City of God

 Opening Scene: 

Flash shots of knives being sharpened, the audio being emphasised, is shown to highlight immediately the violent nature of the film, however the situation contrasts the intention. The foreshadowing of the climax is shown through the title - showing Rocket taking a photo on the other side of bars in which Lil Ze meets his fate. The shots of knives are contradicted with the Brazilian Culture - the fast paced samba music linking to the editing of the scene. It uses jump shots to create an intensity to the piece, evoking a reaction from the audience of fear - yet realisation that it a cultural tradition. 

Using low angle, slower paced shots, the focus is shown to be on a chicken who has not yet be slaughtered for food. This aligns our identity with the chicken as it has become centre view. From this perspective, the killings are shown in a more violent light, a pool of blood being shot to emphasise a key theme. This evokes the introduction of Lil Ze, low angled close ups showing him in a dominating nature is connected with the vulgar language. The close ups create a claustrophobic feel the favela settings, showing it to be unescapable, this links in to the unforgiving nature of the feel where characters who try to escape meet untimely ends and therefore use particular props such as guns and cameras to escape the societal situations. Jump cuts of Lil Ze hysterically laughing creates a maniacal feel. From the high angle shots, the lack of sky shots remains to contain the favela.  As the chicken runs, the camera follows on the level, showing our alignment with it. The contrasting shots between the chicken and the children, who has guns in there hands, reflecting the ones who try to escape, for example the symbolism of Rocket. 

The shift in dynamic is shown through the continuous shots of Rocket, who calmly is talking mid-conversation with his friend. This shows him to be connected to Lil Ze since the reoccurrence of shots paralleling the two. especially through dialogue - Rocket saying that he doesn't wish to be associated with 'that mother------ hood', then cutting to Lil Ze leading a group of children. The chicken is shot to be running in front of a police car which also reflects the opposition of the police with the community. When Rocket says that Lil Ze has to find him, the slow motion shots of Lil Ze appearing round the corner highlight him as the opponent. The link of gun vs camera shows the escapism of both sides yet one being violent and the other peaceful. Upon seeing Lil Ze, the camera does a 360 spin around Rocket to reflect his mentality and highlight his reaction of shock. The imperatives which Lil Ze use show his demanding nature, and intensity. The voiceover of Rocket creates a connection with the audience to give a generalisation of the society, the placement of him between the police and the gang showing his position overall, and gives an opportunity to narrate the past.

During the narrative, the camera does a 360 crossfade to shift into the past. A key change in dynamics is the colouring of the piece - shifting from cooler tones to warm tones, showing how the past differs in tonality. This is also reflected through the setting and camera angles, at first being in a claustrophobic favela shown in intense close ups, to a wider shot (involving the sky) showing an expansion of freedom and smaller built houses. The use of headings reflects the chapter ideology of the narrative, such as 'The Sixties'. To introduce as children, specifically the main character, the use of freeze frame focuses the audiences focus onto the narrative rather than the visuals. The characteristics previously seen in the cool tones are later seen in the past shots - linking the characters and creating an introduction to the narrative.



Apartment Scene

On Rocket’s journey to get some marijuana to please his crush, the voiceover provides an upcoming narrative of the scene ahead. The hand-held camera aligns us with Rocket’s perspective. Once arriving the emphasise of the anonymous knocking on the door alludes to a significant entrance. The alluding of a backstory is told through the narrative - ‘but it hasn’t always been his’. The instant reaction of the gun showcases the societal state and violence of the situation. The entrance of Lil Ze evokes a long shot which shows the whole of the apartment, to retell its story, including the use of a header the style of a chapter title - ‘The Story Of The Apartment’. Through smooth crossfades, the  apartment changes to a warm-coloured homely apartment, with the mise-en-scene of a home, including a dining table, curtains and other equipment. The character of Doe Zolia is first depicted to be smoking marijuana and showing her giving boys favours in exchange for drugs. The violent consequences from her husband shows the dominance and the beginning of the tainted luck of the apartment. The crossfades then blend next events together, using the dialogue of characters to reflect their state of mind and how the industry works. Big Boy is shown closely to the camera, showing  the closer the get the more in contact they are with the dealings. As the time continues, the apartment becomes less homelike, the colouring becoming colder. For example, randy posters appear on the walls and the place becomes more like a meeting place. When Big Boy wants Carrot to kill his friend, the cinematography reflects this, the camera still in the same places only shows most of their bodies, a causal depiction. Carrot in dark lighting shows the ominous foreshadowing. The violence in the apartment grows stronger gradually, the audio appearing before visuals showing a fluidity, where Carrot results in shooting his friend. This scene also depicts the corruption of the police due to not paying them off, in Rocket’s narration rather than visuals - save for the police storming the apartment in a dimly lit room apart from the bedroom in which he’d be. The final fade shows Blackey taking over the industry. The apartment has become the coldest colouring, the furniture old and rotting to show the worth of the building and lack of care.  

Benny’s death: 

To begin the climatic moment of Benny’s farewell party, a shot of Blackey is shown walking towards the party in solitude, under the night sky. Lil Ze is shown ridiculing Knockout Ned for intentions of his own amongst the crowd - contrasting to the situation of the party. Through close up’s the bliss between Benny and Angelica is shown, showing an ideal future for them. An exchange of the camera, a symbol of peace, for cocaine, reflecting his escapism is then met with an argument from Lil Ze. Long shots of Rocket, who has received the camera, and Benny is contrasted with close ups of Lil Ze, the swivel of the camera showing Lil Ze’s line of focus. To foreshadow quick shots of Blackey hiding around a corner shows an ominous atmosphere. Lil Ze violently taking the camera off of Rocket and then fighting with Benny about it, tugging it back and forth, shows a conflict in peace within the society and results in Benny’s inevitable death, due to Blackey aiming for Lil Ze, however missing. 

A change in dynamics is shown through the record at the party scratching and a fast paced audio. A mash up of shots of the crowd and the DJ mixers, along with strobe lighting creates a tense atmosphere due to the prior shots, and impacts the death of Benny. The strobe lighting creates a blur of shots of Benny and Lil Ze fighting, the visuals flashing and therefore missing small moments. The blackout moments reveal Blackey approaching amongst the crowd whilst they continue to fight. Flickers back and forth between Blackey and the two fighting with the flashes creates an unknown fear of what may happen, the past increasing and a gun shot audio revealing what the visuals don’t show - save for Benny falling. Whilst the audio stops, the strobe lighting still continues showing a confusion within everyone’s mind, the audio of Lil Ze shouting for help over the audio of the crowd departing and Angelica screaming. The extreme long shot of Lil Ze’s anguish alone in the empty party with the body of Benny gives an insight into his personal attributes, his distraught being revealed. The fade at the end of the scene with no audio, after gun shots being fired into the air creates a peaceful end, which contrasts to his death - as if the end of a chapter has closed.