The Reel Rejects - CITY OF GOD (2002) MOVIE REVIEW!! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!

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Starting point is 00:01:02 You know, sign of the cross. And let's jump into this. Well, all right. Oh, my goodness. This was quite an experience. I'm almost a loss for where to begin. Just because, I mean, there's so much about just the history of Brazil and the culture at large and these specific events that I have no idea.

Starting point is 00:01:30 idea about, but especially, I mean, this is one of those experiences that you watch and you're like, clearly this is torn from real life cycles of violence and poverty and oppression and various other things, but to know that, you know, we come from, we're in Hollywood where, you know, it's the land of like, hey, eh, anyway, we can twist this into being a kind of true story we're going to do. But this definitely felt like it was, you know, a very, uh, uh, uh, uh, um, cinematic but but very sort of um i don't know apt depiction of something that seemed very pertinent and and real so to speak um yeah i mean what did you think oh man so uh walked in this movie not really knowing what it was going to be about and even those first few minutes i was

Starting point is 00:02:20 still gauging like okay what kind of movie are we in for you know and at first i didn't even know it's going to be in subtitles i didn't know i like they said we're watching movie called City of God, and it got a lot of rewards. I'm like, okay, I'm in. And yeah, as we got into it, you know, I was a little, I'll be honest, I was like a little like, okay, like they're chasing a chicken, like, okay, never in the past, all right, okay, there's like, this gang violence, okay, but then as we start to dive into these characters and see the different vantage points of the people that we're following, it really becomes this,

Starting point is 00:02:53 this wild and tragic story about like the cycle of violence within this this uh these slums and the city and like what what kids are forced to become what they're forced to adapt to yeah within this world and it's like you don't get to be a kid at all you don't get to be at all you know you just have to survive you know it's like kill or be killed and it's like the the down and dirty of it all and I think the way that they told you. hold it was very stylized in a way that really helps you like we kind of had a conversation I can't remember as the movie was starting or right before the movie like can you be able to tell like what's going on with the sound off without the subtitles and I feel like you know through the

Starting point is 00:03:41 visual language of this movie there's a lot that they're able to convey without using the words granted the words help and like they definitely play a big part in the understanding of the dynamics but I feel like as you're watching and as you kind of sink into what the story is you're definitely able to tell what kind of movie this is and that's the sign of a great story that's the sign of a great film being made

Starting point is 00:04:02 so watching this all of the characters you really got invested in them you really got you felt the anger that they felt you felt the pain and the hopelessness yeah being able to sit with those moments

Starting point is 00:04:16 and it was just one of those things where you know I'm happy that we had this experience because I don't know too much about Brazil. I don't know a lot about the culture. And yeah, I think I got a glimpse into not only what this particular section of culture was like within Brazil, but what those time periods were like within Brazil. And the nature of this adolescent, like, depravity that's happening within this, the context of this, I kind of made a joke which is like Goodfellows meets Little Rascals.

Starting point is 00:04:51 early on and like no like really kind of is it literally was like that and i was like oh man and it's so tragic because this movie like it's very smart about how it tells its story but it also at the same time doesn't pull any punches with its violence you know i feel like they handled some of the obviously a lot of all it was was dark but like some of those more um deprave or more evil moments like that scene that we don't see but we understand like what's happening. Yeah, you get what I'm saying. With knock out Ned where they have them on the ground.

Starting point is 00:05:25 They have a, they knock out, knock out net and things happen. But you're able to understand even without words being said, what is going on. Yeah, you don't need to relish in that visual to get the, yeah, the harshness and the depravity of the situation.

Starting point is 00:05:42 Exactly. And even with and the colors even conveyed the tone and the moon of what was going on. within the story and yeah i it's it's weird with movies like this because i can't say that like oh my god i love this movie but i really really appreciate it i feel like love is like a very odd term to use for uh the the dark nature it's so painful tragic it's a painful and harsh and yeah and indicative of you know the the worst elements that reality has to offer you know in human societies that are

Starting point is 00:06:17 you know left to fester by you know disparities in wealth and classes that could easily heal so many of these problems and yet don't and then beget just all this corruption and you know real feral kind of lawlessness and yeah like gang rule and things like that and again i'm not an expert in any way in these facets of life but yeah it's like you start the movie and you have the chicken thing which i i appreciated that as a motif because i feel like everyone is the chicken to some extent in this movie and I've obviously we have sympathy for the chicken just because the chicken doesn't know the chicken isn't innocent the chicken is you know unawares of all these machinations and yet the same level of chaos still comes for the chicken and I feel like maybe the chicken got away you know kind of like you know being caught up in this in the middle of this rocket is able to and so yeah little lyrical things like that I thought were really nice and just yeah the way that this captured all the events with the kind of eye that a photographer would like I really like the way Rocket is positioned

Starting point is 00:07:22 because Rocket is here he's always kind of telling you the story and he's on screen throughout but in little ways and I feel like that is really fitting be fitting of a character who is aspiring to be a photographer a person who is a fly on the wall

Starting point is 00:07:35 who is capturing moments but who shouldn't be the center of the attention of those moments you know and so yeah it's like you're not really spending your time you do intimately get to know Rocket but yeah but you're not spending your time examining rocket so much as you're just watching rocket's examination of everything

Starting point is 00:07:52 else around him right and yeah you're getting these i think really it's really nice the way they handled all this i think because you get so many tangential windows into characters and yet you know even when characters exit or leave or meet often untimely ends you know nobody feels like a random interlude or some kind of thing that didn't belong here you know it's like it is a true ensemble in that you these key players but really it's like the situation and the circumstances are so much of the unifying factor of everything and then to get these these beautiful points of contrast to where you know it's like early on in the movie you're uh you know like on the run and they're out in the wood or in the jungle you know and uh and it's like kind of beautiful or they're out on the beach and it's like

Starting point is 00:08:38 it's really beautiful and then uh you'll have these moments of joyousness where like everyone's dancing or everyone's playing football or you know you'll have these little bits of liveliness where for just a moment the harshness gives way to you know what's beautiful about a life and more specifically be this you know area of the world and uh yeah i i i get how like i would love to see you know this is such a notable movie and it was a big crossover certainly uh from brazil you know i remember it coming out and and people buzzing about it here in the states um you know obviously it would be cool. I love international cinema and would love to see more of the different colors

Starting point is 00:09:23 that the cinemas of Brazil have to offer. I saw a new wave movie in school called Black God, White Devil, or that's the American translation. I believe the actual Portuguese is God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun, whatever that translates to, both of which have some pretty heavy subject matter. So I do recognize that a movie like this is probably hard for a lot of people to watch, especially if that's part of your history. You know, if you're a Brazilian or something like that, and I, you know, it would be, yeah, I'd be curious to see more movies that encompass, you know, the thriving side and the joyous side, you know, because so many movies, you know, that grab people's attention are about the harshness of tragedy and reality.

Starting point is 00:10:01 But I think they do point to something in this that is, like, there are certain aspects of this, even though this is like to an extreme and, you know, we're peering in on these lawless places that are like completely under the control of gangs or whatever. Like, there's still a lot of elements to just the simple core dreams people have and the positions people are forced into that are kind of universal, even if this is not your life. You know, there are versions of this all across the world in all different societies. And yeah, this was just a really fascinating saga. And while, you know, all the characters, I mean, Rocket is the most agreeable, but everyone is super gray. and everyone is forced into a position to do something terrible at some point or another and that's just kind of how it seems like

Starting point is 00:10:51 you have to survive and it wasn't too ham-fisted with anything like this this really felt like you were peering in on some kind of guerrilla documentary or something like that yeah it felt like Rocket made the movie yeah and that's like a really beautiful thing and I know that

Starting point is 00:11:06 like I don't know exactly what the movie's budget was or what the film industry of Brazil was like at the time and granted you are in the 60s and 70s for this movie, which is cool because it's like, I always find it fun. You know, it's like we have such an ingrained, sort of easy, easily accessible look back at what those times in America were like. And, you know, those are pretty ubiquitous in terms of just like, oh yeah, everyone can kind of think of America in the 60s. We get to see Brazil in the 60s and 70s and see what cultures may be bleeding over from outside, but what is also the culture from within during those times. And yeah, I don't know if they shot the movie just on whatever film they have. or if they had enough resources to be like, hey, we can choose exactly what we want. But it felt kind of like the latter

Starting point is 00:11:53 because it's like in the 60s, the film stock and the grain of the film feels like some cheap film you might have found in the 60s. The colors, at least from my vantage point, kind of look like that. And then when you're in the 70s, I was sitting there going, are we, I mean, people look a little bit older,

Starting point is 00:12:08 but also I feel like just the image, the tone, the grain, the color palette has changed a little bit. And so, yeah, it's like, nowadays, I mean, back then people shot movies on film, you know, whatever year this is, this is from, nowadays, it's a lot more of a sort of special thing. This is from 2004. So people would have been, like, predominantly shooting on film. And so, like, you know, 16mm has that sort of grimeier, more tangible feel, and it's cheaper. And so, like, it is kind of like what a budget production, what somebody starting out just shooting, you know, footage might have access to more easily than 35 or something like.

Starting point is 00:12:44 that so i don't know just like things like that were also too like just the construction of the movie the the sort of doc you direct cinema slash cinema verite kind of you know you have all these povs and like it's not a found footage or like a mockumentary but it does yeah have just so much like human perspective in the way that it's shot and assembled in the way it portrays chaos and the way that it's lit too you have so many scenes that every scene felt like like it was restricted to the light that would be available in this setting. And even the, like, exteriors at night didn't feel like some kind of movie magic trickery. They felt like they just got a light and shot out there at night or something like that, you know?

Starting point is 00:13:28 And, uh, and yeah, like, while extremely harsh and grim in a lot of different respects, there's a lot of life in a movie like this as well, you know, to compliment the tragedy. And it just felt very lively and alive despite all those things. And you really feel this sort of, that kind of great Gatsby sort of like, just at the edge of the horizon is the little green light of hope that maybe I could get out of here. Or maybe I could get on some rung of the ladder that can help me transcend this cycle of being forced into crime and violence. Yeah. Yeah.

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Starting point is 00:16:44 has changed the game for me. Take control of your finances with Rocket Money and enjoy financial peace of mind. I think just add a little bit to that. I'll say that I like the way this movie

Starting point is 00:16:54 dance between like the levity and lightness of being a kid or being in your adolescence and the violent darker sides of it that they were forced to be into. I think that seeing that

Starting point is 00:17:06 really added dynamic to the movie as well because if it was just consistent darkness consistent depravity in the cycle of violence they were showing it could get like very

Starting point is 00:17:19 doursome or become a lot but I also think the movie uses a good job of using those moments of levity to balance out so it's like showing the moments of youthfulness whether it be like the dancing or them playing soccer in the beginning or them

Starting point is 00:17:37 please Aaron football football football or them being at the beach you know yeah and you know seeing like them start off as little kids grow up and then pass that back on to the runts and i have to imagine at the beginning of this movie there are probably some older kids that inspired the trio yeah then then set them into this path of violence yeah so it's of old it just keeps going and yeah it's because of the conditions that were that were set and established like long before or any of them were alive. Yeah. And yeah, man, it's just, it's, it's sad. And I don't know the state of things in Brazil now. I'm definitely curious to know because this takes place in the 70s,

Starting point is 00:18:22 60s and 70s, or things at in 2023. Yeah, and if you have knowledge, please educate us in the comments as well. Yeah, I would love more context. Yeah, if you're from that part of the world, or if you have knowledge or have family out there, like we would love to hear personal anecdotes or experiences of what the state is like within these things. but in this place but yeah

Starting point is 00:18:41 I think that's generally my thoughts I thought it was really really great movie yeah no this is like this is I understand why cinema for sure like this is absolute cinema it's hard to watch a lot of the time and it's heartbreaking most of the time

Starting point is 00:18:57 almost 20 years old this movie but this is this is cinema man this has got something to say and it's got you know a real I could feel the passion of everyone putting this together despite how heavy it is It's interesting, too, like Alice Braga broke out, I assume, from this. And I'm curious as to if maybe some of the other people on the cast have, you know, done more international work.

Starting point is 00:19:21 Because she's like an international star now, whereas everybody else, Alice Braga is the girl who he's on the beach with her. And then she gets with Benny eventually. Oh, she does look familiar. What does she be in? Oh, she's been in tons of stuff. She's in, I'm going to name all her best movies. Predators, Elysium. she's in words let's just really quick look up out she looks like now because then all that'll

Starting point is 00:19:42 probably add some light oh I'd be sure look that different to be honest okay she looks so young she's queen in the south yeah oh okay she looks real young but like yeah I recognize her as in her in her 30s and 40s okay yeah she has to be a teenager when she shot this yeah clearly yeah so I'm just curious you know oh yeah she's in the suicide squad too she was in the suicide squad yeah and I did not And new mutants, which I haven't seen, but she's definitely in the trailer. I have also not seen new mutants. Oh, well, everyone's going to be waiting for that reaction. Oh, most anticipated.

Starting point is 00:20:16 Yeah, woo. Yeah, I would be curious to know what else the rest of the cast did. Because, again, like, there's always that thing of like, well, maybe because I don't speak the, I don't speak Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, you know, or Japanese or whatever, you know, whatever other country you're watching from, sometimes you're like, oh, maybe because I don't understand the language, the performances feel better. like everybody in this felt so real and just like plucked out of time and and you know again this really authentically felt like you're just peering through a grimy window into some other reality that is this reality pretty pretty much i do have i do have one question though maybe i missed it did they ever say what happened to knock out ned's girlfriend after the events of what no we don't i don't think we really get a real i don't i don't think so but i i couldn't be certain you guys

Starting point is 00:21:07 can let us know in the comments. Yeah, if we find out what happened on the real girl. Because they say her name? I don't recall. I don't recall. I just hope she got the hell out of Dodge if that was possible.

Starting point is 00:21:18 Because, damn. Wow. Well, guys, leave us your thoughts down below. Thank you for joining us for this experience. This isn't the exact, like, normal kind of thing that we're covering here. But I do love getting a look at, you know, the greater realm of cinema

Starting point is 00:21:35 and especially international cinema, what different parts of the world, you know, what they have to say and what, you know, film style looks like through these lenses and stuff like that. You know, cinema as this big melting pot, like, it's always really cool to see what flavors arise when you peer into different parts of the world. And, yeah, again, in the cinematography, and the editing and the music and the acting and the designs and the locations, just everything about this felt so authentic and, like, really well composed and just like all these little title, the titles and the little free. freeze frame embellishments like this was a really really solidly crafted piece and i'm grateful we got to watch it despite how heavy so much of it is so yeah just uh leave us your thoughts down below and thank you for joining us uh thank you for you know being with us along the journey we'll catch you next time much love guys

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The Reel Rejects - CITY OF GOD (2002) MOVIE REVIEW!! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!

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