There is a city in the world where a huge statue of Jesus stands. Jesus stood on a high mountain with open arms, as if to embrace the beautiful city beneath his feet.
This is the most beautiful city in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. The world also calls it the "City of God."
But in the city of God, there is no God.
In 2002, a Brazilian film that received multiple Oscar nominations was City of God.
The director of this film is the brazilian director Fernando Merrills. This film not only established his position in the industry, but also for a long time was regarded as the masterpiece of brazilian cinema as a whole.
Critics at the British Guardian commented on the film: "Use the running, don't use the walking to the cinema, that's the only thing I can say."
The film is real because all the amateur actors in the play are from the slums of Rio de Janeiro, and they are just performing their lives. The most unexpected thing is that the small actors of the "Dwarf Gang" who participated in the group performance at the end of the film really formed the most notorious (and not one of them) gang in Rio de Janeiro 7 years later: "Red Order".
The protagonist of City of God is not someone, but everyone in the city.
Through the eyes of a child who grew up in a slum and loved photography, the film shows a story of a slum child spanning 30 years. The shocking violence and the law of the jungle make me wonder many times: Is human nature inherently good or inherently evil?
The drug lord leader Xiao Bawang in the film was initially just a "little fart child" who followed his brothers and looked at the wind. But this "little fart" who smiled and showed his teeth, but after taking everyone away, the brutal Qiang killed the people in the hotel, and there was no hesitation or pity. The final result of the little bully is that he is extorted by Jingcha and dies at the hands of a group of children. His playmate from childhood to adulthood, the male protagonist, recorded all this with a camera.
Bernie, as the number two person in the gang, always advises the bully not to kill innocents indiscriminately. He is trendy and fashionable and loves to ride. He loves friends and is friends with all the good guys and the bad guys. But such a good person who looks like a "normal person" will also die. Just when he decided to give up everything for a girl, he was killed by mistake.
There are also teenagers in the first three-person team, who promised their lovers to escape from such a life. The next shot is in a pool of blood; and the sharpshooter, and the nameless 6-year-old boy...
If you flee, the beast will catch you; if you stay, the beast will eat you.
Like the chicken that appears at the beginning and end of the film, in this slum, no matter whether you go or stay, no matter how hard you struggle, you can't get rid of the shadow of sin and a similar fate. It was as if everyone born in this city had original sin and needed to use their lives to practice the devil's covenant in the city of God.
The scarcity of materials and the proliferation of qiang branches have made all the rules of the civilized world a decoration, and there is only one here: the law of the jungle.
One of the warmest clips in the film is that the man who lacks money decides to rob, and the first conductor to rob him not only waives his ticket, but also kindly educates him to study well to leave the slum.
Fortunately, the male protagonist finally got rid of the curse of the city and became an excellent photographer. It's just that there is no childhood buddy left. The City of God ushered in a new overlord, and another cycle of reincarnation began.
After watching this film, I am particularly glad that I am in an era of peace, a strong, stable and united country.
In fact, in recent years, the conditions in Brazil and even the whole of Latin America have begun to improve, and the emergence of the Internet has also brought more opportunities to many Latin people.
On Alibaba International, foreign trade data for November showed that the transaction volume in Central and South America increased by 240% year-on-year. The surge in cross-border e-commerce in Latin America shows that the cost-effective goods produced in China have great local attractiveness, on the other hand, it also shows that under the epidemic, emerging markets are accelerating the process and trend of online.
I sincerely hope that the people of this city of God will be truly cared for by "God" and will no longer let their children and children experience these cruelties.