City of God Review

City of God is part of the New Generation of Malayalam films with a hyperlink non-linear narrative of four interlocking stories. It came out within months of Traffic, the first of the new wave Malayalam cinema, but City of God was pulled within a week of release. It may have been a bit ahead of its time. It felt much grittier and more violent than Traffic, and isn't really suited to a broad family audience. I felt Traffic relied a bit too much on the audience's familiarity of all the actors in that multi-starrer, and I didn't really get to know any character that well. I liked City of God much more. A signature of Malayalam New Wave films is an accident, and coincidences that bring people together and set off the events of the film. City of God starts with a horrific car crash. Prithviraj is driving a car that crashes into a street light pole, after hitting a motorscooter with a young couple. There's also a van full of toughs that pile out to confront Prithviraj after the crash, and then we flash back. We see the events of the film from several perspectives, replaying various key scenes from the point of view of different characters. This is a movie where you have to pay attention a bit to catch on to what is going on. Full review here: https://moviemavengal.com/2017/03/27/city-of-god-lijo-jose-pellisserys-moving-hyperlink-new-generation-malayalam-film-may-have-been-ahead-of-its-time/