If City Of God had never existed the world might be a very different place. The hiphoperati would only have one movie (Scarface, of course) to screen on their 72” plasma walls. The gangsta realism that has since percolated through everything from Bourne to Hulk would still seem like an impossible dream. Teenagers, robbed of their favourite repeat viewing title, might even be roaming around in post-apocalyptic Mad Max inspired gangs.
Unhappily for the makers of this sequel, City Of God not only exists but has already spawned a TV spin-off. It’s not that this follow-up film is bad. The plot – a friendship between two 18 year-olds is compromised by slum warfare and absent fathers – is solid. The street kid actors exude charisma. More impressively, and in common with its predecessor, City Of Men allows you to enjoy the gun totting favelas and favelados as they strut around the streets of Rio De Janeiro without ever allowing you to forget that their lives are hellish and brief.
But try as it might, Paulo Moretti’s film lacks both the tragedy and the exhilaration of the Fernando Meirelles original. Given the running order, it’s like watching Oasis play a perfectly decent set, but only after The Beatles have provided a killer supporting act.