City of God...Two Years Later (NSR)

[La China Poblana]

An article from the London Guardian by a reporter who went to Rio to find out how life has changed for the amateur actors from the film.

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1174369,00.html

[mixmastermatt]

such a good movie - its my favrioue movie!

[DerMongerer]

MixMasterMatt.....I like "City of God", one of my top10 favourite all-time films. But I must ask you and anyone else on this forum, has anyone seen a film called "BUS 174"? This movie is FAR more moving and frightening compared to Cidade de Deus in my mind.

[ThrashBoy]

MixMasterMatt.....I like "City of God", one of my top10 favourite all-time films. But I must ask you and anyone else on this forum, has anyone seen a film called "BUS 174"? This movie is FAR more moving and frightening compared to Cidade de Deus in my mind.

I saw it a few months ago when it was in theaters here (the DVD is either out now in the US or soon to be released).

For me it's difficult to compare the two films because one is a straight-up documentary while the other is a cinematic version of a true story.

As far as "Onibus 174" goes, I thought it was a great documentary that showed the problems facing poor people in Brasil, as well as problems with police and the legal system.

But the main problem I had was that the director tries to make the viewer have too much compassion for the hijacker. To me, it seemed like the director had an agenda in trying to convince people that it was the system that was the reason this incident happen instead of just showing the facts and letting the viewer form an opinion themselves.

[DerMongerer]

I saw it a few months ago when it was in theaters here (the DVD is either out now in the US or soon to be released).

For me it's difficult to compare the two films because one is a straight-up documentary while the other is a cinematic version of a true story.

As far as "Onibus 174" goes, I thought it was a great documentary that showed the problems facing poor people in Brasil, as well as problems with police and the legal system.

But the main problem I had was that the director tries to make the viewer have too much compassion for the hijacker. To me, it seemed like the director had an agenda in trying to convince people that it was the system that was the reason this incident happen instead of just showing the facts and letting the viewer form an opinion themselves.

Trashboy, You're right it is hard to compare the two. And maybe it is wrong to do so. It's just that people here where I live always talk about City of God, but have never heard of BUS174 or the events that took place that day in Rio. Actually for all the darkness, City of God had some humourous moments to it, (like when he and a partner were going to rob the Paulista driver, when he had his first sexual encounter). And I disagree that the director trying to gain the viewers' compassion. When one of Sandro's ex-drug dealer partners was interviewed, the dealer said Sandro was always stoned on drugs and couldn't think straight. I think the director wanted to show that Sandro wasn't someone who just decided to have some fun and carry himself like a nutcase like the media normally does to criminals when they encounter these kind of predicaments. The director wanted to show that these people don't just snap their fingers and say:"OK I'M GOING TO BE A BAD GUY FROM NOW ON!". Maybe or maybe not events in Sandro's life, (witnessing his mothers' murder, surviving the slum massacre in 1994) shaped his destiny. I just found Bus174, to be a very dark movie overall. Not surprising considering the outcome.