Cidade de Deus

Cidade de Deus (English: City of God) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund and distributed by Miramax Films. It is adapted from the 1997 story of the same name by Paulo Lins and was also based on real-life events involving organized crime in Rio de Janeiro between the late 1960s and early 1980s.

Plot
In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood. José "Zé" Pequeno (Leandro Firmino da Hora) is an ambitious drug dealer who uses Rocket and his photos as a way to increase his fame as a turf war erupts with his rival, "Knockout Ned" (Seu Jorge). The film was shot on location in Rio's poorest neighborhoods.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The main location, the favela called "Cidade de Deus" (English: City of God), which exists in real life, is lovely.
 * 2) Nice pace, considering this film is two hours long.
 * 3) Lots of emotion.
 * 4) The song that goes with the film-- also titled "Cidade de Deus"-- is great to hear.
 * 5) The editing is marvelous, especially in the beginning of the film when the main character is surrounded by the two rival gangs.
 * 6) Fantastic acting, especially from Leandro Firmino as the monstrous Ze Pequeno (Lil Ze in English).
 * 7) Well developed characters, especially Ze Pequeno, whom despite being a despicable man who kills innocent people and laughs about it, he can be really likable at times.
 * 8) Much like Downfall and unlike other foreign films, it did not receive an English dub track, which preserves the film's atmosphere. However, the film did get a Spanish dub and a French dub.

Reception
Cidade de Deus was received by global acclaim, and is now considered one of Brazil's greatest films as well as one of the greatest crime films ever made. It was nominated for four Academy Awards; Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay, however, did not win any.

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