How far can it be argued that your chosen films provide a 'realistic' representation of the people and places they focus on?

In City of God, it could be interpreted as being a very realistic interpretation of life in the favelas. When the tender trio rob the gas truck, we follow them running in long and mid shots, panning and following them with a hand held camera. This allows the audience to get a realistic snapshot of the beginnings of the favelas and the miss en scene. The simple houses are more open and theirs generally more space, suggesting their is more optimism in the community. Moreover, the houses appear identical and ordered, illustrating that crime was less of a problem, and the community was still under control. Moreover, the shots are longer, emphasising that their live expectancy was longer. This is a realistic interpretation of the time, as the housing projects were still relatively new, and the people still trusted the government and were hopeful of the city of god.

However, it could be argued that the film isn't realistic. When Shaggy sees Bernice, non-diegetic acoustic, romantic music starts to play, and the shot reverse shot of her being lit by a candle, uses a cliche sort of love at first sight theme, to break away from the realistic violence of the favelas. This could be seen as Shaggy escaping his life as a hood, however, Bernice's mother questioning him, brings him back to reality.