In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.

An essential arthouse staple of the naughts, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s epic of favela life crackles with passion, violence, color, and visual wizardry. Brazil’s submission to the Oscars® uses primarily nonprofessional actors, who light up scenes of relentless violence and restless flight.