For the first half hour or so of the film City of God (2002), directed by Fernando Meirelles, viewers are fed the story of Rocket and the favela of his boyhood, commonly called the City of God. Up until this point, life for Rocket and other characters, with the exception of the Tender Trio, seems to be going well. After the first 40 minutes of the movie, however, the tone becomes much darker. The transition from a story of youth and its happenings to a story of extreme poverty and gang violence began with the apartment scene, beginning at about 36:50. In this scene, Rocket is at an apartment buying drugs from an old classmate, Blacky. Shortly after Rocket’s arrival, Lil’ Ze, the violent local drug monopolist, arrives at the apartment with members
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247). Events in the 1960s are portrayed in a lighter, more pleasant way than the events in the 1980s. In a similar manner, Meirelles uses the elements of film to portray the earlier stages in the history of the apartment differently than later and more recent events. Because of this, the apartment scene is able to reflect the progression of the tone of the entire film during its flashback montage …show more content…
This time the camera cuts to a shot from behind Blacky similar to the way that the camera framed Rocket previously (40:04). After we learn more about Lil’ Ze from “The Story of Lil’ Ze,” there is a similar shot of the knock from behind him (46:25). In this scene, the overtaking of the apartment is presented from three different perspectives, just as City of God as a whole gives the story of the City of God from the perspectives of Shaggy, Benny, and Knockout Ned. Just as the apartment scene mirrors the change in tone of the film, it also mirrors the film’s stress on seeing the story from multiple perspectives. In spite of the scene’s unusual repetition of the same event, it follows the film convention of continuity editing by centering the 180-degree line between the two most important characters of the scene (Lil’ Ze and Blacky, in this
247). Events in the 1960s are portrayed in a lighter, more pleasant way than the events in the 1980s. In a similar manner, Meirelles uses the elements of film to portray the earlier stages in the history of the apartment differently than later and more recent events. Because of this, the apartment scene is able to reflect the progression of the tone of the entire film during its flashback montage …show more content…
This time the camera cuts to a shot from behind Blacky similar to the way that the camera framed Rocket previously (40:04). After we learn more about Lil’ Ze from “The Story of Lil’ Ze,” there is a similar shot of the knock from behind him (46:25). In this scene, the overtaking of the apartment is presented from three different perspectives, just as City of God as a whole gives the story of the City of God from the perspectives of Shaggy, Benny, and Knockout Ned. Just as the apartment scene mirrors the change in tone of the film, it also mirrors the film’s stress on seeing the story from multiple perspectives. In spite of the scene’s unusual repetition of the same event, it follows the film convention of continuity editing by centering the 180-degree line between the two most important characters of the scene (Lil’ Ze and Blacky, in this