Spoilers · the ending
City of God: the ending, explained
Fernando Meirelles · 2002
This page gives the ending away. Not seen the film yet? Its spoiler-free guide is here.
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Spoilers · the ending
Fernando Meirelles · 2002
This page gives the ending away. Not seen the film yet? Its spoiler-free guide is here.
What happens
The police arrest Li'l Zé, take his money and let him go. The Runts, a gang of children, then kill him and take over the trade, already planning their next targets. Rocket's photographs of Zé's gang are published.
The last image
The Runts walk the streets of the favela with their next targets already chosen, as Rocket's photographs go to print.
What it says
The ending is a circle. Zé's fall changes nothing, because another generation of children is ready to step in. The film ends there because its subject is how violence reproduces itself, not how one gangster is punished.