Cidade de Deus

Cidade de Deus is an overwhelming film about the life of the notorious outer suburb of Rio de Janeiro of the same name, based on a book by Paulo Lins. Meirelles did not make the film overly sober: he uses a dynamic, non-linear narrative structure and images that can even be described as glamorous. Yet the film always stays close to reality. This is largely thanks to the powerful acting by the young cast, who come from the district themselves. The multitude of characters and events in the book have now been reduced for the film adaptation to one single clear storyline. The film, just like the book, is a mosaic of stories about violence, love and friendship.Rocket, one of the protagonists, is the alter ego of writer Lins, a kid who manages to escape from the hopeless situation of the favela. In the late 1960s, Rocket and Zé are eleven and gaze in admiration at Shaggy and his gang. After the death of Shaggy, it is Zé’s turn. He shifts the field of operation of the gangsters (none of them over fourteen) from robberies to dealing drugs. Aged eighteen, Zé is the biggest gangster in town. Rocket is by now doing a training course, but also commits robberies in his spare time. When the 1980s dawn, Zé is over the top, but Rocket finally seems able to realise his childhood dream.