Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - CP Movie Draft!

Ro · 08-12-2008, 08:29 PM

The MacGuffins are extremely happy to select, with their fourth team selection and 87th overall pick, for entry in the Foreign category:

City Of God (Cidade De Deus)

Where do you want to take the shot? In the hand or in the foot?

This is not a bad place to start if you're someone with an aversion to foreign films, or subtitles. A dazzling film that bursts with a kinetic energy right from the opening scene, City Of God currently stands as the second highest rated foreign language film on IMDB's top 250, and with good reason. Foreign or not, I think it's one of the best contemporary films of the last 20 years, and stands right alongside such crime epics as Goodfellas, The Departed, and Pulp Fiction.

The first thing that caught my attention was the skill and fervor of the filmmaking. Many feel that flashy editing and jazzy camera tricks are played out and artificial, but when used effectively, they can be a pure rush of adrenaline. It's incredible that director Fernando Meireilles was a rookie when he made this, because the filmmaking prowess is anything but artificial and gimmicky- it serves to heighten the frenetic and electric pace of the movie, which runs parallel to the energy in everday life for the youth gangs of Rio depicted in it. The movie's running time is 130 minutes, but it feels like 90- each exhilirating scene moves fluidly into the next, and at no point does the movie begin to feel tired.

Also of note is the cast of mainly child actors, who were cast from real life favelas, and had no formal acting training before being picked for their roles. Improvisation was encouarged, which created an incredible sense of realism within the dialogue and especially the gritty and ultra-violent shootout scenes. It's refreshing to see a film with no star power, and in this case all of the viewer's focus is wrapped up in the energy of the filmmaking and acting performances which are top notch.

Some have argued the film is all sizzle and with the onslaught of graphic onscreen violence the cautionary message doesn't really resonate, but I vehemently disagree. Presented in contrast to the ruthless bravado of the youth gangs is a poetic beauty, created in large part by the narration of Rocket and his struggle to emerge from the life in the slums. He sees splendor through the lens of his camera, and throughout the film they are juxtaposed with the urban chaos of the living and breathing (and almost a character in itself) "City Of God." Rocket is the perfect foil for the film, as he lends an important balance between the madness of the streets and the joy of coming of age in Brazil. I found his journey to be especially involving, and seeing him struggle in the midst of it all was fascinating.

City Of God is a visceral onslaught of a film, and a brilliant one at that. I highly suggest you see it if you enjoy gangster/crime movies because it's one of the best of its kind. In the absence of that category in this draft, I'm happy to have it stand as my foreign choice, because it's a worthy selection in that sense as well.

08-12-2008, 08:29 PM	#361
Ro #1 Goaltender Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Kelowna Exp:	The MacGuffins are extremely happy to select, with their fourth team selection and 87th overall pick, for entry in the Foreign category: City Of God (Cidade De Deus) Where do you want to take the shot? In the hand or in the foot? This is not a bad place to start if you're someone with an aversion to foreign films, or subtitles. A dazzling film that bursts with a kinetic energy right from the opening scene, City Of God currently stands as the second highest rated foreign language film on IMDB's top 250, and with good reason. Foreign or not, I think it's one of the best contemporary films of the last 20 years, and stands right alongside such crime epics as Goodfellas, The Departed, and Pulp Fiction. The first thing that caught my attention was the skill and fervor of the filmmaking. Many feel that flashy editing and jazzy camera tricks are played out and artificial, but when used effectively, they can be a pure rush of adrenaline. It's incredible that director Fernando Meireilles was a rookie when he made this, because the filmmaking prowess is anything but artificial and gimmicky- it serves to heighten the frenetic and electric pace of the movie, which runs parallel to the energy in everday life for the youth gangs of Rio depicted in it. The movie's running time is 130 minutes, but it feels like 90- each exhilirating scene moves fluidly into the next, and at no point does the movie begin to feel tired. Also of note is the cast of mainly child actors, who were cast from real life favelas, and had no formal acting training before being picked for their roles. Improvisation was encouarged, which created an incredible sense of realism within the dialogue and especially the gritty and ultra-violent shootout scenes. It's refreshing to see a film with no star power, and in this case all of the viewer's focus is wrapped up in the energy of the filmmaking and acting performances which are top notch. Some have argued the film is all sizzle and with the onslaught of graphic onscreen violence the cautionary message doesn't really resonate, but I vehemently disagree. Presented in contrast to the ruthless bravado of the youth gangs is a poetic beauty, created in large part by the narration of Rocket and his struggle to emerge from the life in the slums. He sees splendor through the lens of his camera, and throughout the film they are juxtaposed with the urban chaos of the living and breathing (and almost a character in itself) "City Of God." Rocket is the perfect foil for the film, as he lends an important balance between the madness of the streets and the joy of coming of age in Brazil. I found his journey to be especially involving, and seeing him struggle in the midst of it all was fascinating. City Of God is a visceral onslaught of a film, and a brilliant one at that. I highly suggest you see it if you enjoy gangster/crime movies because it's one of the best of its kind. In the absence of that category in this draft, I'm happy to have it stand as my foreign choice, because it's a worthy selection in that sense as well. Last edited by Ro; 10-13-2008 at 09:17 PM.