---
title: 'City of God (2002)'
type: 'film'
director: 'Fernando Meirelles'
released: '2002-05-18'
runtime_minutes: 128
certification: 'R'
genres:
  - 'Drama'
  - 'Crime'
countries:
  - 'Brazil'
  - 'France'
themes:
  - 'Class Divide'
canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/movies/city-of-god-2002'
review_count: 0
imdb: 'https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/'
publisher: 'CinePixo'
---

# City of God (2002)

2002 · R · 128 min · Drama, Crime · Brazil, France

Original title: Cidade de Deus

## Synopsis

City of God is a 2002 Portuguese-language epic crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund. The screenplay, written by Bráulio Mantovani, is adapted from the 1997 novel of the same name by Paulo Lins, though the plot is also loosely based on real events. The film portrays the rise of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro between the late 1960s and early 1980s, culminating in a war between drug dealer Li'l Zé and vigilante-turned-criminal Knockout Ned. Its tagline is, "If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you."

## Credits

- **Director:** [Fernando Meirelles](https://cinepixo.com/people/fernando-meirelles), [Kátia Lund](https://cinepixo.com/people/katia-lund)
- **Screenplay:** [Bráulio Mantovani](https://cinepixo.com/people/braulio-mantovani)
- **Original Music Composer:** [Antonio Pinto](https://cinepixo.com/people/antonio-pinto), [Ed Côrtes](https://cinepixo.com/people/ed-cortes)
- **Producer:** [Maurício Andrade Ramos](https://cinepixo.com/people/mauricio-andrade-ramos), [Andrea Barata Ribeiro](https://cinepixo.com/people/andrea-barata-ribeiro)
- **Director of Photography:** [César Charlone](https://cinepixo.com/people/cesar-charlone)
- **Editor:** [Daniel Rezende](https://cinepixo.com/people/daniel-rezende)

## Cast

- [Renato de Souza](https://cinepixo.com/people/renato-de-souza) as Marreco
- [Michel Gomes](https://cinepixo.com/people/michel-gomes) as child Bené
- [Olivia Araújo](https://cinepixo.com/people/olivia-araujo)
- [Graziella Moretto](https://cinepixo.com/people/graziella-moretto) as Marina Cintra
- [Alice Braga](https://cinepixo.com/people/alice-braga) as Angélica
- [Dani Ornellas](https://cinepixo.com/people/dani-ornellas)
- [Gero Camilo](https://cinepixo.com/people/gero-camilo)
- [Phellipe Haagensen](https://cinepixo.com/people/phellipe-haagensen) as adult Bené
- [Babu Santana](https://cinepixo.com/people/babu-santana)
- [Arlindo Lopes](https://cinepixo.com/people/arlindo-lopes)
- [Douglas Silva](https://cinepixo.com/people/douglas-silva) as child Dadinho
- [Alexandre Rodrigues](https://cinepixo.com/people/alexandre-rodrigues) as adult Buscapé
- [Thiago Martins](https://cinepixo.com/people/thiago-martins) as Lampião
- [Jonathan Haagensen](https://cinepixo.com/people/jonathan-haagensen) as Cabeleira
- [Sérgio Chapelin](https://cinepixo.com/people/sergio-chapelin)

## Themes & motifs

- [Class Divide](https://cinepixo.com/topics/class-divide) (theme) — Rocket's camera is the only exit the film offers, and it works for exactly one reason — the world outside will pay for pictures of the inside.

Editorial, not imported: every axis and every sentence above was written here.

## Criticism on CinePixo

No reviews published yet.

Official site: https://www.miramax.com/movie/city-of-god/
Source: https://cinepixo.com/movies/city-of-god-2002
Film facts: Wikidata (Q220741); synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Reviews, themes and notes are the work of this site's members.