by Jason Ward

Created on: May 02, 2008

People are calling it the Brazilian version of Pulp Fiction, I would go further, for me Cidade de Deus a.k.a City of God is a masterpiece, it blends over 4 genres together and does a great job at it, by the end of the movie you feel like you have just eaten a cinema feast and one time viewing does not do this movie justice.

The basic outline is a young man who seeks redemption from the gangster lifestyle whilst living in one of most dangerous and notorious slums in Brazilia, It starts when he is a child and we see his progression and growth into a young man and the different hardships and difficulties he experiences along the way it is heartbreaking and very realistic what takes place in the course of this movie and I wouldn't recommend it to sensitive viewers as there is a fair amount of violence.

I grew up in Africa and alot of the conditions are similar to places in Africa, kudos to the filmmaker for giving us this harrowing but beautiful look into the underdeveloped and 3rd world countries that exist and that alot of people turn a blind eye to.

The young Brazilian cast is excellent and every one of them turn in tremendous performances and make you feel like you are watching real people.

The style of the film is cool and fast paced so although the running length is over 2 hrs you are never left bored even once, it is thrilling and your eyes can't leave the screen, it is like you have to see what is gonna come next.

If you have not watched Cidade de Deus then I would wholehearted tell you that you are missing out on an epic that needs to be viewed again and again and again, and you will never regret it or ever get bored of it.

In no way do the subtitles ever make it hard or annoying to watch, the subtitles give it a real feeling and work in the films favor.

I have still to this day to meet the person that did not like this film, it is an award winner by any and all standards and deserves a place in the Top Ten Films of all time.

You should also check out the mini-series "City of Men" and the 2007 movie City of Men who are by the same Filmmakers and have alot of the same actors.

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