This film is amazing. City of God tells the true story of a young Brazilian boy growing up in Rio debJaneiro and his attempts to avoid the local gangs. The best thing about this film is the direction. At the very start of the film we are thrown into the frenzy of Rocket and from then on the entire film moves at a non stop pace. It is breathtaking. Some of the scenes are very shocking which helps to portray a true image of this boys tough life. The flashback scenes also work very well, such as The Story of the Apartment.This film is also a technichal achievement. The cinematography and background sounds help to capture the shocking scenes in almost a horrifying manner. The actors all do a very good job too, considering their lack of experience. In general, this is an excellently paced film with a brilliant plot. Truly wonderful.

You get to see a whole different Brazil. Actors are good and story line is perfect.

Great Picture. I believe the true lure of this movie is that, it shows the dystopic underworld that can come to pass when seemingly normal people has no espace from poverty. The decisions that come after, consciously made by these normal people can be very obtuse and because it shows us ourselves in this kind of light and getting you lured into the picture, it does it's job of truly telling a epic story. Doesn't get enough credit.

As someone who loves movies (especially foreign movies) I thought this movie was well directed and well acted (especially when the actors were told to improvise sometimes). I remember watching this movie twice when I was ( and still am) interested in learning Brazilian Portuguese. It's a gritty tale yet one that still has hope. One thing I thought was a little weird was how some of the names were changed in the subtitles. All in all this movie stands the test of time.