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Cidade de Deus (2002)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
2002 (Russia) moreTagline:
If you run you're dead...if you stay, you're dead again. Period. morePlot:
Two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 49 wins & 25 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(26 articles)
A-z Movie Reviews – C’s (From HeyUGuys. 4 November 2009, 5:00 AM, PST)
What is the 21st Century?: Going Places with Yu Lik-wai
(From The Auteurs. 27 October 2009, 6:02 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Gangs of Rio more (582 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Alexandre Rodrigues | ... | Buscapé - Rocket | |
| Leandro Firmino | ... | Zé Pequeno - Li'l Zé (as Leandro Firmino da Hora) | |
| 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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
City of God (International: English title) (UK) (USA)God's Town (International: English title)
La cité de Dieu (France)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong brutal violence, sexuality, drug content and language.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
130 min | Canada:135 min (Toronto International Film Festival)Language:
PortugueseColour:
ColourAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 (video rating) (version 2) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | South Korea:18 | Israel:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:16 (bw) | Hong Kong:III | Italy:T | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:R21Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The shot where we see a lot of dead bodies lying on huge blocks of concrete was recreated from an award-winning photograph taken during the drug war portrayed in the movie. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Li'l Zé is makes Knockout Ned undress, Knockout Ned's shirt is already unbuttoned. But in the next shot we see him unbuttoning it. moreQuotes:
Sandro Cenoura: Have you lost your mind? You are just a kid!Filé-com-Fritas - Steak and Fries: A kid? I smoke, I snort. I've killed and robbed. I'm a man.
more
Soundtrack:
Kung Fu Fighting moreFAQ
Why the name "City of God"? It seems like just the opposite!The gang of Children that gun down Lil' Ze at the end frequently mention the formation of a "Red" gang. Is there any significance to this?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
more
more (582 total)
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If you're unlucky to be born into a socially, economically and racially isolated community that has poverty, crime, drugs and violence as its everyday realities, the odds are stacked incredibly high against you. It literally takes so much effort, strength, struggle and plain ol' good fortune to simply avoid becoming a gangster, let alone do anything more with life. Most who find themselves in the situation described above never even enter this fight and out of those that do - only the rare ones succeed.
"City of God" depicts this conundrum masterfully.
In a Rio slum called Cidade de Deus we meet character after character that has the right idea, knowledge and courage to get out but somehow always ends up being pulled right back into this vicious circle. Becoming a hoodlum in Cidade de Deus isn't just a fringe career option for disenchanted rebels and social outcasts - it's the main industry.
The images of gun toting pre-teen killers are very disturbing and Meirelles uses them relentlessly to underscore just how hopeless and frighteningly predetermined life is for these kids. Many of them can't read or write but already know how to use a gun and kill without remorse. In a particularly harrowing scene, local drug lord Ze Pequeno or Lil' Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora) exacts revenge on a disobedient gang of 9 and 10 year olds by incapacitating two of them and forcing one of his own kid soldiers, as initiation of sorts, to choose which one of the two he wants to kill. Faced with death, one of the kids starts crying crocodile tears; suddenly all the bravado is gone and he is shown for what he truly is - a desperately misdirected infant.
'If only these people had more options....' is the sentiment reinforced with every gruesome event.
Of course, this lifestyle comes a little more naturally to some than to others. Ze Pequeno, for example, from an early age when he was known as Dadinho / Lil' Dice shows a considerable lack of aversion to blood and death. In another aptly choreographed scene so that we don't know what exactly happened until much later, he more than 'holds his own' alongside much older gangsters during a motel stickup.
Also on hand is a colourful palette of characters. From our narrator Buscape / Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) whose ticket out of the slum is his love of photography over to people like laidback Bene / Benny (Philippe Haagensen), followed by Ze's fierce rival Cenoura / Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele) or good guy turned bad (although it's not so simple) Mane Galinha / Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge) we see a multidimensional, pulsating, alive community that seems in need of a strong, sustained outside push to finally stop chasing its own tail and get out of this destructive cycle.