Critics reviews

Yes, City of God tells a story about the hopeless, desperate denizens of a drug- and violence-riddled slum. But tells a story, and does so with a narrative panache that owes more to Scorsese or Tarantino than to any well-meaning documentarian.

Breathtaking and terrifying, urgently involved with its characters, [City of God] announces a new director of great gifts and passions: Fernando Meirelles. Remember the name. The film has been compared with Scorsese's "GoodFellas," and it deserves the comparison.

''City of God'' conveys the authenticity of a cinéma vérité scrapbook... As the movie's frenetic visual rhythms and mood swings synchronize with the zany, adrenaline-fueled impulsiveness of its lost youth on the rampage, you may find yourself getting lost in this teeming netherworld.

City of God is both artfully constructed and relentlessly violent... With harsh lighting, fast cutting, speeded-up action, jump cuts and much use of a fluid hand-held camera, his film moves with the lightning speed of a hungry young boxer punching way above his weight in round after bloody round.

[An] electrifying picture... [City of God is] a movie with all the dials cranked up to 11, an overwhelming, intoxicating assault on the senses, and a thriller so tense that you might have the red seat plush in front of you - or even some unfortunate's hair - gripped in both fists.

[Meirelles] brings a thrilling technical brilliance to bear on a gritty story... Highly ambitious, the film has dozens of characters, an epic sweep and a complex structure peppered with flashbacks and flash forwards. However it keeps a firm hold on narrative clarity, thanks to subtle visual and aural cues, riveting the audience throughout and making its extended running time slip by in a flash.

“City of God” delivers a bruising, visceral experience of the vicious spiral of violence that draws kids into a life of crime... The impressive filmmaking craftsmanship and sharp storytelling skills make this two-hour-plus epic fly by.

At once a laboratory for cinema technique and a victory for raw heart, this is a snot-nosed, blood-stained masterpiece.