating Ze. It is because of this that when Ned’s girlfriend refuses Ze’s advances he takes matters into his own hands and rapes her, beginning a crusade to destroy Ned’s life, which becomes one of the climactic events in the film. Knockout Ned ultimately leads his own gang in an uprising against Ze, leading to one of the longest running battles in the favela’s history.

In conclusion, the City of God is a story of how the favelas can affect those within it. It is an easy option to turn to crime, which can destroy a character or lead them to success. But crime does not always pay; it leads to death and the destruction of lives. It becomes apparent that Ze wants to be famous through Rocket’s pictures and wants to be known as “the most feared hood in the slum.” But ultimately Mereilles asks if this is something to aspire to, and should we as an audience be idolizing someone with such inhuman violent tendencies.
In terms of realism, the film portrays a real place and is loosely based around real events. To this end, the piece does not fit into a genre as such, but instead follows a documentary style. This is accentuated by the camera work, which is on the whole unsteady, and jump-cuts throughout the film. These cuts and zoom-shots become all the more apparent when certain characters begin to take cocaine and the editing becomes more frenzied in an attempt to portray how they are feeling, a tactic also employed in Goodfellas. Much of the film was also shot around the favelas of Brazil, although not the Cidade de Deus itself as it was too dangerous. This also adds an element of realism to the piece in that the audience is faced with extreme poverty, but it could be argued that they did not show enough. Indeed, the City itself is portrayed as more of a housing estate as opposed to a shanty town. In terms of the real favelas, many are built into hillsides – and often collapse in bad weather – with open sewers and refuse dumped on the street. Despite the fact that City in the film is certainly no paradise, the streets are clean, the houses are solid and there is running water and amenities. It is also shot in a sepia hue, which portrays the image of the City as a hot and dusty plain, and adds to the feel of the film in that the atmosphere is always humid and tense. It is undoubtedly for this reason that the piece has been termed “a Brazilian Goodfellas.” However, this filming also does not portray the stark realities of life, washing over the dirt, and the rubbish and the poverty, and portraying it instead in the gleam of sunlight and guns in the manner of Tarantino or Scorcese. This is not the true favela of Brazil in terms of poverty, but it does allow the viewer to see the City of God as a working class community.
It is also worth noting that in terms of the characters within the piece, only one actor had had previous experience (Matheus Nachtergaele, who played Carrot) with many picked from surrounding favelas. This tactic was the biggest success with Leandro Firmino, who played Ze. From Cidade de Deus itself, Leandro was more than aware of real people who ruled the slums with a reign of fear. But it should be noted that on the films release, this story did become something of a marketing tool, and it could be argued the film was given an added element of realism because the audience were alerted to the fact that these were not just actors, but real people who had experienced the favelas first hand.
In conclusion, it could be argued that although it advertised itself as a slice of realism, City of God is realism with a Tarantino edge. It portrays the favelas as violent as opposed to poverty-stricken, and although the tone of the film helps to build an atmosphere, it does not lend any realism to the piece. Although many of the actors were in fact real people from the slums, this was used as more of a marketing tool for the film than anything else. As a whole, despite the fact the film does portray a real story; it is shot with a “Hollywood” edge, which it could be argued was a bid to reach its target audience. After all, the people portrayed within the film are unlikely to visit a cinema to watch it, so in terms of market the film must be aimed at the kind of young audience that is drawn to such violent films. Indeed, the jump-cuts, story labeling and colorful scenes within the film appear to drown out the violence and detract from the fact that the City is one of the world’s most dangerous places to live.