Episode 1: Four Apartments, One Montage
Our team pinpoints a montage sequence in the Brazilian film City of God, in order to discuss urban decay through the story of an apartment which evolves in four specific sequences from home to drug factory. This epic film traces the evolution of a 1960’s missionary town, as it (and it’s residents) organically evolve through tragedy and triumph into a bustling urban center. We break down the apartment as a kit of parts, discussing how the director sequenced these events very specifically to weave a compelling tale through the use of lighting techniques, furniture placement, and character movements.
Macro-evolution of the city can sometimes be hard to decipher until after the fact. Micro-evolution, on the other hand, can be a much more powerful explainer of the times we live in. A barren pantry is much more tangible to a family than the food-desert they live in. A single gunshot is far more jarring than city-wide crime statistics. Join us in our discussion of the macro and micro in our favorite Brazilian drug den.