Weeks before, the scene seemed more amicable at the City of God favela, as the same place was having an amateur football match between the local team and visitors. Around the pitch, people were having a barbecue, drinking beer, and listening to live samba music while they cheered on their players. Still, a misunderstanding between athletes was stopped when drug lord Bullfinch (Marcos Palmeira) shot some rounds of bullets to stop the fracas and assert his leadership.

At the quiet Gardênia Azul (Blue Gardenia) favela, inhabitants meet with reporters at a church to confide how the militia, a paramilitary group with ties to law enforcement and government agents in high places, keeps a tight grip over their daily lives while promising to protect them. However, they are shaking off their money and imposing conservative values through powder. The militia leader Bull (Otavio Linhares) affirms that the “mess” that is happening in City of God due to a drug dealer’s turf war wouldn’t happen at his territory.

These three scenarios help to understand how complex the situation in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas has unfolded, as portrayed in the HBO Original series ‘City of God: The Fight Rages On’ (2024), which acts as a sequel to the quintessential world cinema picture ‘City of God’ (2002). The story happens two decades after the demise of the infamous drug dealer Lil’ Ze (Leandro Firmino).

It is a solid new chapter of the story from the movie helmed by Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles, based on the homonymous novel by Paulo Lins, as it is one of the best pictures out of South America and of the dawn of this century. ‘City of God: The Fight Rages On’ adds depth to the characters and their social context, packed with strong storytelling and prestige acting, putting this series in a higher league on par with the best productions from the USA and England.

Produced by Meirelles, it still maintains the premier cinematography and smart editing, which makes the favela feel lifelike. The scenario production is also recommendable since the colour schemes and aesthetics give the City of God favela a warm and fluid image while Gardênia Azul feels cold and mechanical, which translates the unwritten rules of those places where the corrupt state apparatus never arrived or left them behind.

The dialogues make the characters feel more down-to-earth, which is enhanced by the acting of an ensemble cast with strong chemistry. ‘City of God’ has cinematic action scenes but is not only about shootouts between drug dealers, militias, and police units, it shines best when humanizes stories by showing characters’ motifs and decisions, their moments of bliss and love, thus breaking with the stereotype propagated in the media that the favela is a bottomless limbo of violence and poverty, which is represented in the newspaper editor that relishes when Rocket photos show the violence in his neighborhood.

Highlighting the stage for more competent stories from the favelas

‘City of God’ started an informal Brazilian genre called ‘favela movies’ where upcoming productions would try to be as relevant as the pioneering movie or even take over its crown. Still, most of them are forgettable because they aim to exploit the suffering of an impoverished and mostly Black Rio de Janeiro, pimping their poverty in attempts to profit on an industrial scale and grab attention in international festivals. Keeping true to its roots, the series tells stories without falling into the pitfalls of a politically correct diversity protocol, which would hinder the final product.

The highlight of the series is the narrator and leading man, Rocket, portrayed by Alexandre Rodrigues. His skill brings a nuanced profile on masculinity and Blackness while also straying from the typical protagonist of crime dramas by having a photojournalist as the main character instead of a police officer or a thug.
We find Rocket in the twilight of his young manhood as he is about to become a middle-aged man. To survive, Rocket had to mature faster than his contemporaries, a characteristic that Rodrigues plays well by representing his pain and tiredness of a job that is necessary but takes its toll while keeping a jovial attitude that reminds those watching of the boy he was in the film.

The series also shows cultural and societal shifts in the favelas as Rocket’s daughter, MC Leka (Luellen de Castro), sings sexually explicit Brazilian funk lyrics, which the photographer isn’t much keen on. Leka was raised by her grandmother as her father was working on his career and moving out of the favela. By making Rocket a neglectful parent, ‘City of God’ gives a flaw that adds layers to the protagonist.
‘City of God: The Fight Rages On’ is not only a respectable series. It also serves as a stage to present once again to the world how talented Rodrigues is. The series screams to the industry that the youngster is one of the best leading men from South America and makes one wonder what directors like Spike Lee, Reginald Hudlin, Antoine Fuqua, Barry Jenkins, Dennis Villeneuve, Wes Anderson, and Michel Gondry could do with a world-class talent like him.

The post How HBO’s ‘City of God: The Fight Rages On’ Delivers a Gripping Sequel to the 2002 Classic appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The gritty crime epic that garnered four Academy Awards nominations, is based on real life figures from the outskirts of once paradisiacal Rio de Janeiro and catapulted a cast composed of mostly community residents and Afro-Brazilian descendants into international acclaim. Some names like Alice Braga and Seu Jorge have international careers but the most impressive actors in the film are Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino (Li’l Zé) and Douglas Silva (Li’l Dice).

Now the 39 years-old Rodrigues is a respected actor having done it all, movies, telenovelas, series and stage plays, still as happens with many actors, in particular those of his background, in a country that doesn’t value culture his work is more lauded outside than inside the nation, City of God is considered one of the best 100 movies of this century while here he still faces the hardships of his craft.

In an interview with Big Picture Film Club, Rodrigues reminisces of his times as Rocket, realizing how much acclaimed the picture is, the hardships of being an actor in Brazil, the demands for diversity in the industry, the want of having his own international career and the directors he admires.

Gabriel Leão: What does City of God mean to the cinema world, To Brazilian cinema history and to your own career?

Alexandre Rodrigues: I believe that City of God was a window for the world to know that Brazil also makes prestige cinema, while for our country it was a watershed moment because we also understood that we can show quality, and I have to say that for my career it was also a great and important opportunity – a milestone.

GL: It is regarded as one of the most influential pictures of this century. How do you see this influence playing out in the current film landscape?

AR: The film had several techniques employed that were innovative for its era and, in a way, its context is timeless as it speaks to all types of audiences and in every known language ​​on the planet. I think it’s due to the storytelling and how it develops throughout the film, which is really incredible, but what I really believe to be its “magic touch” is the homogeneous and natural performance of the actors.

And quite contrary to what many people say, we are real actors. For example: “City of God was made by non-actors and so on”… In fact, all the cast was composed of committed professionals with up to ten years of theater experience like me! This speech comes with the following line: “Fernando Meirelles did not want familiar faces in his film, so he went looking for people who had little or no experience in the screens,” this is the case of Leandro Firmino (Zé Pequeno, Li’l Zé), still this was a rare example because all the others already had a long theatrical career, most of the cast hails from the group “Nois do Morro” (Us from the Hills, in free translation), A large NGO in Brazil that was acknowledged after City of God.

GL: When did you notice that your life had changed due to the movie?

AR: I’m not sure when I realized it, but it took me a while, like many others, to understand the relevance that the film took on. Even today, after more than twenty years, the film gains some new importance, the last one was that it is one of the most watched films (outside Hollywood) on the planet only behind a few others (Preply lists it as the second most popular foreign film after France’s ‘Untouchables’). I think there will still be good things out there (to be found about the movie), you never know!

GL: What are the hardships faced by actors coming from similar backgrounds of yours in Brazil?

AR: I can say that as a professional it’s not easy for anyone, because I’ve seen so many actors with so much talent being jobless to the point that I can’t even say that it’s just a question of my profile or skin colour, it is it and then some. I have an example right here at home, my wife has the profile that the film industry has used the most since its dawn because she has fair skin And European traits, and while she has been in the profession for more than twenty years, sadly she has landed few jobs.

GL: Abroad there are many movements questioning diversity in movies, and we see more diverse faces on the screen. Do you see something similar in our country?

AR: In the last 10 years I have seen diversity grow on screens, I feel more represented today, here in Brazil as the environment has been undergoing a revolution that follows the rest of the world, I think that City of God was very important in that sense too, because it was the first time that community residents saw themselves represented and in a beautiful display on the silver screen since then I’ve seen many acting groups and NGOs flourishing through the communities.  

GL: In our last interview, you told me that you were studying English and also about your dream of making it outside Brazil. How would you like that to play out?

AR: I’m doing my part by surrounding myself with experience and contact with the English language which I love so much. By the way, I’ve been making contacts with people who live in London, but I still long for my shot. I’m glad to be Brazilian and work in my own country but I do want to experience new challenges in my career.

GL: Who are the foreign actors and directors that you follow?

AR: I have some… (breaths). Michel Gondry (L’écume Des Jours) and Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), both of who I wish to work with someday! And off course Fernando Meirelles!

Also Read: True Crimes, Real Lives: Exploring the Ethics of the Sub-Genre

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The post Interview: City of God’s Alexandre Rodrigues Discusses The Film’s Impact 20 Years Later appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.