CITY OF GOD - CONTEXT
CONTEXT: 60s TO 2002 BRAZIL
PRODUCTION CONTEXT
The first favelas were shanty towns that were created after a war in Northeast Brazil, when Brazilian soldiers were disappointed with the fact that they had no land as reward for their duty
They protested by settling in squatter settlements close to the ministry of war, with the settlement later becoming known as "favela hill".
People from the countryside who immigrated to the city for a better life later joined the people of the favela, and they grew in massive quantities where 23% of Brazil's population lives in one (around 1.4m people). These favelas had little to no government control, were tightly packed into small square miles, lack basic resources and crime and violence ran wild
In 1964, the military overturned former president Joao Goulart: he promised to clean up corruption. The country was placed under a new dictatorship, where death squads trained by the CIA, reversing social reforms and laws that tailor American financers flourished
They ruled for 21 years
When the military were removed from power, civilian rule returned and the country slowly improved for the people
Chaos, suppression and untrustworthy authority figures ran amok when the film was set
In 2002, the first left wing government in over 40 years came to power
Since the film came out at around the same time as the election, COG exists as a cautionary tale about the consequences of corruption and the effect of poverty
Budget: $3.3m
Gross: $30m - major financial success
They couldn't film in the real City of God because a drug war was happening at the time, so they filmed at a similar location instead
They chose street cast actors to play the characters so that the child actors aren't intimidated in the favela - this is known as a neo-realist technique
Fernando Meirelles used upbeat samba music throughout the film: the decision was met with some controversy for appearing to glamorise violence, but Meirelles used the music to suggest that sometimes favelas are fun and energetic places to be.
Distributed in the US / English speaking languages by Miramax / The Weinstein company
Because of Rio's geography, favelas are usually situated right next to luxurious and popular tourist areas in the city
Violence and machismo is the norm in favelas, as domestic abuse rates are substantially higher than the rest of the city, and men constantly joining gangs as they see guns as a source of power and identity
Has the largest domestic (US) audience for Brazil in the year of it's release (2002)
QUOTES
"Exposing an epic battlefield of urban corruption at the center of one of the world’s most populous cities" - Ed Gonzalez (Slant article)
Paulo Lins, the writer of the book, was raised in the city. While doing research on dealers in the favelas, his boss asked him to write a book about it. It took him 8 years to complete it.
The book became a national bestseller because it was shocking for the country: nobody knew what happened inside of those favelas
The president of Brazil at the time, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, told Meirelles that the film changed his policies on public security
MEIRELLES QUOTES:
"Brazil is a very musical country and music is part of our lives. If you go to a favela and walk by the houses, there’s always music playing, like samba, funk and rap."
"For the drug dealers, there’s no hope. There’s no way out for them and, in the end, they all die. Rocket represents hope in the film. He’s a blend of Paulo Lins, someone who was raised in City of God and became a known writer, and his friend Rocket, who became a photographer."
"Every time I had an opportunity to show violence I tried to avoid showing it on purpose. I don't think crime is glamorized in the film."
“City of God is not only about a Brazilian issue, but one that involves the whole world. About societies which develop on the outskirts of our civilized world.”
A lot of the dialogue was improvised by the actors - about 70% in total. Since the actors weren't professional, to create authentic and realistic performances, the actors were simply told what was going to happen in each scene and find the dialogue that's more authentic to them.
"When we first saw the locations that we would be using, we decided to use a different visual approach to each part of the story"