Youth gangs took over the slums of Rio de Janeiro during the 1960s and didn't relinquish their stronghold until the mid-1980s. Only a sucker wouldn't have turned to crime and this is exactly how naive teen Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) views himself. His attempts in illegal activity fail as he finds potential victims too friendly. Equally unsuccessful in love he regularly fails to lose his virginity. Blood spills throughout the streets of the Cidade de Deus as gang leader Li'l Ze (Douglas Silva) is challenged by local druglords and a gang of pre-teens known as the Runts. Nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2004 Oscars.
In the opening scenes of Central Station, colourful crowds of Brazilians stream into and out of a Rio de Janeiro train, pushing through doors and windows. You're immediately pulled into the brutal vitality of a nation in motion, setting the tone for a picturesque road movie that charts Brazil's renaissance in a little boy's search for his father and an old woman's emotional reawakening. When we first meet Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), this frozen-hearted, sour-faced woman is the epitome of immobility: day after day, she sits in the train station selling her letter-writing skills to all comers, but often doesn't bother to mail these precious messages. When a woman who's paid Dora to write a pleading note to her son's long-missing dad gets run over by a bus, the child, Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), is up for grabs. (The summary execution of a thieving street kid--seen in longshot--underscores the seriousness of this waif's plight.) After an abortive attempt to sell Josue for a new TV, the aspiring couch potato finds herself reluctantly propelled into an occasionally Fellini-esque odyssey through the hinterlands of Brazil's sertäo, where Dora and her sidekick find unexpected faith and family. Former documentary filmmaker Walter Salles (Foreign Land) mixes magic with realism in his appreciation of striking faces and places, but Central Station is primarily fuelled by the tough/tender performances of Montenegro, Brazil's Judi Dench, and de Oliveira, an airport shoeshine boy Salles cast over 1,500 other hopefuls. (Montenegro was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and Central Station was in the running for Best Foreign Language Film.) No cloyingly cute child-star, de Oliveira plays Josue as a bracingly idiosyncratic brat. And watching Dora's face and soul slowly, unwillingly unclench as she gets back in motion--and emotion--is potent pleasure, even if Salles' trip does dead-end in soap opera as his Brazilian pilgrim's progress winds down. --Kathleen Murphy, Amazon.com
This is the award winning Brazilian tale of a poor black kid who, as narrator, tells of life in the dangerous 'City of God' housing project in Rio de Janeiro.
This is the award winning Brazilian tale of a poor black kid who, as narrator, tells of life in the dangerous 'City of God' housing project in Rio de Janeiro.
Lucrecia Martel's first film in 10 years premiered in Venice 2017 to huge acclaim. Zama, an officer of the Spanish Crown born in South America, waits for a letter from the King granting him a transfer from the town in which he is, to a better place. His situation is delicate. He must ensure that nothing overshadows his transfer. He is forced to accept submissively every task entrusted to him by successive Governors who come and go as he stays behind. The years go by and the letter from the King never arrives. When Zama notices everything is lost, he joins a party of soldiers that go after a dangerous bandit. It is adapted from Antonio di Benedetto s 1956 classic of Argentinean literature, recently translated into English
Nominated* for 4 Oscars® and named one of Time Magazine's ALL-TIME 100 Best Films, CITY OF GOD tells a powerful true story of crime and redemption. The streets of the world's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's City of God, are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings differently with the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world and ultimately his way out. â â â â ! Chicago Sun-Times *Nominations: Directing; Writing (Adapted Screenplay); Cinematography; and Film Editing, 2003. Extras: News from a Personal War Documentary A Conversation With Fernando Meirelles
Lucrecia Martel's first film in 10 years premiered in Venice 2017 to huge acclaim. Zama, an officer of the Spanish Crown born in South America, waits for a letter from the King granting him a transfer from the town in which he is, to a better place. His situation is delicate. He must ensure that nothing overshadows his transfer. He is forced to accept submissively every task entrusted to him by successive Governors who come and go as he stays behind. The years go by and the letter from the King never arrives. When Zama notices everything is lost, he joins a party of soldiers that go after a dangerous bandit. It is adapted from Antonio di Benedetto s 1956 classic of Argentinean literature, recently translated into English
Main Language: Portuguese
City Of God (2002): Youth gangs took over the slums of Rio de Janeiro during the 1960s and didn't relinquish their stronghold until the mid-1980s. Only a sucker wouldn't have turned to crime and this is exactly how naive teen Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) views himself. His attempts in illegal activity fail as he finds potential victims too friendly. Equally unsuccessful in love he regularly fails to lose his virginity. Blood spills throughout the streets of the Cidade de Deus as gang leader Li'l Ze (Douglas Silva) is challenged by local druglords and a gang of pre-teens known as the Runts. Nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2004 Oscars. (Dir. Fernando Meirelles Cert. 18) Hero (2004): One man will challenge an empire... In pre-Imperial China feared warrior Nameless (Jet Li) is granted an audience with the ruler of the most powerful of the seven warring kingdoms (Chen Daoming). Posing as a minor official Nameless sets about his mission of revenge by relating the tale of how he defeated the three most fearsome of the ruler's adversaries. However nothing is as it seems and Nameless is placed in great personal peril as the king suggests a very different version of events which brought him to the palace... Filled with breathtaking wirework-enhanced martial arts sequences from action choreographer Ching Siu-Tung ('New Dragon Gate Inn' 'A Chinese Ghost Story') truly sumptuous cinematography from the legendary Christopher Doyle ('In The Mood For Love') and an expressive traditional score from Tan Dun ('Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon') Zhang Yimou's elegant epic features an intriguing 'Rashomon' style flashback structure that will keep the audience guessing until the very end. The most expensive movie ever made in China and a blockbuster upon its' theatrical release in the U.S. 'Hero' showcases the outstanding talents ofa multi-award winning cast including the pairing of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as star crossed lovers the coquettish Zhang Ziyi ('Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon') as a feisty apprentice venerated Chen Daoming lending gravitas as the Emperor-in-waiting and real-life martial arts masters Donnie Yen and Jet Li who co-designed perhaps the greatest duel ever committed to celluloid. Nominated for both an Oscar and a BAFTA 'Hero' is an exceptional example of Asian cinema and ""really is one of the best looking films ever made."" - The Guardian
Using street kids straight from the Cidade de Deus slum outside Rio de Janeiro, Fernando Meirelles' film is based on actual events that happened in the slum. The story, revealed by Buscape - a street kid who decides to become a photojournalist when he discovers he is not cut out to become a villain - revolves around the shadowy world of drugs and the violence which increases with each generation. Li'l Ze has grown up to become a natural-born-killer and attempt to take over the drugs trade of the city. However, this sparks a turf war which is photographed by Buscape, making the war famous.
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