City of God
Overview
In the Cidade de Deus, a housing project built in the 1960s in Rio de Janeiro that became one of Brazil's most violent favelas, two boys grow up side by side — and take completely different paths. Narrated by Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), a young man who dreams of becoming a photographer, the story follows several young people from the 1960s to the 1980s. Rocket is a witness to the violence around him, not a participant, watching the rise of the drug trade led by Li'l Zé (Leandro Firmino), a ruthless, ambitious psychopath who will kill anyone in his way. It ends with Rocket finally getting his break: he photographs Li'l Zé being arrested by police, and the photograph is published on a magazine cover. Rocket escapes the City of God, becoming a successful photographer, while Li'l Zé is killed by a gang of children who call themselves the Runts — who then take over the drug trade, continuing the cycle.
