City of God (2002)
Definitely high on the list of movies that are tough to watch. Seeing kids under the age of 10 being forced to execute other kids is simply cruelty at another level. I am usually not that fond of gangster crime drama, because I often feel they have some elements of “being a gangster is kinda cool”, but this has nothing of it. It is more like The Wire showing how free access to guns send generations of kids into a meaningless cycle of mindless killings. In a way all the guns became the focal point for me with this movie. I can enjoy mindless shoot-em-up movies as well, because that is just entertainment or “so much fun” as Tarantino will put it, but with this movie I was forced to feel the lack of empathy these weapons create when you have the power to ends someone life in a split second decision. I know this isn’t exactly a new or novel insight. Everyone knows how guns work already and the dangers of them, but we are used to see them in movies as merely an entertainment device, especially in gangster films as well. This movie just took me in a different frame of mind.
A note about the camerawork which I think becomes almost a second protagonist in itself. It is sometimes very edited and it makes you aware that the camera is there and following events, and when the director makes fancy cuts and effects. But it is fitting for the narrative, especially in the context of Rocket’s desire to become a photographer.
Rating: 4