GarnettTeenage
The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.
Humbersi
The first must-see film of the year.
Phillida
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
juanmro-1
Nothing like "Cidade da Deus" (City of God), Era uma vez... is a good movie, very realistic but with some problems of screenplay at the final. I don't know why they -the director and the writer- choose that final, is not necessary. Love story, big drama in a wonderful city with many faces like Rio de Janeiro. In this movie you can see the cruelty of the reality in a country where the injustice are so common to poor people. People live and die in Rio but if you put the attention in their faces you can't understand why they look so happy every day of their life's. I being there, in a funk party at night, and when I saw this movie I realize how unconscious was I to went there. May be because many of the people who live in the "morros" are workers and honest. If you are interest to know a little more than the wonderful beaches, women, men and the happy faces that you can see in the beach, this is a good movie to experiment how they live and how many injustice happened in our world.
caiosigmaringa
Strongly based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this movie had everything to be cliché. The old story about the rich girl who falls in love with the poor, ignorant boy. Add to that the fact that it is another one of those " favela ( slum ) movies " that appear each time more in Brazil, and you could say " I've already seen that ", before even watching. Except it isn't cliché, nor it is a favela movie. It's beyond that. It speaks out loud, on characters reactions to the main stars relationship, so many opinions, prejudices, that most of us have inside us, but don't even realize, because a story like this doesn't happen to everyone.It shows how " This side ", the rich side, because of its prejudices and fears, oppress, misjudge, and ends up destroying lives, or even creating the criminals we fear.Some people say the main character decisions are stupid. They aren't. The main character is someone who grew up in the favela, in fear, thinking he would never be like someone from " the beach ", the other side of town, and in the present is this oppressed person, who is embarrassed even to reveal to the girl he likes he works at the beach stand. And this affects he's decisions, since he always thinks the rich people will not understand him, and that he must fear them.The ending has caused many controversy. Many people hated it, thought it was fake and over the top. I don't agree. Had the ending been the other way, it would still be a nice movie, but that's it. It wouldn't be this incredibly strong story. Maybe in real life things wouldn't have happened exactly like in the ending, but that's not the point. The ending was supposed to be poetic, and synthesizes many of the points brought up during the story.Overall, it's a story full of clichés, but still refreshing and beautiful, with a very strong and poetic ending, although not very easy to swallow, and not the most feel-good either.
diegopaes
Here we have a classical story of a simple hard-working poor boy, falling in love with a rich spoiled girl. There aren't many things you can do with this plot. That's because most of it have already been done. That is the classical "date movie", when two people struggle to be together in the end. People feel good about it, and even with the feeling "I think I have seen that before", people still enjoy it. Just like 10 in 10 Brazilian soap operas. Despite the dreadful edition, the movie director does a really nice job using almost all the clichés that he could remember. But what really bothered me is that you CAN make this kind of movie without getting into the Romeo and Juliet set up, when really bad choices by the characters (like "playing along" with the police) leads them to certain death. Overall it is a nice movie, but nothing beyond that. In terms of Brazilian cinema, where creativity and excellent ideas are used to surpass difficulties such as low budgets and horrible actors, this movie disappoints. Ps. Thiago Martins does a really good acting here, and Victoria Frate does the exactly same face 90% of the movie.
Welington Santos
Breno Silveira invests in emotion and simplicity to build a story whose theme - economic and social inequality - is very complex and important to Brazilian society. Maybe the film is not reference for the viewer to drive down into the issue itself, but, of course, he will be touched by the story and the motivations of the characters.Thiago Martins embodies Dé with great sensitivity, bringing a bit of history of the actor, also resident of a slum, to the character. He is the soul of the movie, he makes us to believe in the history of the couple, even in the most unlikely clichés moments. One of the most moving scenes is when Dé say to Nina's ex-boyfriend, a rich guy, on its status as a worker, a seller of hot-dog. At that point we visualize the millions of underemployed poorly paid, ignored by society, surviving in precarious housing in the country.The end of the film has caused controversy. Some think outside the tone, exaggerated. I am not of that opinion. I think the final is poetic, emblematic, a request for assistance on behalf of love. Maybe some accused Breno Silveira of being naive, simplistic, but I think that is the price that he pays to be popular. We can not accuse him of lack of talent. Breno knows how to tell a story, how to reach the hearts of viewers.
