Reviews

This movie is about the cinema and the excitement it makes between people. Like many other Juiseppe Tornatore's movie, this deeply delighting movie is comprised of simplicity, drama, and comedy. Cinema looks like life and keeps people away from their loneliness; people search their hopes and wishes in the screen. It is the secret of cinema and its eternity which allures people to lay themselves bare in front of the Joe Morelli's camera. They don't want to be star, they just want to be themselves and the camera makes them to be seen. In front of the camera, they are more honest than any other time in their lives; the Young speak about their wishes and dreams and the older people tell story about their past and memories. But if really Joe Morelli deceives them or not; the behavior of people toward him, after he's released from prison, shows they are not really mad at him as if People know that he gave them what they enthusiastically wanted. The growing emotional relation between Morelli and Beata are not as strong as it is supposed to be and it is the weak of the movie. It might be due to Tornatore tries to bold the funny part of the movie rather than the drama.

Whoa. Such an amazing start; gangs of boys start catching up on a chicken with GUN!!!! What kinds of story we are going to face? This bewildering introduction, coupled with vigorous samba music, is a comprehensive plot of the movie. A violent neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro where no police, no law, and no ethic is there: city of god. Doubtless, the Bráulio Mantovani's elaborated screenplay is one of a kind those does not ignore a smallest detail, so could easily form the logical sequences of story and relations between characters. Fernando Meirelles deliberately keeps himself away of going into drama or even tragedy, with not consuming so much time on the key scene of the movie, so the movie fellowship is really fast and keep on occupying the audiences' mind. Such an amazing of this style is the beginning of the Knockout Ned's story; the scene of attacking on his girlfriend, shooting on his family, and killing his brother and uncle is deliberately so short and sufficient. Eventually the death of Bene in his goodbye party, or even the scene of killing Li'l Zé follows the same strategy. Everything in city of god happens so simple, and it definitely is the strength of this movie.

It is a film with well-designed introduction, but gradually goes through the wrong way until reaches a boring stream. However the final turns could be considered as happy ending for such story. The relations between husband and wife, father and son, and teenager love are all so good and believable which show Jodie was really successful to plot the relation between characters, but unfortunately it is her only triumph in this movie. The major contributor to failure keeping the first rhythm of the movie is the scenario. There is much lack of drama in the story, so the scenario more looks like a first idea which would not write professionally. This kind of plain scenario is really hard to be directed; nevertheless, I would have expected more of her.