City Of God End Scene

City Of God End Scene Analysis

To show a circular narrative, the same scenes within the beginning are shown again to show a continue, including the shots of Lil Ze in slow motion to emphasise Rocket's fear. On one side stands Lil Ze and his gang of children, on the other is Rocket with his camera, which itself has a narrative (which could be considered as a catalyst in Benny's death) - this emphasises the contrast between the camera and gun. As Rocket goes to shoot Lil Ze with his camera (shown through 360 camera movements to reflect mental, a gunshot replaces the sound of the click, the scene then cutting to Knockout Ned running around the corner, shouting at his gang to advance into warfare. 

Handheld camera movements then showcase an alignment with the gang, showing that they're all the same. A key part of City Of God is references to past events - showing a circular, never-ending tonality. This is seen when Lil Ze tries to take hostage of a transport truck, similar to The Tender Trios hostage event. However back then, the hostage was taken part as a community  yet now it is for selfish intent. This sense of confusion and betrayal is highlighted through a particular moment of the shooting of Knockout Ned. The child he is positioned with is shot, therefore gaining the aid of Ned. When told to stay in return for help, once his back is turned, he is shot by the child in the back in slow motion to emphasise. This evokes the flashbacks of past events, where the child is shown saying he would like to kill the man who murdered his father - cutting to Ned who looks up at him unaware, this foreshadowed future events. This then crossfades to show the Ned shooting an officer during a raid - who happens to be the child's father. The editing of this scene highlights and reflects the mind of the child, the scenes quickly cutting to the light and swivelling to the next scene, or speeding up when the child hides to shot Ned in the arm (which we have earlier seen, the shooter anonymous). Fades to black specifically emphasise the shooting of his dad, highlighting key moments of Ned's face, his dad being shot and then the boy's reaction of weeping against his dad. 

When the police arrive, they take Lil Ze and Carrot away, however removing Lil Ze earlier to take him to a hideout in the favela. As a photographer for the newspaper Rocket follows the police car, until he gets to the opposite side of the hideout - looking through the gaps in the wall (shown in the title card at the beginning of the film). He takes photos of the police setting Lil Ze and him paying the police, showing the corruption of the police as well as the gangs. Once left, the children he associated with arrive, shooting Lil Ze - betraying him and highlighting the growth in the circle of gangs, these children are now more violent and vicious. Rocket takes a photo of Lil Ze for his newspaper intern, the camera becoming the lens of the camera to show his focus and how the photo will look in the newspaper (uncensored violence - showing a commonness). He is shown to be reunited with his friend, the talk turning to innocent childish talk such as if the lady Rocket slept with was good. 

The camera then shifts focus, following the children from the gang who walk past Rocket and his friend. The conversation shifts to who the children are going to kill next, yet their reasons being childish and used for a horrified reaction of the uncaring intentions of murder. This leaves the film open ended, yet considered to be continued from generation, getting more and more violent. It could be considered that the shot of the children walking away from the camera, with a view of the sky - which has be continuously removed from sight to show a lack of freedom - is then seen. Their laughs at the end shows that their still child, unaware of what their actions cause. To conclude the film, Rocket as the narrator reveals their real name now, and the words at the bottom of the screen tell that it was based on a true story. By leaving it till the end, leaves impact to the audience, due to the mass amounts of violence and horror - and especially by the final scenes of the children saying the killings they'll do next.