Movie Master

On February 21, City of God held a small-scale screening in four art theaters in New York and three art theaters in Los Angeles.

This screening unexpectedly attracted a lot of attention, firstly because of Sundance, secondly because of the current situation, thirdly because of Javier's blog, and fourthly because of the first wave of publicity in place. In the case that the three works released on a large scale this week lack topicality, City of God has become the focus of attention as a dark horse.

In the third week of February, there are three new works screened in more than 2,000 theaters, namely The Single Men's Club, The Life of David Gore and Private Law Action.

The Bachelors Club, the Luke-Wilson, Will-Ferrell-led Hollywood comedy-drama, is considered a contender for the weekend box office title .

The Life of David Gore is a thriller movie co-starring Kevin-Spacey and Kate-Winslet, but due to the heavy theme focusing on opposing the death penalty, So it's hard to do anything at the box office.

Private Law Action is a story based on the Rodney King case that shocked the United States in 1992. The screenwriter David-Ayer who dedicated Training Day last year is the biggest star of this work. point.

Although the three new works each have their own focus, the cold February and the awkward schedule make it difficult for them to make a difference. Among the previously released works, the word-of-mouth and box office of Daredevil, which won the championship last week, both bottomed out. There is no ray of hope in sight.

It can be said that the works released on a large scale are unsustainable, and after missing the grand screening of the awards season at the end of the year, most of the works selected to be screened in this schedule are truly independent works released by independent film companies. More just for the entertainment of movie buffs.

With such a comparison, many topics in the City of God have easily become people's talking points.

After the film was held in seven theaters, many media who missed the Sundance Film Festival immediately commented on this film. As the most eye-catching work among the non-award season works in the past month, there are no film reviews. People are willing to miss this feast.

A total of 33 media commented on City of God, which is rare among works screened by art theaters.

The New York Times gave it a perfect score of 100. The film is charming, disturbing, terrifying, and unmissable—showing a wonderful journey to hell.

At the end of a series of exclamation marks, Film Review also gave a perfect score of 100 points, A remarkable achievement, struggling among desperate poetry and crazy brutality, but people can't look away.

The Wall Street Journal also gave a full score of 100 points of praise, The well-crafted street crime wave is suffocating, and the vivid and magnificent Ukiyo-e shocks the soul!

Boston Globe not only gave a 100-point evaluation, but also gave a 100-point recommendation, an exhilarating slap in the face, full of tension and excitement, full of wisdom and profound , stylistically brutal - this is the birth of an incredible new director!

The Washington Post gave it a hundred points without hesitation, This is a trip to hell, almost showing all the profound connotations and delicate descriptions that a movie can pour into.

Among the 33 film reviews, 100 points accounted for 11 places, as high as one-third; and as many as 26 media outlets gave positive reviews, overwhelmingly winning The frenzy of praise for the film opened, and the media frenzy at the Sundance Film Festival was further pushed to a peak.

It seems that everyone is amazed at the birth of City of God. Variety Show, one of the two major industry magazines in Hollywood, directly marveled in the latest issue, Jesus Christ, this guy Where did it come from!

Variety magazine is also one of the eleven evaluators with a perfect score of 100. In their comments, almost all praises are dedicated to the director, witty, sharp, agile, biting, fierce... Lan In his directorial debut, Sloter-Streilo gives full play to his talents, and in this bold and original take on a city, he shows us the documentary The truthfulness of dramas, the vividness of dramas, the sarcasm of comedies, the combination of sharp camera images and accurate editing techniques, the whole story flows smoothly, bursting out strange and charming colors. Stunning talent, sophisticated control, unconstrained inspiration... It's easy to think of Quentin Tarantino in 'Reservoir Dogs' and Paul-Tomas-Anderson in 'Boogie Nights'.

As Variety Show said, the whole of Hollywood is wondering that this 30-year-old director has not made any sound or movement before this; the whole of Hollywood is also exclaiming, almost silently, this young director The director suddenly appeared and easily completed the blockbuster feat.

Quentin was thirty-one when he filmed Reservoir Dogs; Paul was twenty-seven when he filmed Boogie Nights; Joel was thirty and Ethan was twenty-seven when the Coen brothers filmed Blood Labyrinth .

Although it is said that people always admire young talents who become famous, those born under the age of 18 often cause a sensation. Steven Spielberg completed the production of his first short film at the age of 13, which is amazing. Amazing; but in Hollywood, or to be more precise, in the position of a director, in addition to talent, it also needs to control the overall situation, and it also needs social experience that has gone through vicissitudes of life. Therefore, most directors are in their forties. From the age of sixty to the age of sixty ushered in the pinnacle of his art.

Thirty years old, for directors—for artistic creation, they are just young people who have just started.

Entertainment Weekly commented on the first week of City of God under the title Sundance Witnesses the Rise of Genius Again, and their ratings also came to 100 points, and said in the comments , Hollywood, are you ready? Lancelot Strelow is here!

Simple, but full of countless confidence and praise, it clearly shows the positive attitude of the whole Hollywood towards this young director.

Of course, where there are positive reviews, there are bound to be positive reviews, and this is true for any movie. However, among the 33 media reviews of City of God, there is a rare situation of zero negative reviews. Except for 26 positive reviews, the remaining seven reviews are all moderate feedback information. That's a much-celebrated result for any film, since it's a near-sweeping debut for a film that wins over fastidious critics; and for a director's debut Speaking, it is not only rare, but also rare, almost pushing Lancelot to the throne of genius in one step!

The Los Angeles Times only gave it only sixty points, and the evaluation was mixed. It’s the core idea of ​​the work. It’s a true story, but that’s about it, the part that makes our time on the big screen even more precious is the authenticity of the film, that’s all.”

In the detailed comments, they think that Lance's exploration of the core idea of ​​the theme is still not deep enough, but it seems to be scratching the surface so far. In the current world where the world structure is so chaotic, it is just a work that is not painful.

The San Francisco Chronicle also gave 60 points, but their words were obviously more intense, This work of Strelow is so keen to wield his anger and despair at society, the spiritual thought of the whole work is Excitement like the Brazilian samba, but the scars don't last a night.

Apparently, their views coincided with the Los Angeles Times, and the two most powerful contenders on the West Coast gave a surprisingly similar attitude.

U.S. Weekly gave the lowest score for media reviews, 50 points, Undoubtedly shocking, but also slightly numb! Full of passion, but no soul!

Film Menace magazine also scored 50 points, Lancelot-Strello's way of telling the story is undoubtedly wise and skilled, showing all the elements needed for a thriller movie, as silky as chocolate. The visual effects are as smooth as jazz, the colorful colors are as colorful as a kaleidoscope, and the sound effects are as sound as a fireworks festival, but they have no indelible alarming impact.

It can be seen that among the seven intermediate evaluations, the media praised the film's sharp style, but they all agreed that Lance did not discuss it further, and it became the film's biggest regret so far. The aftertaste of the core thought came to an abrupt end.

On the whole, City of God was praised with zero negative reviews, and the authoritative media comprehensive review collected by the authoritative organization MetaScore came to an eye-catching 82 points, which is very high for a director's debut. , can be called an incredible achievement.

And, no one should forget, this is a Portuguese production.

Wave after wave of praise has proved the correctness of Sundance's final choice, so what about the audience's choice? Is this work well-received and well-received? Or is it high and low? The screening results of the seven art theaters instantly attracted people's attention. Such a scene can be said to be rare in ten years. It is almost unprecedented for a non-English work to gain such attention in the North American market. Even Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon did not get such treatment when it was released. .

The right time, the right place, and the harmony of people are quietly exerting their power.