(rated R) The city is Rio de Janeiro and the tale is of a gang of hoods, as seen through the eyes and voice over of “Rocket” (Alexandre Rodrigues), a young photographer risking everything to tell the truth. As the story opens, Rocket is caught in the crossfire between rival gangs and the cops. And then suddenly the story unleashes in flashback — gritty, grainy and intelligent with a furious energy, this sub-titled little gem is quite possibly the one movie in 2003 that makes everything else pale in comparison — capturing every tiny detail of its culture, the message simple: “in the city, if you run, they catch you; if you stay they get you.” The message is that one needs ideas, not a gun, to outwit the previous drug lord’s turf. Part “West Side Story” with its own Sharks and Jets minus the dancing, the story is the rise and ultimate fall of Shaggy, Clipper, Goose and various young men hungry for violence, power and money. L’il Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora) is the monster drug lord of the film. From about age 9 to his adult life, he is the one the slum kids want to take over, emulate, or kill, as they watch him murder innocent people as calmly and bored as one would unload a dishwasher. The audience grows numb to the violence that is unknowingly piled onto us. Out of nowhere we are hypnotized. We are them. Feeling the horrible gunshots and then somehow feeling its almost glamorous effect. It’s like nothing that can be explained, reviewed or critiqued. Just see it and you’ll see why.
