Cidade de Deus

Date

2002

Description

Creators of the image: Fernando Meirelles, and Kátia Lund (directors)
Date of the image creation: 2002
Medium of the image: Film
Person depicted: Leandro Firmino as Li'l Zé (Zé Pequeno)

Set in a Brazilian favela in the hills of Rio de Janeiro called Cidade de Deus (City of God), the film of the same name follows the journey of a group of young gangsters between their childhood in the late 1960s and a gang war in the early 1980s. Two childhood friends but very different characters, Li’l Zé and Benny, lead the most powerful gang in the favela. Benny is an easy-going guy, a smooth-talking charmer who fancies himself as something of a Robin Hood kind of character. Li’l Zé is the opposite — brutal, cruel and obsessed with gaining power. Benny’s girlfriend convinces him to leave the drug-pushing business and move into the country together where they can enjoy life without violence.

The still-shot is taken at Benny’s farewell, a vibrant and diverse party. It depicts Li’l Zé awkwardly surveying the dance-floor. Despite his power, he lacks confidence and fails to get any women to express interest in him. Shortly after, a scuffle breaks out between Li’l Zé and Benny, and in that moment an assassin from a rival drug gang takes a shot a Li’l Zé, only to miss him and kill Benny. Grief stricken and desperate, Li’l Zé reign becomes increasingly brutal and without his partner.

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