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Join us on July 28 at 1 p.m. for our weekly Sunday screening series, featuring co-director Fernando Meirelles’ Oscar-nominated drama “City of God” (2002) in digital projection.
CITY OF GOD | 2002 | CO-DIRECTORS: Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund | WITH: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele | RUNNING TIME: 2H 10M | RATED R for strong bloody violence, vulgar language, adult themes | DIGITAL PROJECTION
Nominated for four Oscars, including Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Cinematography, this hyper-kinetic, harrowing and exhilarating drama is set in the slums of Rio, Brazil, where two kids’ paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
“”City of God” churns with furious energy as it plunges into the story of the slum gangs of Rio de Janeiro. Breathtaking and terrifying, urgently involved with its characters, it announces a new director of great gifts and passions: Fernando Meirelles. The film has been compared with Scorsese’s “GoodFellas,” and it deserves the comparison. Scorsese’s film began with a narrator who said that for as long as he could remember he wanted to be a gangster. The narrator of this film seems to have had no other choice.
“The movie takes place in slums constructed by Rio to isolate the poor people from the city center. They have grown into places teeming with life, color, music and excitement–and also with danger, for the law is absent and violent gangs rule the streets.
“In the virtuoso sequence opening the picture, a gang is holding a picnic for its members when a chicken escapes. Among those chasing it is Rocket, the narrator. He suddenly finds himself between two armed lines: the gang on one side, the cops on the other.
“Working with the cinematographer Cesar Charlone, director Meirelles uses quick-cutting and a mobile, hand-held camera to tell his story with the haste and detail it deserves. Sometimes those devices can create a film that is merely busy, but “City of God” feels like sight itself, as we look here and then there, with danger or opportunity everywhere.” — Roger Ebert
The screening will be introduced by Bill Cosford Cinema manager Rene Rodriguez. Tickets are $5 and available at link above. Students use code UMSTUDENT at checkout for free admission. Cane card must be shown at the door.
