★★★★★ City of God

[Gino: 4.5, Twinkletoes: 5.0]

Twinkletoes says: "Fantastic film. I can't believe it took me this long to get around to seeing it. Already an all time favorite of mine."

Gino says: "I am not a fan of violent films. I just refuse to become too desensitized to it. So I have to say this film probably had a body count equal to the three Godfather films combined. And in a way, the casualness with which these gangsters (often literally kids) is sometimes more frightening.

Having said that, this film was done so well I have to forgo a bit my purely-subjective enjoyment rating rule, if you know what I mean. It was the most well-crafted gangster film I have ever seen. It doesn't rely on plot twists or gimicks -- just total immersion into its setting, the gangster world of the favela. The main character is really only used as a much-needed touchstone of decency, but he is very likable. The cinematography is MTV-slick at times for my taste, but on the other hand almost every frame is gorgeous, even while the photographic subject is usually despairingly decrepit. The color pallete of the Brazillian soil, the beach, and the sunshine, and the variety of skin tones helped. And despite the occasional slickness of the camera-work and editing, on balance, it gave a feeling of watching real events as they unfolded. A sign of masterful film-making, I think. UPDATE: after writing this, I read Ebert's review. I encourage you to do that. He (a pulitzer prize winner) described the camera work that I was just discribing more eloquently: "[director and cinematographer] uses quick-cutting and a mobile, hand-held camera to tell his story with the haste and detail it deserves. Sometimes those devices can create a film that is merely busy, but "City of God" feels like sight itself..."

So, I guess while I could only 'like' a violent gangster fill 'so much', my 'admiration' for this one was huge."