i’d only heard of this movie from friends, and when i finally got the chance to watch it, i completely loved it! i don’t watch too many foreign films (amélie is probably my favourite), mostly because i hate reading the subtitles and missing certain scenes. city of god, however, was not ruined by the fact that i don’t speak portuguese.

i loved the cinematography and direction of the movie. the pace was also very good, not too slow and not too quick — it was just right. the humour thrown around throughout the somewhat saddening story was surprisingly effective. although the premise of the film suggests a depressing mood, city of god achieved a great wittiness that i enjoyed, even with my inability to understand the language.

i kept asking myself throughout the film if this was a true story or not, and at the end i discovered that it did indeed happen in real life. the characters were very well portrayed and the set (if it even was a set) was perfect. i have never been to cidade de deus, or brazil for that matter, but after having seen this movie, i have a better understanding of the social situation of the slums. philippines is very similar in social structure to the places portrayed in this film; i wasn’t at all surprised to see such young children getting caught up in gangs and criminal activities. it’s sort of depressing to know that.