From its frenetic opening sequence in which a group of young men frantically chase a chicken through the slum back streets to its messy and violent conclusion, City of God is a first class example of fearless, bravura filmmaking. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Paulo Lins, which itself was loosely based on real events, City of God is an sprawling examination of the criminal underworld in the impoverished slums and favelas of Cidade de Deus, a district of Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, spanning from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Filmed with a boundless energy and with sterling performances from a largely unprofessional cast, this is a film where truth becomes stranger than fiction, where larger than life characters inhabit the screen before meeting their unexpected demise and, beyond it all, a sense of futility suggests that the cycle of violence and poverty will continue indefinitely.
