"The slums of Rio de Janeiro are the setting for this magnificent and raw epic that chronicles the growth of gang warfare and drug trade over a two decade period. Based on the best selling novel by Paulo Lins, the film is divided into three parts and focuses specifically on two boys who live as part of Rio's "favelas" - children trapped in a never-ending cycle of violence, which they accept without question. Meirelles doesn't gloss over the roughness of their existences, yet at the same time presents a film that is stunningly beautiful to watch, even as it tackles the real issues at the core of the social chaos that are all so prevalent in Brazil today. We first meet the boys as small children at the end of the sixties and watch as they grow progress and succeed as favelas, to the extent that with a gang of 9 - 14 year olds, they take control of the drug trade and kill off the competition. While it's shocking to see children so young embrace violence of this magnitude and the knowledge that they have little hope of living much past the age of 20, Meirelles has still managed to infuse a measure of humor, happiness and hope for the children who survive. And makes this film a tribute and celebrate to their lives." -PSIFF 2003