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Presenting a very different side of Brazilian society than we usually see in the movies, City of God has none of the tourist-filled beaches, festive nightlife or joyous Carnivale atmosphere usually associated with the more glamorous side of Rio de Janeiro. Set in the Cidade de Deus, one of the poorest neighborhoods just minutes from the heart of the city, the film is a violent, tense and often horrifying tale of life in the favelas (slums). The movie is also a piece of electrifying filmmaking, thriving with urgency, energy, and the power of narrative storytelling to make a difference in people's lives.

Narrated by young Buscape ("Rocket"), a boy too timid to get involved with the crime gangs that dominate his neighborhood but too smart to settle for the menial labor jobs that are available to him, the story traces the history of the drug trade and gang life in the slums from the 1960s through the early 1980s. Rocket has an interest in photography and documenting the things around him, and through his eyes as a child we witness relatively disorganized bands of unruly kids stealing to alleviate their poverty. Jumping forward to their teenage years, what started with a little marijuana peddling and a few stick-ups has evolved into a group of fearsome gangs that rule the slums through murder and intimidation. Corrupt police and a general disinterest from the middle and upper classes outside the favelas only perpetuates a cycle of violence and mayhem.

The film was primarily directed by Fernando Meirelles, with a Co-Director credit given to documentary filmmaker Katia Lund. Lund's role in the production is a little ambiguous, but apparently she dealt primarily with the actors, most of whom are non-professionals recruited from the real favelas. Meirelles has taken most of the credit for the film, so I have to assume that most of the stylistic and narrative choices were his. If so, he is a real filmmaking force to be reckoned with. Although City of God seems on the surface thematically similar to many previous gang and ghetto movies, anything from Goodfellas to Boyz N the Hood, it skillfully manages to avoid all of the cliches of those genres, never feeling anything but totally fresh and relevant. Meirelles demonstrates tremendous directorial flair. He incorporates elements from the works of Scorsese, Tarantino and others, but merges them into something entirely his own. His storytelling sense is assured, even cocky. The movie covers a lot of ground and has a great multitude of characters, but each personality and plot point is precisely defined and vividly memorable. Despite the use of narrative back-tracking, multiple perspectives and a circular structure, the story flows with perfect clarity. In his hands, no matter how complex the plot becomes it is almost impossible to lose track of who each character is and where things are going.

City of God is raw, brutal and real, yet remains hopeful in its outlook that there is an escape from this lifestyle for those willing to take it. It is a powerful, riveting work of filmmaking art that deserves to rank among the best films of the past decade.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The DVD case claims that the movie is presented in its theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but it looks more like the mattes have been opened to 16:9 and a small amount of windowboxing applied on all four sides of the frame. The difference is negligible and the compositional intent remains sound. Overscan on most consumer televisions will likely cut off the black bars, filling the screen on a 16:9 display.

The color transfer looks fantastic. The anamorphically- enhanced image is very sharp with only minor amounts of edge enhancement ringing on the credits and in a few scenes. Colors are bold and vibrant, with flesh tones burnished bronze from years in the sun. Black levels are solid and exhibit excellent shadow detail. This is a fine-looking disc with a vivid three-dimensional appearance.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The movie's original Portuguese-language soundtrack is available in an aggressive Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that matrixes well to a center rear channel if you have EX decoding. The soundtrack is made up of a mix of samba, soul and funk music that fills the entire soundstage. Sound effects are highly directional and the mix has a fair amount of bass. Gunshots have more of a pop to them than a thunderous boom, but that is probably intentional and more realistic. A couple of big gunfights toward the end of the movie are extremely enveloping, with bullets whizzing through every speaker. I wouldn't call this a reference quality demo track, but the disc's audio sounds great and supports the movie well.

English, English for the Hearing Impaired, Spanish or French subtitles have been provided. The disc also has English Closed Captioning.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Miramax still being a Buena Vista company at this point in time, the DVD begins with a forced trailer for an unrelated movie. Fortunately, you can skip past it using the Menu button. Some other Sneak Peaks are also available in the supplement section.

Other DVD regions have gotten more elaborate special editions for the film. Miramax's disc contains only one bonus feature related to the movie, but it's a very good one. News from a Personal War is the 56-minute documentary (presented in non-anamorphic letterbox) by Katia Lund that inspired City of God. Filmed from 1997 to 1998, the film is an unflinching look at contemporary life in the Brazilian favelas. It even-handedly examines all points of view of the daily struggle there, from the police to the gangsters to the residents just trying to stay out of the way. The movie is more depressing and sad than City of God, and a lot less hopeful in its outlook, but is essential viewing for a look at how much further the situation in Brazil has deteriorated since the events of the movie.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

There are no ROM extras on the disc.

Parting Thoughts