City of God (2002)

It had been nearly a decade since I last visited City of God. I described this to my friend as a brutal and hard to watch film about kids with guns dealing drugs. To my surprise, the experience was not hard to watch at all and in fact it was very entertaining. I think you can contribute this to the film's soundtrack, which has a heartbeat of funky samba dance music. So despite what you're watching being violent and terrible, the music makes it go down easy. There are a few moments where the music stops and it lets the emotion hit you. For instance, this one sobering scene where a man buries his cheating wife alive in the floor of their home. The music stops so you can hear his whimpering sorrow. But then it turns right back on! We mainly follow 3 characters Rocket, L'il Dice, and Benny. All of them grew up together and somehow get wrapped up in the drug trade in Rio De Janeiro. It's a heartbreaking true story that demands to be watched and you should. This has held it's place in the top 25 highest rated movies on IMDB for a long time, and in my opinion it's earned that spot. The young actors are phenomenal, the cinematography matches the energy of the score, and it doesn't shy away from the brutality of this real place in time. Its a movie that feels alive. When you turn it on you are no longer a viewer but a participant. Be careful.

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