B:8 Brazilian films

The two films I watched last night at Andrew's were City of God and Carandiru, both Brazilian films. The first was one I had really wanted to see when it was released in Canada about four years ago, but I never got a chance, or maybe it was that I wanted to see it with someone... whatever, I didn't end up seeing it. The second, I'd never heard of.

The two films are similar in many ways and initially I thought they might have been done by the same people, but a quick check on IMDB this morning showed me that they are, in fact, totally different teams. They were made right around the same time, though (2002 and 03, respectively), and are interested in the underbelly of Brazilian culture. Both films are brutally violent and much of their subject matter is deeply affecting, depressing, even, but both succeed in creating a bittersweet cinematic experience that leaves you feeling alternately bruised and incredibly hopeful.

Brutal and beautiful.