The Opening of City of God

Cinematography

The opening montage of the City of Gods successfully introduces the ideas of the film, and gives us visual signifiers of what is to come. The first shot depicts a kitchen knife in an extreme close-up being sharpened on the counter. We see this image a few times intercut in the first few minutes. This successfully introduces the ideas of violence. The knife is seen as an everyday object and so we as an audience understand that violence is going to be an everyday events as well. Violence is one of the key forms characters use to gain and maintain power.

In terms of colour, it is very cold, with a range of blues and greys making up the colour palette. The opening scene also uses "colour isolation" in a couple of shots, which is where one colour is present, and the others are dulled down almost to monochrome. This is especially evident when an unknown female is cutting a carrot. The orange is extremely vivid, and portrays the idea of freshness, suggested further by the killing of several chickens in vivid colour. This helps to set up the ‘urban setting’. This is a cold and not too friendly place. The vivid colour is a hint at the more traditional representation of Brazil but it is used more to show us that this will not be your typical representation.

The montage at the start is made up of several very extreme close-ups and dutch/canted angles, giving a confused but fun feel to the film. When the chicken escapes, there is extensive use of moving camera. First, there is a high angle shot, which moves above the chicken running, and its owners chasing it. There are then some level tracking shots following the animal, which suggests that it is the audience chasing it. This range of very contrasting shots builds upon the confused and stylized feel of the scene. The chicken and it attempt at escape could be a metaphor for most characters in the film. They can try to escape but it does not always happen. The camera work is used to make the chicken seem threaten, in danger, panicked; just as the characters are. It is interesting to note that it is the people of the city that are prevetting the chicken from escaping and it is their actions that create the panic expressed in the camerawork. Is the director trying to say that the people are at fault for the situation….

In terms of composition, the filmmakers have managed to pack in a large amount of extras into the background of the frame, to act as a visual suggestion of poverty, and being cramped.

There is also extensive use of Depth of Field in this scene, so that only the foreground is in focus, directing the audience to focus on certain objects (eg knifes, guns which serves to reinforce the theme of violence and it relationship to power.

This montage leads directly onto a very contrasting scene, where the narrator is a small boy. This world is full of pastel colours, browns, yellows and golds, to give us both geographic and visual signifiers of the geography of the scene. This place is a much safer. Calmer place yet only the time has changed – this is the City of God in the 60’s before the power struggle between rival drug lords. However, the range of colours does not create a rich looking picture, instead they are dulled down This could be a visual signifier of being stuck in isolation, and never really being able to shine through, even in this early stage of the development of the City of God.

Some very obvious techniques have been deployed in the cinematography to portray the grittiness and the true reality of the setting of ‘City of God’. The lighting in all the shots tends to be very natural, perhaps signifying the level of poverty in the slums and how there is little, if any, electricity. The natural lighting also allows shadows to be in the mise-en-scene, which could be a visual signifier of the dark nature of the slums and its characters such as Lil’ Ze. Furthermore, the camera is constantly moving and is hardly ever static. Many shots are tracking characters whilst they move through conversations and tend to be quite fluid. This could also be a representation of the chaotic nature of the slums which also links in with the lighting seen in the film. The shot composition usually consists of an upwards angle towards characters such as Lil’ Ze or Benny and there is usually something happening in the background of the scene. However, this is sometimes reversed and the action directly relevant to the film is in the background with any action in the foreground becoming unfocussed.

Sound

In the Opening Scene we hear the voice over from Rocket. This will be a constant source of information through the film (and one of the few non diegetic sounds used).The voiceover takes prominence over both any non-diegetic and diegetic sounds and plays a vital role within the film as we seeing the narrative throughout the Rocket’s eyes. Any background sound immediately becomes muffled and quieter when Rocket begins to speak which clearly anchors his importance.

City of God starts with the sharpening of a knife. This sound is supported by the image of a knife being sharpened. It then incorporates samba music which helps to set the location of the scene. So far we only know that the film is set in Brazil and that someone is sharpening a knife. These two sounds create a contrast right from the start. Samba music is happy and lively but the knife connotes violence. The sound gradually introduces different elements. For example we hear people talking, with a chicken clucking, so we add the sound we have heard previously with this sound and image, and we realise that someone is sharpening the knife to kill a chicken.

When we are introduced to Rocket and he talks about the past. The diegetic sounds continues but a low frequency sound with the clicking of a clock is added. This supports the idea that time has changed and we are now moving into the past.

In the 1960’s we see Rocket playing football. To support this, we can hear children in the background. The noise is more positive and ‘innocence’ that the previous scene. When Rocket introduces himself, we hear the clicking of a camera. This is done to show that he is a photographer. From now on, every time an important character is introduced, we hear this sound. It helps us to understand who is important.The music again is Samba to support the idea that they are in Brazil yet is contrasts with visaul which are not images we are used to seeing of Brazil.. When they hold up the gas truck, the music changes after the police arrive to a kind of Bossanova. This is another type of Brazilian music but the tempo is faster and creates a sense of tension.

Editing

Fast paced editing - rapid, montage - life is crazy

Slow motion Lil Ze - important and powerful

Graphic match of Rocket - he is important and gains power through photography

Editing = slow paced in 60s - life is calmer and more relaxed and innocent

Controlled editing in 60s - shows a clear structure in the way things work; hoodlums are powerful

Shot reverse shot in present day - relationship between Rocket and Lil Ze centring around fear and danger

Shot reverse shot in 60s generate positive relationships between Rocket and his brother and their friends

‘The Chicken Chase’ scene at the beginning of ‘City of God’ has a brilliant example of how quick and clever editing is employed to set the scene. The shots and subsequent cuts begin very quickly with many shots staying on screen for about 1 second apiece, but slow down as the scene progresses only to quicken up to represent the tempo of the chase and sets up the tempo of the film in general.

When shifting from one scene to another, a slow motion, circular pan centring on Rocket dissolves into the same shot but in a different location and a different time period where

a younger Rocket is centre of attention. This helps anchor the audience as we now have a focus/character that we can identify (we have been introduced very briefly to a lot of people in this scene).

The chicken chase scene is shot in real time and captures the events as they unfold in a realistic manner. This adds to the documentary feel of the film. The quick shots and cuts and general editorial style allows such parts of the narrative be portrayed in an accurate, stylish yet realistic manner.

Furthermore, when either introducing a scene or a character the shot is frozen. A character is then introduced by voiceover narration and a situation/part of the narrative is introduced by a subtitle over the frozen shot; for example ‘The Story of the Tender Trio’.

Mise en scene

Hoodlums associated with guns - guns=power in the City of God, yet they also imply a life of poverty

Set in Favelas - surrounded by poverty

Dinner - plucking chickens shows they are in poverty

Yellow tint in 60s - this was a good, calm, peaceful time (before Lil Ze)

Blue/grey tint in present day - bad time - Lil Ze has taken over - masses of power

We see blood and knives which connote violence

The titles that appear across the screen give it quite a documentary-like feel to it - making it seem more real

In the flashback, the children are dressed in white - innocent in comparison to present day where the Runts (the children) are not dressed in white, because they are not innocent - they kill Lil Ze

Football replaces guns - more innocent

Stealing oil instead of drugs in 60s

Chicken represent people not being able to escape the poverty cycle of the Favelas

Camera represents power and a way for Rocket to escape poverty

Props – The use of props in the city of god I would argue enhance the film in so many ways. All the props scream excitement such as guns, drugs, knives, and chickens. They explain the state of the slums and the balance of power within them. For example it seems like the tender trio are the kings of the hood all because they have guns.

Setting - The setting is a Brazilian slum which they go onto explain ‘for the powerful our problems didn't matter. We were too far removed from the picture postcard of Rio Da Janeiro’. This is because the slum is full of poor and homeless people. You can see the worn down state of the slums, which has seemingly forced these hoodlums into being hoodlums.

The Chicken is a representation of the local community and the fact the Hoodlums are trying to destroy the chicken represents them trying to destroy their community. The fact they try and make people outside the gang catch the chicken shows their authority and also could be argued it shows them recruiting. The location of this scene is of a place clearly that is in poverty, we can see this by the slums and also the fact it is on the street also shows these people are from the street.

Benny’s Farewell

Cinematography

Lil Ze confronts Benny in the club and tries his best to convince him not to leave calling Angelica a “bitch” There are close ups on both characters faces in this scene showing Lil Ze is clearly upset that Benny is leaving and that Lil Ze is getting more and more hurt and therefore annoyed. And as we know Lil Ze uses violence to solve his problems so as an audience we become very tense as we watch this confrontation develop.

After this confrontation with Benny, Lil Ze decides to take his anger out on the unlucky boyfriend of the girl he tried to pick up earlier. We see tracking shots at a high angle of Lil Ze walking through the crowd with his gang, showing the audience the re-instatement of his power. Lots of high angle shots are used to show Lil Ze’s gang are powerful just because of the numbers.

When Lil Ze does confront the unlucky man, the shots are circling around him and Lil Ze cutting from that to close ups of his face looking happy that he is now powerful again. There are also close ups of the guy he is getting naked. These close up serve to highlight his lack of power when compared to the close ups of Lil Ze.

After Lil Ze has succeeded in re-instating his power by humiliating someone else, the camera cuts to mid shots and close up of Rocket and Benny hugging and talking. The use of mid shots serves to highlight the positive relationship between these two characters, this clearly makes Lil Ze jealous. He then confronts Benny, there are many close ups used (always to show emotion). These close up are very different to the ones we see of Benny and Rocket which express positive emotions. Here it is all about Lil Ze rage and Benny’s fear.

The final shot we see in the club is a long shot of Lil Ze on his own over Benny’s body shooting into the air, still with the strobe lights flashing. This shot shows that Lil Ze is alone, isolated and marks a key moment for this character. Any goodness that might been in Lil Ze is now gone. There is no one to stop his violent tendencies or desire for power.

Sound

In the club there is a good example of diegetic sound used e.g. James Brown. At this point we see Benny dancing. This is showing the audience that Benny is more laid back and down to earth and an overall nicer guy who is clearly more likeable that Lil Ze. The music is positive, upbeat and people are enjoying it. Benny is responsible for this music.This is also showing the contrasts between the two gangsters, making the scene when Benny gets shot all the more powerful as the music stops with his death.

Lack of voice over for most of the scene once the different groups have been introduced – this is one of the few scenes where Rocket is not the primary focus. And it is almost like the director did not want this event to be ‘translated’ for us by Rocket. It is really more about Lil Ze and Benny and is too raw to be translated – at least Lil Ze emotions are extremely raw and he as a character cannot translate how he feels, has to use a gun to say how he feels.

No need for non-diegetic music as the soundtrack of the party provides this. Yet the tone of the music is in stark contrast to the events/actions in the scene.

The music played at the leaving party is upbeat, soul music that is not normally associated to the area, and contrasts with the more traditional Brazilian music in the opening scene. The music is also contrasting with the life we have seen of people living in the favela, considering they are living in fear and poverty. Yet, the music and Benny bring people together.

Sound when we first focus on Lil Ze is quite poignant – about feeling sad and blue. Lil Ze clearly does not fit in and he has tried so hard to (getting ready before the party). This clearly indicates how far

from Benny he has become as we see Benny when there is more up beat happy music. This music is also not the traditional Brazilian style – negative influence of the outside world?

Music is muted when we see the guy that has come to kill – he is clearly not part of this world and should not be here.

Dialogue – Once Benny has been killed Lil Ze clearly blames the girlfriend for what happened.

We hardly hear the gun shot at first but once the music stops the diegetic sound of people creates a sense of panic.

We don’t hear the girlfriends grief, only Lil Ze

The lack of music at the end of the scene is almost shocking and emphaises the horror of the scene. The gun shots echo very loudly and sound more shocking as there is no other sound – most of the time guns shots are just part of the sound mix, but here they symoblise Lil Ze grief and inability to articulate how he feels – this has been a common problem throughout the film and often results in violence outbursts from Lil Ze.

The gunfire from Li’Ze after Benny’s death shows his awkwardness to showing his emotions, that he is socially awkward.

Editing

Lil Ze controls editing. Most of the cuts are to follow him and his action - powerful and determined to cause trouble once it is clear that he does not fit in. Lil Ze control of the editing also communicate the mood the he creates/brings with him - fast and crazy.

Flashback of Benny and Lil Ze - last moment of goodness in the whole film basically and is used here to get the audience to consider how it once was and ponder why it has ended in this way.

Calm editing with Benny - calm and peaceful person - just wants to 'live on a farm'. At this point Benny is in control of his life, has a plan, a potential way out, away from the chaos that is the City of God.

Editing and intercutting between all the different people shows the community together in a way that we have not really seen before.

We see sequences of Benny being nice to Rocket, then Lil Ze humiliating a man - juxtaposes good and bad

Mise en Scene

Woman positioned in lighting, Lil Ze staged away from the lighting - she is good, he is bad

Introduced to all different groups - different parts of Brazil

Benny in golden light - Lil Ze in darkness - last moment of lightness in film

Blue lights after Benny and Ze argue - danger

Benny in bright clothing - Lil Ze is not - Rocket in white - Rocket = innocent, Benny = happy, Ze = violent, angry, dangerous

Strobe light - chaos and confusion

When Benny dies, the lighting is very blue - sad

When Benny dies, and Ze is sad, he uses his gun to express his emotions - violent

Grubby alleyway when we see the person who kills Benny - we dislike this character as we love Benny and also this represents poverty in the Favelas

Entire community together - everyone loves Benny

We see Benny all the time in lighting; hardly ever see Lil Ze well lit - good vs. bad

Green lighting when Lil Ze is jealous and makes the man strip out of envy for being with the woman who turned him down

Lil Ze is wearing bling - powerful and rich

Rocket is associated with a camera, which represents power for him

At this point of the film, Benny has become a cool guy. We see Benny with other people, dancing, drinking, smiling, jumping, and the voice over says that he is the coolest guy in the City of God. This, in terms of mise-en-scene, is supported by the use of a dark place, with flashing colour lights and props such as drinks and people dressed to party – they are all there to say goodbye to Benny. This positive image at first makes us think that it is possible to excape from the cycle of poverty but as the scene progresses we learn that this is not true. By using mise en scene to establish Benny as the ‘cool’ guy it makes his death even sadder, almost too sad to bare and we only see it in flashes.

Benny is wearing upbeat and bright cool clothes. I believe this was done because it shows what type of person Benny is, as in the film he is called “The coolest hoodlum in City Of God” so his clothing is used to make him stand out. This was also done elsewhere in the film. As an audience we respond to him in a positive way and hope that he will succeed.

Another example of mise-en-scene being used is with the character Lil Ze. The clothes he wears to the party are dark and gangster like, this shows Lil Ze is someone who always wants the people to fear him possible, he could be someone who never really relaxes. His whole identity is connected to the gang and his role as a leader. He has no life outside of the gang culture, no hope, no gentle side.

Another good use of mise-en-scene is in the party when Benny is unfortunately shot down, when you see the light going all crazy and after everyone has cleared out. Lil Ze is screaming and shooting his gun in the air – the crazy lighting makes us view him as crazed. The strobe effect of the lights could also show panic and the way Lil Ze feels about his friend’s death. You can also see the light is placed over Benny’s body this could represent heaven possible. Also when Lil Ze is firing his gun up (props – another aspect of MES) in the air, I think that the gun represents the loss of Benny but the only way the Lil Ze can express himself is through violence – this is all Lil Ze sees.