When Roger Ebert received a call from Lance, he looked very surprised, and he didn't hide his surprise, "I don't think we're friends, and I don't think you should call me at this time. ”

When Lance asked for Roger's phone number from Mark Gordon, he had already prepared for this, so he didn't panic at all, "Please don't get me wrong, I'm making this call just to be friends with Mr. Ebert." Friendships between strangers and strangers always require one to take the first step, doesn't it? ”

Roger couldn't refute, but chuckled, "But why this time?" "It's awards season, the most sensitive time, and it's obviously not that simple.

"Why can't it be this time?" Lance's rhetorical question was frank as if there were no additional benefits involved, which made Roger chuckle. However, there is obviously no way to convince Roger with such a statement, because the real insider, everyone knows it in their hearts, and the denial on the mouth cannot be counted, "I am a movie lover and a film practitioner, my every move is closely related to the movie, of course, many collateral effects are something I can't deny, and I don't intend to deny it, but I must insist that all my actions are based on the movie." Let's say this phone call. ”

"Lancelot, tick tock." Roger didn't give Lance face, and directly started the countdown, apparently Lance's words did not attract his interest.

Lance was not in a hurry, but continued at his own pace, "I was working on a commercial film recently, but obviously, as a new director, I still have a lot of shortcomings, so I need some advice from friends. ”

Roger raised an eyebrow, he had to admit that Lance's blunt words made him a little intrigued, "So, you're calling a film critic." Or call another friend? "That's a big difference.

"I'm calling a friend who is a film critic." Lance took advantage of a language loophole, which made Roger pout, but Lance's words were still not finished, "The same. I also called a friend who is a director, a friend who is a photographer, a friend who is a professional athlete, a friend who is a hedge fund manager, and a friend who is a lawyer. A friend who is an agent, a friend who is a journalist......" Lance's words made the disdain on the corners of Roger's mouth slowly settle, "As I said, if you want to talk about collateral influence, no industry in this society can get rid of it; If you're talking about sensitive times, I'm not sure when the right time is, but maybe February 14 is the right choice. ”

Lance was quibbling, but it was a very witty quibble, and with Lance's characteristic wisdom and humor, Roger couldn't help but chuckle. The smile in his eyes revealed the true feelings in his heart.

As Lance said, everyone should be smart about protecting themselves during awards season, but no one can do it. The focus is never on the rules and frameworks on the surface, but on the mindset of the work. "So, friend, if you call me today, is there no follow-up?"

Although Lance has been calm and calm, he finally spit out lightly at this moment, "Hehe, next Friday." I'm going to have a small party at that landmark cinema in Burbank, maybe you can be there and give me some advice and let me know my strengths and weaknesses. I also perhaps, for some inspiration. Make some improvements to this work, which is currently busy. ”

Roger couldn't help it.

Roger arrived on time for a small movie party in the "City of God", accompanied by another friend of Lance's, Lawrence.

It was a very professional movie-going party, with two reporters and three producers in addition to Roger and Lawrence. Several actors, and even two cinematographers, all of whom are veteran film lovers. Moreover, none of the members of the "City of God" crew showed up - not even Paramount Pictures sent any immediate related personnel to attend. Even the most discerning college judges couldn't say anything wrong.

In the boiling and lively environment of the awards season, the small movie-watching parties in the "City of God" are not numbered at all, and even gossip magazines such as "America Weekly" and "Entertainment Weekly" are too lazy to cast their eyes, and it seems that it is just an ordinary and simple movie-watching party.

But after this professional movie-watching party, Roger Ebert wrote a professional review in the Chicago Sun.

When "City of God" was released at the Sundance Film Festival, Roger had already given the film unimaginable praise with a four-star review and a four-star recommendation, but that time Roger just wrote a brief review. This time, Roger wrote a long review with gusto, and once again gave a perfect score of four stars!

"At the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, an unknown director came out with a Brazilian film that, with churning angry energy, 'City of God' tells the story of a slum gang in Rio de Janeiro. It's a passionate, restless, nervous, fearful film that easily transports us to the hot and restless land of South America and announces the emergence of a new director with great talent and passion:

Lancelot-Strello.

Remember the name! Some people have compared the 'City of God' to the 'good guys' of Scorsese, and they definitely deserve it. At the beginning of the story, the narrator of Goodfellas says that he has wanted to gangster for as long as he can remember, but the narrator of City of God seems to have no other choice.

Set in Rio de Janeiro's purpose-built slum to isolate the poor from the city center, the area gradually develops into a vibrant, colorful, musical and exuberant area; At the same time, it has gradually developed into a lawless and immoral zone, and violence obscures the sky overhead, as if isolating the area, forming an endless but narrow and restrained world from which there is no escape.

In the opening passage of the film, which shows the director's skill, a group of people have dinner together, and a live chicken escapes, bringing the camera to the narrator of the story, Ah Pao, who then inadvertently finds himself standing between two groups of gunmen: the gang on one side and the police/police on the other.

The camera revolves around him, and the background changes, as the teenager shrinks into a young boy, playing football in a clearing in the slums. He said that in order to understand his story, he had to go back to the beginning, when his brother and friends formed the Young Three and lived a new life that some would call sin and some call survival.

In this sequence, the director's virtuosity – the swirling shots, the flashbacks, the colours shift from the intense chiaroscuro of the ghetto to the dirty, bright yellow of the football pitch – reminds us that this is a rare film that is visually vibrant and creative.

Together with cinematographer Hayden Hunt, Strello uses fast cuts and nimble hand-held photography to advance the story with speed and detail. Sometimes, this can make a movie seem like it's just a mess, but 'City of God' is like we're there, and everywhere we see is danger or opportunity.

Following Ah Pao's gaze, we gradually see the full picture of this city of God, where all social fabrics, including the family, have been destroyed by poverty. The social structure and social status here are determined by the gangs. The death rate of the gang is extremely high, so the leaders are also surprisingly young, and they continue to get younger, and surviving is the only value of life. In a surprising passage, the winning leader is killed in the least likely way he could have imagined, killed by the least likely person he had ever thought of. We see that, in essence, he did not die at the hands of a single person, but by that criminal culture.

But what makes 'City of God' great is that the movie isn't just cold and violent. The cannon also captures some of the Dickensian flavors of the City of God. The chaotic life also allows us to see some characters with nicknames, personalities, and personal symbols. Characters like Benny, Steak, Otto, Handsome Ned, Overlord, and Red Fur always bring a very different sense to the story, outlining the story of this borderland, with fatalistic pathos and banter.

The movie is based on the novel by Paul Lins, and some of the stories are based on reality. We can see that Ah Pao was given a camera, and like a baby, he took pictures from the vantage point of one of his children, and got a job delivering newspapers, and asked a photographer to develop the photos he took. As a result, he was surprised to see that his photograph of the gang leader appeared on the front page of the newspaper.

'I've been sentenced to death,' he thought to himself. But the situation is the opposite, the gang actually liked this opportunity to show their heads, and they took out their weapons and brought the girl to him to take pictures. There is a real pulse beating in these episodes, and this is also reflected in the newly elected President of Brazil, Luiz-Inacio-Lula-da-Silva, who commented and praised the 'City of God', which he considered a much-needed call for reform!

On a truly violent level, 'City of God' is not as strong as Scorsese's 'Gangs of New York'. However, there is a certain comparability between the two films, and in both films there are two cities: one is a city where people live and work in peace and contentment, and are protected by the law; A city that belongs to those who have been outcast, who have come together because of despair. The people who live in these places rarely have the opportunity to be seen or heard with their stories.

The 'City of God' neither exploits nor despises them, does not deliberately create plots for false effects, and does not contain stupid love lines. It just stares at what it knows with a pair of passionate and wise eyes. In this respect, it is better than 'Gangs of New York'. (To be continued.) )

PS: Today's second update is guaranteed, and the plus more will be presented later! Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass!