A visceral and kinetic crime epic, pulsating with the raw energy of Rio's favelas, that captures the brutal poetry of lives defined by violence and survival.
City of God
Cidade de Deus
"If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you."
Director:
Fernando Meirelles
Cast:
Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen
Drama
Crime
Budget:
$3,300,000
Box Office:
$30,641,770
City of God - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
Easter Eggs
The mother of the real-life Knockout Ned makes a cameo appearance in the film.
She is the first woman to approach and congratulate her on-screen son after he kills someone for the first time. This adds a layer of meta-reality to the scene, blurring the lines between the fictionalized story and the real events that inspired it.
In the newspaper photo of Li'l Zé's body, the photographer is credited as "Alexandre Rodrigues."
This is the real name of the actor who plays Rocket (whose character's real name is Wilson Rodrigues), not the character's name. Since Rodrigues himself operated the camera for that shot, it's a meta-reference to the actor's role in creating the image.