20 Foreign Language Movies You Must See Before You Die
4. City Of God
Country: Brazil.
Plot: A young photographer witnesses the slum where he grew up descend into violence and crime.
With this shattering, unbearably intense look at crime in Rio de Janeiro, there are a number of things which simply do not seem to exist. Firstly, hope. This is a very hard-hitting and tragically realistic look at the cycles of endless violence that exist within many of Brazil's poorest neighbourhoods.
Secondly, heroes and villains. Every character in this movie is brilliantly drawn and all of them, even the most violent ones, feel like relatable human beings. Finally, something else which is virtually absent from City of God is flaws.
City of God is a film that's so refined it's almost scary. The acting is fantastic, the direction is breath-taking, the violence is harrowing, the screenplay is stunning and powerful and every single moment of it works.
It's not the easiest film to watch, but City of God is a true masterpiece of world cinema that, for all the horrors it shows, is always a rewarding, compelling and psychologically complex look at human nature that will leave you feeling alive. This is easily one of the finest films of the 21st century so far.