City of God: The Apartment Scene Notes

The apartment scene in City of God is a scene that shows the transition of the apartment (which is the main port of drug dealing in the favela) over the years and how the people and the place has changed between 1960 & the 80's.

Important key film terminology to take note off in the opening scene:
- Cinematography
- Mise-en-scene
- Editing
- Sound (diegetic & non-diegetic)

General observations from this scene

- Each owner is younger than the previous owner; this presents how more and more youngsters are turning to life of crime in order to survive in the City Of God.
- The furniture becomes less and less as the scene progresses, presents the degradation of the apartment; the apartment used to inhabit furniture but not inhabits crime, distrust & death
- The apartment becomes a metaphor for who's running the City of God/the neighbourhood
- The viewer is an observer in this scene -> their sole purpose is to take things in
- Lack of women: sidelined, catalyst for violent actions, they hold the power but have no power (e.g. it was because of a woman that the drug business at the apartment started in the first place.
- This scene conveys that the police are involved and can be paid off, depicts a lack of authority in the City of God and that the apartment owner can hold power over the police.
- Editing: dissolves in and out, emphasis on time period.

Sound:

- Limited music is used in this scene, just narration about how the apartment has changed

- Crescendo of dramatic music is used when Lil Ze is shooting people to present how he has become more and more obsessed with killing
- Music cuts out when there is a knock on the door to convey that the film is back in the room at the present time
- Dialogue and narration overlap -> keeps audiences hooked and clued in on what's occurring
- Narration from Rocket throughout the scene

Cinematography:

- Camera is static, this gives the audience a clearer insight into the apartment and signifies that something different is occurring. The fixed camera is a metaphor for how the infrastructure of the area hasn't changed, there has only been a change in what is symbolises.

- Meirelles uses the fade effect throughout the scene. The fades are used when there is a change of ownership in the apartment so this shows the evolution of time. The characters also walk into darkness when they are no longer the owner of the apartment which presents that they are no longer the leader of the City of God and are forgotten about (e.g. the women in the 1st flashback looks like a ghost to present that she has been forgotten). This also conveys the theme of death and that life is cheap in City of God as the drug trade becomes more illegal as the constant cycle of the drug business continues.

- Meirelles uses a low angle when Lil Ze is shooting people to present him as menacing. Meirelles also uses a canted angle in the scene where Lil Ze has turned 18 to show imbalance and how he is unhinged which conveys that he is not level headed.

Lighting & Mise-en-scene:

- Mise-en-scene is stripped away/bare of its character, driving force in this scene, shows how the apartment has gone from being decorated to being rundown.
- The lighting used in this scene is similar to the lighting used in the first scene (the golden glow) which signifies to the audience that there has been a change in time as the apartment is presented as gold to convey the favela was less brutal in the 60's compared to the 80's.
- The golden glow at the start of the scene is used to show that selling drugs was originally for a seedy but noble reason (money to help raise kids) and the blue glow is used when the film returns to normal after the flashback to show how the selling of drugs was just for seedy reasons (sole purpose = making money).
- The scene starts with a high key warm pink light (selling for right reasons, bringing up her daughter) and transforms to a low key dark light to reflect danger