On February 21, "City of God" held a small preview of four art theaters in New York and three art theaters in Los Angeles.

This preview unexpectedly attracted a lot of attention, one because of Sundance, two because of the current situation, three because of Javier's blog, and four because of the first wave of publicity. In the absence of topicality in the three works released on a large scale this week, "City of God" became the focus of attention as a dark horse.

There are three new works screened in two thousand theaters in the third week of February, "Single Men's Club", "David Gore's Life" and "Private Law Action".

"Single Men's Club" is a comedy film starring the Hollywood Badman Gang led by Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell. It is considered a favorable contender for this week's weekend box office champion.

"David Gore's Life" is a thriller drama film starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet, but because the heavy theme focuses on opposing the death penalty, it is difficult to achieve box office results.

The "Private Law Action" is based on the background of the Rodney-Kim case that caused a sensation across the United States in 1992. The screenwriter David Ayer, who dedicated "Training Day" last year, is the biggest highlight of this work.

Although the three new works have their own topical focus, the awkward schedule in February made it difficult for them to make a difference. Among the previously released works, the reputation and box office of the "Dark Heroes" that won the championship last week both hit the bottom, which was simply terrible; Disney's "Prince of the Forest 2" can't see any hope in the bad data of the media's comprehensive review of 38 points.

It can be said that the works released on a large scale are unsustainable, and after missing the preview of the awards season at the end of the year, most of the works chosen to preview in this period are truly independent works released by independent film companies, and the excitement of art theaters is more just the entertainment of film lovers.

By this comparison, many topics about "City of God" have easily become topics of conversation for people.

After the movie was held by Qijian Cinemas, many media that missed the Sundance Film Festival commented on the movie as soon as possible. As the most eye-catching work of non-award season works in the past month, no critics were willing to miss this feast.

A total of 33 media commented on "City of God", which is rare among works previewed by art theaters.

The New York Times gave a full score of 100 points, "This movie is fascinating, disturbing, terrifying, yet unmissable - showing a wonderful journey to hell."

"Movie Review" also gave a full score of 100 points at the end of a series of exclamations, "A remarkable achievement, struggling in desperate poetry and crazy barbarity, cannot take its sight away."

The Wall Street Journal also gave a full 100-point praise, "The carefully crafted wave of street crime is suffocating, and the vivid and magnificent Ukiyo-e is shocking!"

The Boston Globe not only gave a full score of 100, but also gave a full score of 100. "A slap that was so exciting on the face was shook hard, full of tension and excitement, wise and profound, full of style and cruel - this is the emergence of an incredible new director!"

The Washington Post gave a hundred without hesitation, "It was a journey to hell, almost showing the profound connotation and delicate depiction that a movie can pour into."

Among the thirty-three film reviews, 100 points accounted for eleven places, up to one-third; and as many as twenty-six media outlets gave positive reviews, which opened up the movie's praise frenzy with an overwhelming advantage and further pushed the media fanaticism at the Sundance Film Festival to its peak.

It seems that everyone is marveling at the emergence of "City of God", a "variety show" ranked among the two major professional magazines in Hollywood. In the latest issue of the magazine, he was even more amazed, "Jesus Christ, where did this guy come from!"

"Variety Show" magazine is also one of the eleven rated 100 points. In their comments, almost all the praises were dedicated to the director. "Wisdom, sharp, agile, cold, sharp... Lancelot-Stralo vented his talent in his directorial debut. In this work that boldly and novelly uses a city as the protagonist, he shows us the truth of the documentary,

The vividness of the drama, the sarcasm of the comedy, the vivid lens and images combined with accurate editing techniques, the whole story flows through the flow, bursting out with strange and charming colors. The amazing talent, the control of the Taoist, the wild inspiration... It can easily remind people of Quentin Tarantino of the "falling dog", and Paul Thomas Anderson of the "Unrestrained Night".

As the "Variety Show" said, the whole Hollywood was wondering that the thirty-year-old director had no sound or movement before this; the whole Hollywood was also exclaiming, almost silently, the young director suddenly appeared and easily accomplished a stunning feat.

When Quentin was filming the "Drunk Dog", he was 31 years old; when Paul was filming the "Bully Night", he was 27 years old; when Coen's brothers filmed the "Blood Maze", Joel was 30 years old and Ethan was 27 years old.

Although people always admire geniuses who become famous at a young age, geniuses who emerged under the age of eighteen often cause sensation. Steven Spielberg completed the production of his first short film at the age of thirteen, which is amazing; but in Hollywood, or to be more precise, in the position of director, in addition to talent, he also needs to have a comprehensive control of the overall situation and social experience that has experienced vicissitudes. Therefore, most directors have reached their artistic peak between the ages of forty-five and sixty.

Thirty years old, for directors - for artistic creation, they are just young people who are just starting out.

"Entertainment Weekly" evaluated the first week of "City of God" with the title "Sundance Witnesses the Rise of Genius Again". Their rating also reached 100 points, and said in the comments, "Hollywood, are you ready? Lancelot-Stralo is here!"

Simple, yet full of countless confidence and praise, it clearly shows the positive attitude of the whole Hollywood towards the young director.

Of course, there will be ** if there is positive review, which is the case for any movie. However, among the thirty-three media comments of "City of God", there is a rare situation of zero negative reviews. In addition to the twenty-six positive reviews, the remaining seven comments are all moderate feedback messages, which is a result worth celebrating for any movie, because this means that the work conquered the picky and difficult film critics and made a brilliant debut with a sweep; and this is not only rare, but also rare for a director's debut, and almost pushed Lancelot to the throne of "genius" in one step!

The Los Angeles Times only gave sixty points, and the reviews were mixed. "This is a powerful and unexpected work, mixing the mixed style of reality and legend, and the quick editing style highlights the core idea of ​​the work. It's a real story, but that's all. The part that makes the time we stay on the big screen becomes more precious is the authenticity of the movie, and that's all."

In the detailed comments, they believed that Lance's exploration of the core ideas of the theme was not profound enough, but it was like scratching the surface. At the moment when the world was so turbulent, it was just a work that was not painful.

The San Francisco Chronicle also gave sixty points, but their words were obviously even more intense. "Straello's work is so keen to wave his anger and despair towards society. The spiritual thoughts of the whole work are as excited as Brazilian samba, but the scars caused cannot last for one night."

Apparently, their views coincide with the Los Angeles Times, with the two strongest contenders on the West Coast surprisingly giving similar attitudes.

"US Weekly" gave the lowest score for media comments, fifty, "Undoubtedly shocking, but also slightly numb! Full of passion, but without soul!"

"Movie Threat" magazine also posted a fifty-tenth. "Lancelot-Stralo's way of telling stories is undoubtedly wise and skillful, showing all the elements required for a thriller movie, as silky as chocolate, as jazz-like visual effects, as colorful as kaleidoscope, as sound effects as fireworks, but it did not cause any indelible warning effects."

It can be seen that among the seven intermediate evaluations, the media praised the film's sharp style, but agreed that Lance did not further explore, but instead became the biggest regret of the film, which made the afterglow of the core idea come to an abrupt end.

Overall, amid the praises of zero negative reviews, the authoritative media comprehensive review collected and counted by the authoritative organization metascore has reached a striking 82 points, which is an incredible result for a director's debut.

And, no one should forget that this is a Portuguese work.

The wave after wave of praise has proved the correctness of Sundance's final choice. So what about the audience's choice? Is this work well-known or popular? Or is it a song and a little bit? The preview results of Qijian Art Theater instantly attracted people's attention. Such a scene is rare in ten years, and a non-English work has gained such attention in the North American market, which is almost unprecedented and has never been around. Even "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was not able to receive such treatment when it was first released.
Chapter completed!