1. CITY OF GOD<br />SCREENING NOTES<br />Opening scene<br />Kinetic use of camera<br />Cultural music<br />Low level Tracking shot of chicken<br />Rocket introduced as photographer<br />No subtitles early on so don’t know what they’re saying<br />Poverty identifiable<br />Maze=like alley ways<br />Built up, crowded urban environment – tall buildings in state of disrepair<br />Matrix shot (360 deg pan, slo mo of Rocket that transforms into the past)<br />Grey, blue mise-en-scene, dark oppressive feel to it (lighting, colour of building) – in direct contrast to next scene (not yet built up area)<br />See Li'l Zé’s gang – introduces immediate concern of the film – POVERY, POWER and CRIME<br />Sixties<br />Housing projects<br />Identical houses lined up<br />Everything yellow/orange – emphasising the dust and heat <br />Poverty is apparent through clothing, cars, jobs people have<br />Even police have rusted old VW Beetle<br />Very clear there is a lack of aspirations for the young – being a hood a viable option<br />Goose feels he is a hood as he “has no brain” whereas Rocket should be aspiring to greater things<br />This Brazil is “far removed form the picture postcard image of Rio de Janeiro<br />Tender trio<br />Shaggy, Clipper, Goose (Rocket’s brother)<br />Hold up trucks<br />Kids as criminal – not an unusual sight in films like these? Adheres to Latin American stereotype?<br />Shaggy – falls in love but is shot trying to escape<br />Goose – shot by r<br />Clipper – turns to the Church<br />Other characters introduced at this stage - Li'l Dice and Benny<br />Cops – as bad as hoods (taking money form dead bodies etc) – again a stereotype of the corrupt cop.<br />Rocket<br />His voice over guides the narrative and we identify with him<br />He introduces characters and situations<br />He like us, is an observer<br />Motel scene<br />Motel (whorehouse) - Li'l Dice left outside as lookout<br />This is a start of things to come as indicates Li'l Dice’s appetite for killing<br />Seventies<br />Rocket and friends (the Groovies) on the beach<br />fits in more with our notion of what Brazil is like – sun, sea, fun, contrast to previous scenes<br />Montage sequence of Rocket taking photos of his friends<br />Style<br />Relentless in pace and editing techniques, use of energetic soundtrack and constantly moving camera<br />Camera opens our eyes to this world and the people who inhabit it<br />Lots of high angle shots of the identical houses at dusk (60s)<br />Naturalistic acting (non-professional, fast dialogue and believable characters and mannerisms)<br />Overall youthful element to the style - allows us to identify more with young characters (never see older people as generally people don’t appear to live that long)<br />Every film trick in the book is used from slo mo to split screen to bullet time effects<br />Soundtrack very important to adding to the mood and atmosphere<br />Use of humour even in serious situations – e.g. when Goose is discovered with Shorty’s wife, the car breaking down when Shaggy tries to escape<br />The Story of the Apartment<br />This is the first time we get to see into the life of the drug dealers<br />It is no longer about being a small time hood<br />Drugs as big business and the key to survival<br />Dark and dingy apartment<br />Drug paraphernalia everywhere<br />Plenty of extreme close ups on the dealing process<br />From Li'l Dice to Li'l Zé<br />At 18 becomes the most respected hood<br />Very angry, intimidating and violent<br />“ready for anything:<br />hungry for power<br />given an amulet by a mystical character<br />clearly believes in his power/importance<br />handheld camera and focussing on everything he sees and covets (girls, cars, money, jewellery)<br />Killing montage<br />Fast motion<br />BEV of bodies being shot as if it means nothing<br />Rise to becoming a coke dealer<br />Charting his rise to success (typical gangster film conventions – rise and inevitable fall)<br />Montage of drug selling s a business and how it is done<br />Camera constantly roaming around<br />Voice over as a constant narrative device<br />The Runts<br />Rob, cause havoc, upset the balance of the favelas<br />Disucss how to rise to power – relies on waiting for death of the older hoods<br />Idea of violence breeding violence (Ze forces another child to kill a child)<br />Li'l Zé has to put a stop to it – confronts them in what seems like very cruel and sadistic way – shows he doesn’t feel any emotion<br />CU on his amulet round his neck to remind us and him of his power and arrogance as he shoots child in the foot<br />Benny<br />Likeable character – elements of comedy<br />Dressing in new clothes – established as too cool for the slum<br />Montage with Tiago as he transforms – orange hair, funky soundtrack, flowery shirt<br />James Brown soundtrack as focus solely on him as he dances like maniac<br />He is the opposite of Li'l Zé who is obsessed with getting rid of Carrot<br />Benny more chilled out and wants to have fun<br />Big heart – wants to give Rocket the camera<br />We get the feeling he will never escape the hopeless situation of the favela though<br />A lover not a fighter, Angelica reminds him “we’re hippies at heart”<br />“too cool to be a hoodlum”<br />Popular as opposed to Zé who demands respect through fear<br />Going away party<br />Zé feels rejected by Benny and the girl who wouldn’t dance with him<br />‘Kung fu Fighting’ serves as a soundtrack as Zé watches angrily as people have fun<br />Zé enjoys humiliating people – clearly jealous and angry<br />Strobe light – distorts our view of the action/fighting – soundtrack disguises words<br />Sudden gunshot “they’ve killed Benny”<br />Flirting with crime<br />Rocket and friends too nice to commit crime<br />Sequence of attempts on bus, hitchhiking etc but make friends with potential victims<br />Rocket again identified as someone who could escape the cycle of violence that others are trapped in <br />Knockout Ned<br />Handsome – opposite to Zé who is ugly<br />Zé rapes Ned’s girlfriend in a scene using canted angles, WEV, distorted sound, attack left to imagination and only see Ned’s reaction<br />Becomes new hero of the slum, then joins forces with Carrot against Zé<br />Bank robbery montage which charts Ned;s inevitable rise as a hood and his burgeoning violence<br />“The exception becomes the rule”<br />Gang warfare<br />Small children join on various sides with tenuous reasons<br />See shots of their dead bodies and the echoed sounds of their reason for joining is heard<br />“A year later nooone could remember how it began” shows the senselessness of the violence<br />Photography of the gang<br />Posing shows the desire for notoriety, celebrity, respect<br />No photographer has ever been inn the favelas – sense of this being the ‘true’ nature of the gangs (links to fact this a is base don a true story)<br />Guarantees safety and security for Rocket – ironic<br />Final shootout<br />Documented by Rocket<br />Most of action seen through Rocket’s lens<br />Tracking shot as camera jouneies down steps past dead bodies to illustrate to scale of the violence and the consequences.<br />The beginning of the end<br />“get the chicken”<br />back to the start – circular narrative<br />symbolic of the circular nature of the violence as soon as hoods are dead, new ones immerge – sense that it is endless and hopeless<br />Point is illustrated by Runts at the end and their discussion of who they intend to kill<br />A spectator we can clearly conclude that their lives are inevitable short too and that’s the reality of the City of God.<br />