Analysis of the Opening Sequence from 'City of God'

Analysis of 'City of God' by Fernando Meirelles (2002):


     

An opening sequence is to allow the audience to understand what type of genre the film is. It contains unanswered questions which leaves the audience wondering what is going to happens and creates them to watch the rest of the film. It is the first thing the audience see's so it needs to be interesting and doesn't give a lot of information away.


Camera:
It starts of with close-ups of a person sharpening a knife and a knife is signified as a murder weapon so it could already give a hint to the genre which could be a crime or thriller. There is also a shallow focus at 0:18 for the audience to focus on what the person is doing. Again, there is a knife involved in the shot so this could be a possible motif in the film. At the start, the camera seems quite jerky and looks like it is a hand-held shot implying that it is an everyday thing and it is like you are there as a person giving you a deeper effect and creating you to feel like you are there. Again, there are a lot of close-ups showing what people are doing, allowing the audience to understand more about the film and what it is going to be about. At 1:00, there is a canted angle when the chicken falls creating disorientation to the audience and making them empathise for the chicken trying to escape. There is a long shot of the town when the men are trying to capture the chicken, this shows more of the setting to the audience and also it is a canted angle so it makes them look criminalistic and as if they are ruining the town. There is a whip pan at 1:22, where the chicken is running away and this implies to the audience that the chicken is running for its life and that the men chasing it are going to kill it. There is a head-on shot at 1:27. where all the people and chicken are running towards the camera creating excitement for the audience and makes them feel involved in the scene.


Editing:
It starts of with short takes of what the characters are doing, making the opening sequence seem fast-paced and more exciting for the audience. Also, there are action matches of the characters and what they're doing to make it speed up and as if it is going to reveal something for the audience. Whilst the man is sharpening his knife, there is a cutaway to a chicken which is tied up so it tells the audience he is sharpening it to cut the chicken. As he is cutting, there is another cutaway to the chicken and it zooms into the chickens face showing its fear and how scared it is. There is an ellipsis where you see a man cut a chickens belly then a short while later you see the chicken be put into a pot ready to boil. This indicates to the audience that they are in a poor city due to the lack of hygiene when preparing the chicken for food. As the opening sequence unfolds, the shorts takes stop and it cuts to another scene which is also a long take, the scene is calm and it is a two shot so it introduces more characters to the scene. It creates the opening sequence to become more peaceful and show the diverse side to the film. At 2:40, it goes into slow motion when he see's the other man shouting at him, this could suggest that he knows him and by his facial expression suggests he doesn't like him and they might have some bad memories of each other. At 3:00, there is a whip pan contrasting the two groups of people that have surrounded the boy suggesting he is not apart of any of them and he is an outsider of their community. Also, it could imply he has to choose between the groups and whether he is going to do the right thing or not.


Mise-En-Scene:
The costume that the characters are wearing are old and boring, they don't have any logo's on them which imply they are not rich enough to buy nice clothing. There is a shot of feet in sandals and they don't look to nice, this shows that the people there are not hygienic and don't care about their health but care about having fun and partying. At the start, he is sharpening a knife on a rock which suggests they are dirty people and do anything to be able to cook a meal. At 0:51 they gut a chicken and that is not healthy and could cause food poisoning so this shows again that they dont really worry about cleanliness when it concerns food. The background doesn't look to good when they are running down the road, you see piles of rubbish and bricks and building tools such as shovels and wheelbarrows. This says to the audience that their community isn't rich and doesn't have luxuries therefore they are of a lower class and can't afford to make it a better place. Also, there are graffiti on the walls backing up the setting to be poor and that people don't care about their houses. The people chasing after the chicken are holding guns and shooting at it, this suggests they are criminals and when they are confronted by police, they all gang up and create a row of criminals holding guns towards the police confirms they are criminals and don't care who they shout at or shoot at.


Sound:
Throughout the opening sequence, the characters are swearing and cursing at each other signifying they are not nice people and are of a lower class. When he is sharpening the knife, you hear the knife making a sound as if its stabbing someone and this gives the film the genre of crime. In the background, there is diegetic music of jazz making the situation more happy and peaceful. This is contrapuntal sound because you are seeing a knife being sharpened but doing the actions of stabbing someone and you hear jolly music in the background. When the chicken escapes, the music changes into a non-diegetic piece of music that includes bangs and is fast paced so it makes the audience listen and watch to see what is going to happen. There are gun shots fired and this signifies that they are criminals and are of a lower class because they don't have respect towards the community. When there is a slow motion, it sounds like the diegetic sounds in the background have slowed down too so it creates the effect to the audience that something serious has happened. Towards the end there is a voice-over of the character which is caught between the two groups and he is giving the audience information on what happens if he goes to either group so the audience having a brief description of what happens within their community.