I started out intending to watch "Life of Others", a German movie. But I wasn't really feeling like reading the subtitles, so after a lot of search I zeroed in on "City Of God", a Brazilian movie! Well, as they say(?), it's not you who chooses the movie to watch, it's the movie which chooses you.The choice ended up being a good one. Crime, Drugs, Romance, Drama and Sex; All that you could need in a movie after a hectic exam period. City of God is based on a 'ghetto' near Rio de Janeiro, where displaced people move in; A place bustling with poverty, violence and drugs; A place where you could either be a 'hood' or a 'cop'. The story tracks the lives of two kids, growing up in the same environment. They have their stories entwined. While one of them grows up to be a crime lord, the other struggles to find a way out of the hood by becoming a professional photographer.
The story is smooth. It is the 60s and 70s, so you could see the renegade sex/drugs/rock-and-roll culture of California which somehow brimmed over into the 'City of God'. The story tracks the characters through their adolescence and narrates their thoughts flawlessly. A dark humor pervades through the movie and is actually pretty awesome (if you have a taste for it i.e.).
Final Verdict: This will definitely entertain you; If you are prepared to read a movie. 'nuff said!
IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/
