Taglines: If you run, the beast will get you. If you stay, the beast will eat you.
Brazil, 1960s, City of God. The Tender Trio robs motels and gas trucks. Younger kids watch and learn well…too well. 1970s: Li’l Zé has prospered very well and owns the city. He causes violence and fear as he wipes out rival gangs without mercy. His best friend Bené is the only one to keep him on the good side of sanity.
Rocket has watched these two gain power for years, and he wants no part of it. Yet he keeps getting swept up in the madness. All he wants to do is take pictures. 1980s: Things are out of control between the last two remaining gangs…will it ever end? Welcome to the City of God.
City of God (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus) is a 2002 Brazilian crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund, released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. The story was adapted by Bráulio Mantovani from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins, but the plot is loosely based on real events.
It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li’l Zé and vigilante-turned-criminal Knockout Ned. The tagline is “If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you”, a proverb analogous to the English “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t”.
The cast includes Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Alice Braga and Seu Jorge. Most of the actors were, in fact, residents of favelas such as Vidigal and the Cidade de Deus itself.
City of God (2002)
Directed by: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Matheus Nachtergaele, Seu Jorge, Jefechander Suplino
Screenplay by: Bráulio Mantovani
Production Design by: Tulé Peak
Cinematography by: César Charlone
Film Editing by: Daniel Rezende
Costume Design by: Bia Salgado, Inês Salgado
Music by: Antonio Pinto, Ed Côrtes
MPAA Rating: R for strong brutal violence, sexuality, drug content and language.
Distributed by: Miramax Films
Release Date: May 18, 2002 (Cannes), August 30, 2002 (Brazil)
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