Cidade De Deus

“City of God” directed by Fernando Meirelles does not create the world of corruption, violence, gangs and poverty which is predominant in Brazil; rather it takes a backstage entry into the slum life. It explores the cruelty of reality in the alleys of city slum through the story of children in the Favela of Rio de Janeiro. These slum areas which grow up on the outskirts of the cities depict the living condition and struggles of people. The story line of the movie is through the eye of the Narrator, who describes how City of God came into existence starting in the 60s. When the poor people in the cities are forced to leave due to poverty, they resort to petty theft in order to survive.

Violence is such a big part of survival in these places. You are either the one putting down competition or being put down. There is no middle ground, no safety, and no sense of value for life. The idea to join a gang is the same as any other place: sense of belonging, temporary protection and the chance to have a better living condition than anyone else. Like any other gang drama, you know what the end result will be: the cycle of violence comes full circle. The narrator is not the hero in the movie, rather is a mere spectator who cannot actually fight against or oppose the idea of such violence. The only thing he is able to do is survive.

The movie also portrays the drugs and corruption which is an integral part of these areas. Police do not interfere or enforce any laws in these regions and turn blind eye to ongoing gang wars and violence. Their incentive is two-folds usually: they get monetary funding to do nothing and also avoid getting killed. The main business which is run in these regions is drugs. In the movie, the narrator mentions about an old lady’s apartment where she used to sell weed later turned into the operational headquarter for cocaine for the gangs.

But as most gang-drug-violence movies go, you expect the rise and fall of the person in power and gang wars break out like epidemics. You can sense that there is already someone waiting in the wings to assume the charge and become the next Godfather. It is a circle of life and however dysfunctional and unfair it may be, it has a way of balancing things out. Either to fight to remain at the top or you just fight to survive.

The movie can be compared to Martin Scorcese’s “Good Fellas” as both movies bring to life the struggles of the forgotten class of people and the evil within humans who do not remorse. Ethics take a back seat to the fight for survival and opportunities are scarce to escape the barbarous reality in these slums.