CITY OF GOD |
*Editor's Note: This is a post from Graham Thomas' blog RedRiceFilms, who is currently on co-op in China, and who will be a don for some of you this coming spring! Enjoy his musings as he connects the movies he watches with the new life he's living overseas
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I’ve seen a number of crime films in this China experiment. Classics such as The Godfather and Scarface, and the more detective driven The Big Sleep. Even Die Hard 2, American History X and Seven have some shades of crime or cop drama about them. City of God presents a fresh look on the hoodlum’s life. This time it’s not a thing of honour or familial respect. Instead it is ruled by the youngest generation that can handle a gun and command fear. It is a product of a torn down world, wretched with poverty, where you must fight to survive. This film paints that world brilliantly.
City of God is a film relentless in its moving story and flowing cinematography. It is the sort of film where every character matters and makes choices that are understandable and even relatable. This inspires a commitment to the story and the wellbeing of its players that most films don’t manage to achieve. Furthermore, this attachment exists even when reading subtitles to understand the Portuguese. City of God is a heartfelt, moving, and very raw experience. I’ve lived in China now for six months, almost to the day. Throughout my time here, I’ve always felt like an outsider looking in. If I were to skip my flight in April and stick around for five years more, I don’t think this feeling would pass. A combination of the language barrier and my blazing white skin in a sea of uniformity means that China could never really be home. As such, I have trouble really understanding how the everyman lives. I’ve done my best to observe and ask questions when necessary, but the deep culture of this middle kingdom still has layers of complexity I’ve yet to grasp. |
In City of God I was presented with another foreign culture, that of 60s and 70s Brazil. However, due in equal parts to the subtitles and the quality of the film, I was able to understand the living, breathing heart of the city. I could see how the decisions of people across the favela formed a web of emotions and motivations and created the life that was. I saw the resignation of the parents who have grown tired of their violent world and the ferocity of their children who want to rule. I saw the regulation and convention in moving up the ladder in journalism mirrored by that in the drug business. I saw kids turn into young adults, and a new generation ready to take their place.
All this transparency is something I long for in China. I will leave this land with an overall appreciation for its culture and society, but I will be missing deeper truths. Maybe though that’s something that I shouldn't regret. In real life, understanding a people’s way of life is something that takes a lifetime; it can’t be summarized in a two hour film. I don’t mind dedicating my lifetime to understanding the culture of Canada.
This was originally a post in the blog I’m keeping while in China. More posts about other movies may be found at RedRiceFilms.wordpress.com.
This was originally a post in the blog I’m keeping while in China. More posts about other movies may be found at RedRiceFilms.wordpress.com.