"In a shocking mix of style and realism, Fernando Meirelles's eye-opening film takes you inside the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro, where residents cower in fear while squads of brutal teenagers run the neighborhood drug trade. While watching his peers seduced by lives of crime and violence, one young man determines to break free and become a professional photographer."
But really, this does nothing the capture the feeling of this incredibly striking film.
I hate to use the word, but this is one of the most frighteningly realistic movies I have probably ever seen. The fact that it is based on a true story makes it so much more astounding.
The basic layout of the film follows the lives of a group of troubled slum kids throughout their pre-teens and older teenage years. Their lives are filled to the brim with violence, drugs, and despair: everyone carries a gun around like a was just another part of their body and crime is a daily, routine activity.
I really cannot do this movie justice by attempting to create a feel for what the movie is really like.
I had no idea what I was in for when I went to see this movie, but I walked away feeling incredibly enlightened, in a peculair kind of way.
This movie is heavy. Very serious stuff.
I urge anyone who wants to know how dirty life can really be for some people to watch this movie.
It isn't violent for the sake of being violent. It just does not hold back in portraying the lives of these troubled kids.
[It's in the Angelika theatre in NY, but... I have no idea what other cities. I didn't know about this movie until the other day, but I think it was out for a few weeks...?]
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