City of God Flashcards
Name the different section in City of God.
- The Story of the Tender Trio
- The Story of the Apartment
- The Story of Li’l Ze
- The Runts
- Benny’s Farewell
- Knockout Ned
- The Beginning of the End
Give a synopsis.
Based in Rio, Brazil in the slums (favelas). The actors were real people from the favelas rather than professionals in order to maintain an authentic feel. The crew also had to get permission to film in the favelas from the local gangs. The film is based on the true story of Rocket (Wilson Rodriguez).
Describe and discuss the opening.
It’s very fast and frantic, placing you vividly into the setting.
- Brazilian music
- fast paced editing
- chase scene (chicken)
It’s a non-linear narrative (based in the 60s) and creates lots of enigmas throughout, especially at the beginning with Rocket trapped between the gang and police. This idea of being trapped is a common theme since everyone is trying to escape the favelas.
Describe The Tender Trio sequence.
It shows how typical life was for people living in the favelas: petty theft, poverty, fear of police, dusty and dirty.
It establishes that there isn’t much good or bad in this film, only grey areas. Whilst they were stealing they were giving it to people in need, similar to Robin Hood. The police also shot an innocent man and falsified evidence to cover up their crime. Another pair even considered taking the stolen money from the hotel job when they apprehended the criminals. This is the first we see of the deep corruption within the police force.
What is the fates of the tender trio?
Clipper: he finds redemption in religion and escapes arrest/death by acting calm in front of the police whilst another runs, making him fade into the background.
Goose: he was having sex with ???’s wife and got caught, taking Rocket’s shorts so he isn’t naked before running into Li’l Dice who is shown shooting him during his story.
Shaggy: he tried to run away with his new girlfriend to start a new life free of crime but as they’re driving away ??? rats on him to the police, getting Shaggy shot as his girlfriend drives away.
What is a match transition?
Matching two shots with a similar setting (the car driving at the end of the tender trio sequence, jumping forward in time to Rocket going to the beach.
Describe The Apartment sequence.
The entire scene focuses on 20 years of the apartment showing the drug trade. The camera barely moves. There’s lots of violence as most of the owners are killed and further police corruption is shown. It loops back to the present day, telling us about all the characters. It jumps back almost immediately to show Li’l Ze’s transition into a crime boss.
Describe Li’l Ze’s sequence back to the apartment.
This is the third P.O.V. we see of the apartment and why they’re there: Rocket, Black, now Li’l Ze. These jumps help us to understand and solve enigmas so don’t confuse the audience. This shows his takeover of the different drug lords and how he’s come to take Blacky’s operation: the final one (apart from Carrot, who he’s agreed to leave alone).
Discuss the scene with The Runts.
The majority of the film is handheld adding to the raw and distressing atmosphere of this scene. This ties in with the message of the film, showing what life is really like. Violence is a way of life and scenes like this highlight it. It holts the audience out of their comfort zone (mock documentary coupled with children being involved) since it isn’t the same as the violence we’ve been desensitised to. It also highlight just how evil Li’l Ze is.
What is Rocket’s role in the film?
He seems to have an omnipotent position since most of the information comes from him.
Describe Benny’s Farewell.
He gets out in a similar way to Shaggy, his brother, in that he was trying to escape with his girlfriend and was very close to succeeding before being shot (although Benny was shot accidently: the bullet was meant for Li’l Ze).
Discuss Knockout Ned.
He had the potential to be the hero and was set up to be in this if it was any other film:
- wronged by the villain
- upstanding citizen
- “cool guy”, respected
- trying to be good from the start
This shows that the good guys also get caught up in the system:
- insisted no innocents killed after joining Carrot
- realises there are exceptions when Carrot saves him
- becomes desensitised when he shoots a security guard (his downfall) without a second thought
Discuss Tiago.
He began as an addict until he joined Li’l Ze’s gang. All the way through the film he’s in the hands of the dealer and his character never changes apart from the effects of the drugs on his appearance (dark eyes, pale, more spaced out).
Describe Rocket and how he differs from Li’l Ze.
Rocket attempted to become a gangster when he realised how much it pays and yet continues to be lucky and never got caught up in the system (can’t bring himself to do it). He even got given a camera by Benny which was his ticket to achieving his dream and getting out of the city. Li’l Ze grew up with the same influence in the same environment and yet he killed without a second thought from a very young age, setting him on a very different path to Rocket.
Discuss the contrasts in the film.
- offices/slums (difference in power and living conditions)
- white/black people (the whites have more power)
- the P.O.V. out of the office windows highlights the different in areas (clean, building sites, wealthy)
- Marina’s apartment was clean and had a hot shower and real bed, which was the polar opposite from Rocket’s life
