Title: Brilliant Gangster Picture
Product review: Don't let the title, and the fact that this is a foreign language film, throw you off. This is not a religious picture, nor is it a "beautifully photographed triumph of the human spirit". This is a story about youth gangs in a Brazilian housing project, ironically named "The City of God." In reality it's a brutal slum, with grinding poverty. The film follows the story of several kids who grow up in this slum, most of them starting early on a life of crime.This is a film in the tradition of "Goodfellas" and "Menace II Society", with traces of "Once Upon a Time in America." Brilliantly scripted, acted, and edited, with believable, three-dimensional characters, this is a movie that will grip you from the first moments until the end.It should be noted that like any gangster picture there's plenty of violence, and its view of life is pretty grim. Don't rent or buy this movie if you think it's going to be a "charming foreign film."
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