What are some of the ways in which visual style is important in “City
of God”? Refer to key sequences in your answer. [20 marks ]
City of god (Meirrelles, 2002, Brazil), based on a true story, set in the Favela’s in Rio De
Janeiro, it shows the upbringing of children, where they descend into a career of drugs,
violence and death. City of God is an example of the Cinema Novo movement, which follows
the idea of ‘A camera in hand and an idea in the head’. It has a complex, circular, non-linear
narrative which shows the cyclical nature of violence. However, it has been criticised for
glamourising violence and creating poverty as an aesthetic, but I have to disagree with this
as there are many scenes in the film that are very violent and hard to watch, which in my
opinion do the complete opposite of glamourising violence and instead show a harsh reality
that many children could be facing but know no different to.
The opening sequence is a key sequence in the film as in a couple of minutes it reveals
almost entirely what the film is based around and what features of crime/thriller films it will
include. It begins with alternating shots of a black screen, a knife being sharpened and a
chicken tethered by its leg. This immediately has connotations of violence and death as well
as entrapment and lawbreaking, so it sets the tone straight away and we know what
elements of film to expect later on. The combination of Samba music and this fast-paced
editing sets the scene and tells us it is going to be a fast-moving film and will tell a story that
spans over a few decades. The natural, slightly grey/blue lighting implies that the point in
time this scene is set is a dangerous and unhappy time in the main character, Rocket’s, life,
as we get a long shot of Rocket which spins around him and transition to him as a child in
the same pose but in a completely different time. This bring us to the idea that it will be a
circular narrative which has begun at the end of his story and is now telling the beginning.
This shot has completely different lighting as it is now bright yellow and orange. The
contrast between the lighting may not have been so drastic if it was not edited in this way
but I think that this adds to the effect and possibly shows even more that Rocket could have
had a better life if he had not been as much involved with Lil Ze in any way, even if that is
just needing to take a picture of him, which ultimately could have put his life in danger. This
is also shown by a voiceover from Rocket where he says, “if you run, you're dead, if you
stay, you're dead again.”, which shows that sometimes there is no escape from the life you
were born into.
Another key scene in the film is when Lil Ze orders ‘Steak’ to shoot one of the runts after
they burgle a chicken shop. In this scene the runts are presented as inferior and poor. This is
evident from the camera angles and the clothing that they are wearing, as Lil Ze is shot from
a lower angle, making him appear more dominant and powerful, but the runts are shot from
a higher angle looking down so are presented as weak and even more child-like. The runts
are wearing what seems to be hand-me down clothes as they are far too small for them and
torn, with their runny noses and belly’s poking out from beneath their tops, in contrast to Lil
Ze and his gang who are wearing bright shirts and lots of jewellery while holding a gun to
intimidate and show power. This scene is very shocking to anyone but specifically audiences
in countries with specific laws and set punishments, as from my view a young child under
the age of ten would almost never be tried for robbing a chicken shop, let alone be shot or
killed by a gang.
There is also another incredibly shocking scene in which Ned’s girlfriend is raped. Low key
lighting is used in a dark setting, with black outs in between scenes which reinforce the
chaos and disorientation. The close ups on Ned’s face and the low angles of him emphasise
his vulnerability and his lack of power in comparison to Lil Ze and his gang. We can hear
Ned’s girlfriend crying out and Lil Ze’s laughter which shows her weakness in a time of hard
struggle. This is another scene that in my opinion is contradicting some critic views of the
film glamourising violence as in no way does this scene depict a glamourous view on gang
life in the favelas.
In conclusion, visual style is very important in City of God as it adds something different that
many viewers may have never seen before as many Hollywood films brush over the harsh
reality of life and focus on what is more inviting and entertaining to the spectator. As it is
based on a true story, the visual style of the film has to be realistic enough so that we
acknowledge the realism and feel like we are pulled into the story, but also artificially lit to
some extent as some scenes that are shot in the dark, we would not be able to see if there
was no artificial lighting. Overall, I think that City of God has a unique visual style as it keeps
the natural lighting, as much as possible, but still manages to give the film a somewhat
greatly edited feel, which could be the source of some of its criticism.