The Asphalt Jungle

The Best of the Decade - #10

March 2nd, 2010 by Raj Ranade

Societies in crisis.

Fareed:

City of God (dir. by Fernando Meirelles): When Orson Welles went down to Rio in the early forties to shoot a documentary on the carnival, his directorial eye was drawn to a more disquieting aspect of Brazilian life, the favelas.  The American filmmaker found these sprawling shanty towns, burdened with poverty, to be a fascinating counterpoint to the boisterous exuberance of the venerated carnival.  Much to chagrin of his US government patrons, Welles could not help but devote reel upon reel of film stock to capturing the conditions of the poor.   The social realist style of Welles’ study (and the fact that the picture was never complete) left for a visually rich, if somewhat hollow meditation on the dark side of the Brazilian experience.

Six decades later, Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles returned to the site that so fascinated the American titan of cinema with his unforgettable “City of God.”  Meirelles crafts an expertly composed documentation of crime in the favelas of Rio. Dozens of characters clash in this 20 year long saga focused on the gangs that rise and fall in their quest for dominance.  Yet the film never loses its narrative and editorial command as it leads the viewers through a bloody history dictated by often petty desires. Although “City of God” encourages empathy for the criminals it follows, it rises above usual gangster fare due to its constant emphasis that such existence on the social margins places life on a horrifically precarious edge.

One scene, depicting a pair of young boys violently accosted by a gang, testifies to the film’s intention to shatter any conceptions of the glamorous gangster.  The often kinetic camera slows down, lingering on the terrified faces of the children who perform without any theatricality. In this brief scene of undue cruelty, Meirelles proclaims this city to be a part of an agonizingly real world where a single bullet can decimate. Thanks to its pitch perfect direction and editing, “City of God” captures the thrill and terror of the crime life.  In every one of its gorgeous frames, Meirelles uncovers the irresistible energy that springs from the tensions of mass poverty.

Raj:

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (dir. by Cristian Mungiu): When a movie is tagged with the phrase “realist” or “verite”, the default response for many viewers is to respond with the phrase “slow and boring”. They’re not necessarily wrong – sometimes life is slow and boring, and a work of art aspiring to realism shouldn’t be prevented from reflecting that just because some in the audience might not be constantly entertained. Of course, sometimes life is also thrilling, terrifying, and tragic. A realist film looking at that side of life has the duty to reflect those qualities, and the scrupulously realistic “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days” was as edge-of-the-seat gripping as any other film of the decade.

The film centers on young college girl Otilia and her attempts to help her friend get an illegal abortion under the repressive Communist regime of Romania. Over one 24 hour period, the film follows Otilia as she travels through the seedy underworld of the city to make the necessary arrangements for her friend while still keeping up appearances with her boyfriend and family. As unsavory thugs exploit our poor young protagonist and her best-laid plans go awry, the film develops a tense, unshakable power. Like Michael Haneke, director Cristian Mungiu develops suspense situationally and avoids the typical cinematic tools used to evoke tension – the most terrifying scene here is actually a simple long static shot of Otilia at a dinner because of the meaning and implication that Mungiu invests the scene with. Mungiu instead uses subtle cinematic technique to comment on the action through mis-en-scene, while never straying from his thoroughly realistic aesthetic.

The thing that keeps many viewers from seeing this movie is of course that “a-word”, which is explored in a brutally honest way that can’t be reduced to simple pro-life/pro-choice sloganeering. But the film is about so much more – namely about life in a regime that turns human bodies that can be bought and sold as easily as a pack of cigarettes.  It’s also a showcase for an awe-inspiring performance from Anamaria Marinca as the protagonist who seems to carry the entire burden of her society on her shoulders. “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days” isn’t an easy sit, but as a rich exploration of life at its most harsh and brutal, and a leading example of the Romanian New Wave at its best, it cannot be ignored.

Entry Filed under: Best of the 2000s