City of God (35)

ATTEMPT 1

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

The cinematographic techniques used within City of God depict the character of Rocket as a person who is trying to escape the crime within the fevela. Whist everyone is shooting with guns, he shoots with a camera in order to capture the truth behind the gang warfare and thus discovering the truth in the corruption of the police force. Rocket tries throughout the film to evade crime through his choices.

In the scene where Rocket is thinking about holding up and stealing from a shop he changes his mind after the girl behind the counter give him her number. This signifies that love can drastically change situations, unfortunately Rocket later on smokes the paper that the number was written on showing that drugs come between possibilities for a better life in the fevelas.

Life is very different outside of the fevelas as is shown by the scene in which rocket is shouting at Marina in the office for stealing his pictures. Marina, being a woman, would be expected to cower and apologise to Rocket if she was from the fevelas where women are more like second class citizens. In this scene Marina actively fights back against Rocket and then offers for him to stay at her house for the night. Events unfold and the two end up sleeping together. In earlier scenes of the film the men are always the ones to initiate sex whereas here Marina is the one who says "there is only one bed so you're sleeping with me".

ATTEMPT 2

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?

One of the main points about City of God's cinematographic techniques is that the entire film is filmed in a way that immerses the audience in its world. This is achieved through several clever tactics, one of these being that the film is shot to represent a hand held camera. The camera itself becomes an entity and the entity is as scared and confused as the rest of the residents are within the film. There are several instances where the camera double takes and looks around its environment, not for the audience but because it is acting as the audience. 

There are many characters in the film that all, at some point, have interacted with each other be it in the present or in a flashback; everyone is somehow linked. It is this use of a large cast that gives the piece verisimilitude. The sense of realism is evident throughout the film as, even though it is a non-linear narrative, it spans across 15 years. As we watch the characters grow so does the city. There is no clear plot but instead just follows the lives of a large amount of residents.