Movie was excellent and even tho it was based on a true story i'd still want to live in the City of God. This is truly a keeper. If you can understand what they had to grow through and look at your situation would you really want to live in the city of God yourself?

Set in the Brazilian favelas of the 60's and 70's, this movie chronicles the life of Rocket, a boy with a lust for photography and life outside the ghetto. As we follow Rockets journey we are engulfed in the intertwining lives of his friends, family, and the "hoods" (hustlers) that make and break the laws of the streets.
With great action scenes, a heart wrenching and heart warming plot, this movie takes you on an emotional roller coaster as we see how the favelas can give life to, mold and destroy those who live there.
Based on a true story, a MUST see. 5/5

The film revolves around the, 'City of God,' a favela (or ghetto) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a horrifying area where drug dealers run the community, and where children killing children is not an uncommon occurrence.

The story begins with the early stages of the City of God (in the 1960's) showing where many of the problems stem from- the extreme poverty, overcrowding etc. Here, in the early stages of the favela, we meet our main characters, along with the supporting cast. The story revolves mainly around two characters living in the favela, Rocket and Lil Ze, and how they take two different paths through life. Rocket's dream is to become a photographer and to escape the City of God while Lil Ze becomes a powerful gang leader and drug dealer.

The film offers an unflinching look at gang life in the City of God, as it follows the favela through three decades; the 60's, 70's and 80's, and shows how violence just spirals into more violence with the disturbingly high amounts of violence in the favela, most involving teenagers and children.

The direction, cinematography, and editing are all Oscar-worthy. The cinematography is some of the best I have ever seen- with a very visceral, jerky feel, very reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan. The editing is very frantic, which makes you feel like you are on the streets of the City of God, and the direction is flawless, seamlessly blending the many elements of the story.

The film was definitely one of the best films I have ever seen. The story, the direction, the cinematography, the editing and the acting all add up to make a excellent movie that I would recommend to all.

10/10, A+

Would also recommend: Bus 174 and Carandiru

This movie is one of a kind not only in Brazil but all around the world. Some of the actors who were in it were shown on the news as drug dealers, killers or robbers somes years after they couldn't profit from the movie any longer. It is a reality in Brazil, unfortunately. I am Brazilian and can certainly state that this kind of movie is a blockbuster, however I hope the day will come when my country is well-known for other kind of motion picture. The one that brings out the best in people.