The Festival Agency are proud to announce the re-release of Fernando Meirelles’ iconic masterpiece City of God in UK cinemas now. To celebrate we are giving away a bundle of City of God goodies including a limited edition City of God skateboard, t-shirt and poster to a lucky winner!
Twenty-one years after dazzling audiences on its original release, this visually stunning and gripping story of life on the mean streets of Rio, returns to the big screen for an unforgettable cinematic experience.
A searing adaptation of Paulo Lins’ novel, based on real events, City Of God weaves together the compelling stories of a group of kids growing up in the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio from the 1960s to the 80s. The narrator Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), tries to avoid being drawn in to the usual spiral of violence and crime to become a photographer and win over the beautiful Angélica (Alicia...
Twenty-one years after dazzling audiences on its original release, this visually stunning and gripping story of life on the mean streets of Rio, returns to the big screen for an unforgettable cinematic experience.
A searing adaptation of Paulo Lins’ novel, based on real events, City Of God weaves together the compelling stories of a group of kids growing up in the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio from the 1960s to the 80s. The narrator Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), tries to avoid being drawn in to the usual spiral of violence and crime to become a photographer and win over the beautiful Angélica (Alicia...
- 3/28/2024
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
City of God (original title: Cidade de Deus)
Co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund
Screenplay by Bráulio Mantovani, based on the 1997 novel by Paulo Lins
Starring Alexandres Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Seu Jorge and Alice Braga
Brazil, 2002
For modern film fans, 2002’s City of God is a key entry in Brazilian cinema. Based on Paulo Lins’s 1997 semi-autobiographical crime fiction novel, the film adaptation promotes themes of adulthood, survival and pessimism in one of Rio da Janiero’s favelas. City of God follows young aspiring photographer Rocket (Rodrigues) and his childhood and subsequent adolescence in the Cidade de Deus favela. Set between the end of 1960s’ and the beginning of the 1980s’, it documents the growth of organised crime in the Cidade de Deus.
The consistent theme of pessimism is reinforced by the life of crime that is immediately introduced to the film. Within the first ten minutes,...
Co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund
Screenplay by Bráulio Mantovani, based on the 1997 novel by Paulo Lins
Starring Alexandres Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Seu Jorge and Alice Braga
Brazil, 2002
For modern film fans, 2002’s City of God is a key entry in Brazilian cinema. Based on Paulo Lins’s 1997 semi-autobiographical crime fiction novel, the film adaptation promotes themes of adulthood, survival and pessimism in one of Rio da Janiero’s favelas. City of God follows young aspiring photographer Rocket (Rodrigues) and his childhood and subsequent adolescence in the Cidade de Deus favela. Set between the end of 1960s’ and the beginning of the 1980s’, it documents the growth of organised crime in the Cidade de Deus.
The consistent theme of pessimism is reinforced by the life of crime that is immediately introduced to the film. Within the first ten minutes,...
- 7/17/2014
- by Katie Wong
- SoundOnSight
Craig here (from Dark Eye Socket) with Take Three. Today: Alice Braga
Take One: Blindness (2008)
As per the José Saramago novel that Blindness is based on, no characters have names in the film, thus Braga is known only as ‘Woman with Dark Glasses’. (Julianne Moore is ‘Doctor’s Wife’; Danny Glover is ‘Man with Black Eye Patch’ etc.) She’s one of a gathering of randomly afflicted people who succumb to a mysterious blindness epidemic. All the cast, however big or small the role, collaboratively convey the exact amount of conviction in their roles. They remain true to their characters’ physical, psychological and emotional positions each step of the way. There’s a defiant ‘all in it together’ aspect, in which each actor instinctively plays off one another in rewarding ways, not least when it comes to Braga.
Two prominent scenes stand out. Both speak volumes about who WwDG is...
Take One: Blindness (2008)
As per the José Saramago novel that Blindness is based on, no characters have names in the film, thus Braga is known only as ‘Woman with Dark Glasses’. (Julianne Moore is ‘Doctor’s Wife’; Danny Glover is ‘Man with Black Eye Patch’ etc.) She’s one of a gathering of randomly afflicted people who succumb to a mysterious blindness epidemic. All the cast, however big or small the role, collaboratively convey the exact amount of conviction in their roles. They remain true to their characters’ physical, psychological and emotional positions each step of the way. There’s a defiant ‘all in it together’ aspect, in which each actor instinctively plays off one another in rewarding ways, not least when it comes to Braga.
Two prominent scenes stand out. Both speak volumes about who WwDG is...
- 7/24/2011
- by Craig Bloomfield
- FilmExperience
When Dustin "Cinnamon" Rowles assigned me to produce a canon of the top ten foreign language films of the aughts, I felt incredibly intimidated. When Dustin assured me that I was the critic for the job, as I had probably seen the most foreign films out of the entire staff, my anxiety only deepened. I admit that I watch a lot of foreign language flicks, thanks to Netflix, the American Cinematheque's wonderful programming, and owning a region-free DVD player. However, when I spoke to my cinema and media studies classmates and colleagues, I quickly began to realize that I had still missed a torrent of films that could have made this list (Caché, Downfall, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, Maria Full of Grace, and Werckmeister Harmonies to name a few). Moreover, to consolidate all the films I had seen over the past decade from all the non-English speaking countries around the world was,...
- 12/10/2009
- by Drew Morton
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- A taut, stylish drama brimming with heated sex and illicit desire, Ricardo de Montreuil's Mancora represents a noteworthy sophomore feature from the Peruvian director.
The film's appealing cast, alluring locations and fluent visual style comprise distinct assets for a specialty distributor capable of following up on the boxoffice accomplishments of de Montreuil's 2006 debut feature, La Mujer de mi Hermano, released domestically by Lionsgate.
Moody 21-year-old Santiago Santi Pautrat (Jason Day) snaps out of his smoldering self-absorption when his father -- a faded pop singer -- jumps off a bridge to his death, leaving his son wracked with guilt.
Santi blames himself for not spending more time with his dad, and things only worsen when he flunks his economics studies at university and his girlfriend breaks off their relationship.
Losing his job is the final straw. With few ties to keep him in Lima, Santi plans a road trip north to the beach town of Mancora. The arrival of his attractive older stepsister Ximena (Elsa Pataky), a photographer from New York whom he hasn't seen since their mother died five years before, and her wealthy, petulant husband Inigo (Enrique Murciano) force Santi to revise his solo getaway plan and the trio set out together in his dad's old Mercedes sedan.
Ximena and Inigo's rocky relationship feeds Inigo's petty jealousy over the closeness between Ximena and Santi. Tensions gradually build with nasty comments until Ximena impetuously decides to leave with Santi en route to surf a famous beach praised by Batu (Phellipe Haagensen), a hitchhiker they pick up along the way. The pair continues on to laid-back Mancora with Batu, who invites them to a street carnival where Santi is drawn into a drunken brawl with a local hard case after his girlfriend makes a public pass at Santi.
Following their night of heavy drinking, Santi and Ximena end up on a beach where they are forced to confront the sexual tension building between them, fueled by significant glances and shared intimacy. Inigo's unexpected arrival in Mancora further aggravates the siblings' complicated situation, as they all set off on a binge of ill-advised relentless partying that irrevocably strains their already frayed relations.
The attractive international cast, anchored by Day's intense channeling of Santi's personal demons, delivers solid support for the colorful if occasionally overheated script by Oscar Torres, Angel Ibarguren and Juan Luis Nugent, particularly Pataky as the perilously conflicted Ximena.
The film's energetic pacing, proficient camerawork and broad-minded approach allow de Montreuil to balance the foreboding that overshadows the narrative with a sense of expectant possibility, though the open-ended conclusion may prove perplexing for some.
MANCORA
Hispafilms, Napoli pictures
Credits:
Director: Ricardo de Montreuil
Screenwriters: Oscar Torres, Angel Ibarguren, Juan Luis Nugent
Producer: Diego Ojeda
Executive producers: Antonio Gijon, Enrique Murciano
Director of photography: Leandro Filloy
Production designer: Miguel Angel Alvarez
Music: Angelo Milli
Editors: Luis Carballar, Ricardo de Montreuil
Cast:
Santiago Pautrat: Jason Day
Ximena: Elsa Pataky
Inigo: Enrique Murciano
Batu: Phellipe Haagensen
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PARK CITY -- A taut, stylish drama brimming with heated sex and illicit desire, Ricardo de Montreuil's Mancora represents a noteworthy sophomore feature from the Peruvian director.
The film's appealing cast, alluring locations and fluent visual style comprise distinct assets for a specialty distributor capable of following up on the boxoffice accomplishments of de Montreuil's 2006 debut feature, La Mujer de mi Hermano, released domestically by Lionsgate.
Moody 21-year-old Santiago Santi Pautrat (Jason Day) snaps out of his smoldering self-absorption when his father -- a faded pop singer -- jumps off a bridge to his death, leaving his son wracked with guilt.
Santi blames himself for not spending more time with his dad, and things only worsen when he flunks his economics studies at university and his girlfriend breaks off their relationship.
Losing his job is the final straw. With few ties to keep him in Lima, Santi plans a road trip north to the beach town of Mancora. The arrival of his attractive older stepsister Ximena (Elsa Pataky), a photographer from New York whom he hasn't seen since their mother died five years before, and her wealthy, petulant husband Inigo (Enrique Murciano) force Santi to revise his solo getaway plan and the trio set out together in his dad's old Mercedes sedan.
Ximena and Inigo's rocky relationship feeds Inigo's petty jealousy over the closeness between Ximena and Santi. Tensions gradually build with nasty comments until Ximena impetuously decides to leave with Santi en route to surf a famous beach praised by Batu (Phellipe Haagensen), a hitchhiker they pick up along the way. The pair continues on to laid-back Mancora with Batu, who invites them to a street carnival where Santi is drawn into a drunken brawl with a local hard case after his girlfriend makes a public pass at Santi.
Following their night of heavy drinking, Santi and Ximena end up on a beach where they are forced to confront the sexual tension building between them, fueled by significant glances and shared intimacy. Inigo's unexpected arrival in Mancora further aggravates the siblings' complicated situation, as they all set off on a binge of ill-advised relentless partying that irrevocably strains their already frayed relations.
The attractive international cast, anchored by Day's intense channeling of Santi's personal demons, delivers solid support for the colorful if occasionally overheated script by Oscar Torres, Angel Ibarguren and Juan Luis Nugent, particularly Pataky as the perilously conflicted Ximena.
The film's energetic pacing, proficient camerawork and broad-minded approach allow de Montreuil to balance the foreboding that overshadows the narrative with a sense of expectant possibility, though the open-ended conclusion may prove perplexing for some.
MANCORA
Hispafilms, Napoli pictures
Credits:
Director: Ricardo de Montreuil
Screenwriters: Oscar Torres, Angel Ibarguren, Juan Luis Nugent
Producer: Diego Ojeda
Executive producers: Antonio Gijon, Enrique Murciano
Director of photography: Leandro Filloy
Production designer: Miguel Angel Alvarez
Music: Angelo Milli
Editors: Luis Carballar, Ricardo de Montreuil
Cast:
Santiago Pautrat: Jason Day
Ximena: Elsa Pataky
Inigo: Enrique Murciano
Batu: Phellipe Haagensen
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/24/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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