"I snort. I smoke. I killed a man, and I robbed. I am a man."

Just watched City of God (2003) on DVD rental. Must say it was a fantastic show. All spoken in Portuguese, setting in Brazil in the 60's to 80's. The above phrase is uttered by a kid who lives in the City of God, a slum where gangs are prominent. He is one of the many kids who join the gangs involved in drug dealing businesses. It tells the story from the narrative, Rocket, about the situation in the City of God, most notably the life of 'Lil Dice', a kid who grows up to be the gang leader.

It was 2 hours of great story telling. Nothing really extraordinary, but these days a good storyteller telling a normal story is hard to come by. The story unfolds in non-chronological order, and in the course of the movie you find out certain twists to the plot. The biggest twist, however, happens at the end. It is actually a real story. And it certainly was authentic and believable. The dialogue is also interesting and does not bore.

Certain scenes are very thought-provoking though, once you find out that all these really did happen. Like when Lil Dice ordered a young kid to kill 'one of the two kids' who happen to be in another "gang" called the Runts, in order for him to prove his worth in the gang. Very disturbing.

Great show. Go watch it.