Movie Review: City of God

I heard about this title at the Oscars and watching a few second snippet there, I was hooked. If a picture is that visually tantalizing, I want to see the rest--besides, it's not everyday that a movie is merely nominated for direction. Something must have happened on that screen.

Since coming to Netflix so many months ago, I have been privledged to see movies from around the world. Many good, many bad, but it has opened my eyes to how different filmmakers and cultures view things. It's been fantastic.

Here is an example. This movie is South American, Brazilian. The storyline is pure American, in that it is non-linear, like Citizen Kane and Pulp Fiction. It bounces around, through flashbacks and reviews. It tells the tale about a young photographer growing up in a ghetto is Rio-the title's City of God. And through his history we meet various gang lords who rise and fall about as much as a Dallas family gathering.

It should be titled "Politics of the Gun," because guns proliferate here and there is much violence. But not that happy, action movie, bad guys die kinda way--as in someone has a gun, when is he going to use it--kinda way. It's riveting that something I've seen before being used creatively.

Yes, this movie is highly creative. I found myself at a loss at how it was going to come out, half expecting the protagonist to die several times (I learned from Sunset Blvd, many moons ago, protagonists can die and still narrate their story) and wondered where the story would take me next. The acting is a bit stilted, not creating much for compassion for any of the characters, but otherwise, this is a piece of filmmaking that should have found a much larger audience. It didn't play at any art house I knew of. It's a good movie.