With as much undue hype and mindless lauding as 'Slumdog Millionaire' garnered this past year, I felt strongly convicted to again assume my role as the "that guy" film snob and allow the unenlightened masses the pleasure of seeing the beckoning light of the greener pastures of cinema. This year's Oscar champion was indeed a well-constructed effort, enabling even the most critical viewers to enjoy a tale that seems so overtly cheesy, yet maintains a strong storyline and credible character development. This film that was a few phone calls from going straight-to-DVD is indeed a heartwarming coming-of-age tale of love gained and lost.
'Slumdog' thrived on momentum, multicultural appeal, and, well, simply "feels good" (Read: 'Titanic', 'Crash'). The movie's gravest shortcoming is inherent of its artistic value, of which there is, of course, absolutely none. Yes, it is shallow at best, and, frankly, even empty. Genuine film is the quintessential fine art that 'Slumdog Millionaire' was not; last year's Best Picture winner was the very-deserving 'No Country for Old Men', the Coen Brothers' triumphant effort of neo-Western filmmaking overflowing with profound themes of fate and of good and evil, packaged entirely in a deceivingly simplistic grab-the-cash-and-run-from
Indeed, I digress, yet the point lingers. In an effort of faith to those who hold 'Slumdog' in a similar sentiment, I offer a worthy alternative from which it could be argued most of the former was derived. The 2003 triumph, 'Cidade de Deus' (yes, released in the US as 'City of God') involves a young boy from the Rio de Janeiro slum called the 'City of God'; he was an outcast from the recurring crime prevalent amongst his friends and peers and grew to see each of them plucked by the temptuous spoils of crime into a life of immorality and criminality. Presented in a series of fascinating and sparsely interwoven vignettes, a la 'Pulp Fiction' to an extent, 'City of God' is a powerful, moving, and wholly disturbing portrayal of life in third-world slums and an altogether mesmerizing film. In every area that 'Slumdog' falls short in some way, 'City of God' remains superior. Those already familiar with both films, namely those who have viewed both, with quickly realize stark comparisons.
It is with this that I suggest Fernando Meirelles's 'City of God', a genuine, oft-overlooked masterpiece.
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