City of God (2002) Brazil
City of God Image Cover
Additional Images
Director:Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
Studio:Miramax Films
Producer:Elisa Tolomelli, Walter Salles, Mauricio Andrade Ramos, Andrea Barata Ribeiro
Writer:Paulo Lins, Bráulio Mantovani
Rating:4.5
Rated:R
Date Added:2006-03-28
ASIN:B0000D9PNX
UPC:0786936223897
Price:$29.99
Awards:Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 49 wins & 25 nominations
Genre:Brazil
Release:2004-08-06
IMDb:0317248
Duration:130
Picture Format:Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
Sound:Dolby
Languages:Portuguese
Subtitles:English, Spanish, French
Features:Anamorphic
Subtitled
Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund  ...  (Director)
Paulo Lins, Bráulio Mantovani  ...  (Writer)
 
Alexandre Rodrigues  ...  Buscapé - Rocket
Leandro Firmino  ...  Zé Pequeno - Li'l Zé
Phellipe Haagensen  ...  Bené - Benny
Douglas Silva  ...  Dadinho - Li'l Dice
Jonathan Haagensen  ...  Cabeleira - Shaggy
Matheus Nachtergaele  ...  Sandro Cenoura - Carrot
Seu Jorge  ...  Mané Galinha - Knockout Ned
Jefechander Suplino  ...  Alicate - Clipper
Alice Braga  ...  Angélica
Emerson Gomes  ...  Barbantinho - Stringy
Edson Oliveira  ...  Barbantinho Adulto - Older Stringy
Michel de Souza  ...  Bené Criança - Young Benny (as Michel De Souza Gomes)
Roberta Rodrigues  ...  Berenice - Bernice
Luis Otávio  ...  Buscapé Criança - Young Rocket
Maurício Marques  ...  Cabeção - Melonhead
Comments: If you run you're dead...if you stay, you're dead again. Period.

Summary: Like cinematic dynamite, City of God lights a fuse under its squalid Brazilian ghetto, and we're a captive audience to its violent explosion. The titular favela is home to a seething army of impoverished children who grow, over the film's ambitious 20-year timeframe, into cutthroat killers, drug lords, and feral survivors. In the vortex of this maelstrom is L'il Z (Leandro Firmino da Hora--like most of the cast, a nonprofessional actor), self-appointed king of the dealers, determined to eliminate all competition at the expense of his corrupted soul. With enough visual vitality and provocative substance to spark heated debate (and box-office gold) in Brazil, codirectors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund tackle their subject head on, creating a portrait of youthful anarchy so appalling--and so authentically immediate--that City of God prompted reforms in socioeconomic policy. It's a bracing feat of stylistic audacity, borrowing from a dozen other films to form its own unique identity. You'll flinch, but you can't look away. --Jeff Shannon