City of God: Elements of Film Form

Hello! In this blog I will be deconstructing the use of Form within the opening scene of City of God.

City of God starts off intense, cutting quickly between knifes, chickens and a group of rowdy men. The editing brings out the dangerous and fast paced lifestyle of the main characters introduced. This makes the viewer feel intimidated, this is resonated through the footage of the chicken, scared and frightened the chicken makes a run for it. Through the chicken escaping you get a feeling for the story, as though the main character is running away from the dangerous life posed by the men. This is comes to fruition when the main protagonist is introduced, saying if you run, they get you. If you stay, they get you too".

Once the main protagonist is introduced you instantly get a sense of his world through the cinematography. The shot pans around the protagonist in a full 360 looking at him standing in-front of his surroundings and the immediate danger. This is another instance where the use of form solidifies the atmosphere and symbolizes the protagonists life, as the character wants to run away and escape the lifestyle, he cant. This leaves the audience feeling trapped, straight away the viewer can understand the stakes and troubles of the world they are about to enter. Within the first few minutes of the film, the audience already understands the general tone and theme's to the film due to the appropriate use of editing and cinematography.