haha, the Beckhams always crack me up.anyway, just found that that there's not going to be any lessons on tues and wed, cos the tutors haven't finished marking - this break is lasting waaayy longer than i thought it would/should. arghh, can't regain my mugging momentum, so am a bit worried about that. have been relatively happy and carefree for the past few days, cos of, well yeah, the extended break and of course because i have yet to know my results (except for math and gp). heh, so have been spending time watching movies, eating, shopping, lounging around (semi-stylishly :X)
but sending off huixin and co last week brought me much grief. sigh but that has been discussed to DEATH. haha, shuki, risse and i were so depressed after that and worrying about econs, but mr b has *benevolently* decided to drag out our anxiety.
anyway, wanted to blog about "city of god", cos it's a freakin gooood movie. damn sad though, i actually cried a number of times, esp when i saw all these kids (apparently, none of them are professional actors, and they're mostly real ppl pulled out from Rio de Janeiro) shooting and killing with guns bigger than they are. urg, extremely disturbing. and i cried when Benny, (without doubt my favourite gangster-he's kinda cute n v funny, ok, i know i'm trivialising the film but he's cute what...) died after being mistakenly shot by some hoodlum.
the show's based on a true story (originally a novel written by Paulo Lins) about gun/drug gangs in the slums of Rio and the constant power tussle between the lords. the cinematography is fantastic and everything looks so grimy and real. there were times i forgot i was watching a movie, cos it seemed so much like a documentary. the angles are alternately subtle and in your face, and there's an added layer of narration from the central charac, who's an aspiring photographer, so the story is told partly through his lenses.
I was remembering all the facts we learnt abt Rio in Geog last year, as one of the main case studies of slums and sqatter settlements in ELDCs, and i realised how different it actually is in the movie. our notes tell us of all the govt plans to provide cheap mass housing, electricity, jobs etc for the people, with only passing mention of the deep rooted corruption that is so much a part of reality. the situation of the brazilian middleclass sounds really bad, but it 's alot worse for those living in the periphery. everyone is hooked on drugs and it's the only livelihood for many of them, cos we all know that peddling drugs brings decent money in a town where the drug lords make the laws. (it's actually constuctive in a thwarted way cos the drug lords ensure law and order so they don't attract the attention of the cops, which leaves them to carry out their business without interference.) almost everyone in the movie talks about "getting out of here someday". the cynic in me says that sounds like Davies wanting to get to Sidcup, and that there will always be shattered dreams but i better not be too dismissive, cos i just might be at the wrong end of the stick :X cynicism is too much of a luxury right now.
yes, will enjoy last few moments of peace before pandemonium breaks loose when my maid returns to manila for 2 weeks and i start receiving my papers back.
