City of God

Taking place over the course of a decade, City of God tells the story of Cidade de Deus (Portuguese for City of God), a lower class quarter west of Rio de Janeiro. Told from the viewpoint of a boy named Rocket who grows up there as a fishmonger's son, demonstrates the desperation and violence inherent in the slums. Based on a real story, the movie depicts drug abuse, violent crime, and a boy's struggle to free himself from the slums' grasp.

The movie begins cinematically depicting chickens being prepared for a meal. A chicken escapes and as an armed gang chases after it bumps into Rocket who believes that the gang wants to kill him. The movie then flashes back ten years earlier, to tell the story of how he got himself into that position.

Three "hoodlums", "The Tender Trio", one being Rocket's brother, Goose, are terrorizing local businesses with armed holdups. In Robin Hood fashion they split part of the loot with the citizens of City of God and are protected by them. Li'l Dice is a hanger-on who convinces them to hold up a motel and rob its occupants. Li'l Dice, serving as lookout, fires a warning shot, then proceeds to slaughter the inhabitants of the motel. The massacre brings on the attention of the police forcing the three to quit their criminal ways. Each meets an untimely end, except one who decides to join the church. Goose, Rocket's brother, is slain by Li'l Dice after robbing the younger boy and his friend Benny who have been hiding out and committing crimes themselves.

Fast forward a number of years and Li'l Dice now calls himself, Li'l Zé, and along with his childhood friend Benny establish a drug empire by eliminating all of the competition except for a drug dealer named Carrot. Meanwhile, Rocket has become a part of the "Groovies" a hippie like group of youth that enjoy smoking pot. He begins his photography career shooting his friends, especially one girl that he is infatuated with, but who is dating another boy.

A relative peace has come over City of God under the reign of Li'l Zé who plans to eliminate his last rival, Carrot against the judgment of his best friend Benny, who is keeping the peace. At one point, his best friend and partner in crime Benny has decided to become a "playboy" and the "coolest guy in City of God". Eventually, along with the girl that he has wooed away from Rocket, he decides to leave the criminal life behind to live on a farm. However, he is gunned down at his going away party by former drug dealer, Blackie, who is actually aiming for Li'l Zé. Benny was the only thing keeping Li'l Ze from taking over Carrot's business, so now Carrot is in danger.

Li'l Zé humiliates a peace loving man Knockout Ned at the party and afterwards rapes his girlfriend and kills Ned's uncle and younger brother. Ned turns violent and sides with Carrot and after killing one of his men and starts a war between the two rival factions. The ensuing war creates a "Vietnam" of City of God. Jealous of Ned's notoriety in the newspapers, Li'l Zé has Rocket take photos of himself and his gang which are unbeknown to Rocket published in the daily paper. Rocket then mistakenly fears for his life believing that Li'l Zé will want to kill him for it. In actuality, he is pleased with his newfound fame.

Coming full circle, a gunfight ensues between the two gangs and Rocket is caught in the middle after being startled by Li'l Zé's request that he take a picture of the gang which had been chasing the chicken at the beginning of the film. Ned is killed by a boy who has infiltrated his gang to avenge his father who Ned killed during a bank robbery. Li'l Zé and Carrot are captured by the police. Rocket then captures on film the police shaking Li'l Zé down for money and releasing him.

The story ends with Li'l Zé being killed by a group of his own young gang members who stroll off listing people to kill and Rocket gets famous off of the photograph of Li'l Ze shot up with bullets.