City of God

City of God (Cidade de Deus, 2002) is a Brazilian crime drama directed by Fernando Meirelles — watch it online on iFILM. Based on Paulo Lins's novel about a real housing project on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, the film tracks three decades of violence across one neighborhood, from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Stars Alexandre Rodrigues and Leandro Firmino lead a largely non-professional cast recruited from actual Rio favelas.

Two kids, one block, opposite futures. Rocket wants a camera — not a gun. His childhood peer Li'l Dice wants blood, and by his teens he has plenty of it. Reborn as Li'l Zé, he systematically dismantles every rival crew until he owns the drug trade of the entire district. Rocket photographs it all: the bodies, the parties, the slow erasure of anyone who tries to leave. The lens is his only weapon, and getting out depends on whether someone notices the pictures.

Fernando Meirelles and co-director Kátia Lund shot on location with handheld cameras, giving the film a rawness that no studio backlot could fake. City of God earned four Academy Award nominations in 2004 — including Best Director and Best Editing — and regularly ranks among the greatest films of the 21st century. Stream City of God (2002) in full online on iFILM.