City of Men (2007)

How sad is this?

Absolutely Fantastic

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

While not as great as City of God, City of Men is a good movie in its own right which's rare because usually sequels are terrible in some way or form. It's more of a spiritual sequel as none of the characters from the previous movie appear. Certain scenes lag on while others move the action and story. The acting's great, the story's gripping and the music captures the mood and feel of Brazil. I'd suggest you see for yourself.

While the world is aware of City Of God, it's TV spin off finale on the big screen is less wordily, and as our characters are defined by the favelas and roles found there, their plot is caged in by the need for a TV summary. That being laid out does not take away from the bold finale, its' bing filmed in Rocina, the beautiful dichotomy of Rio's favelas atop the glorious beaches with the Dois Irmaos creating an intoxicating view which can never be lived up to into reality. Our actors do their best, but our king of the hill and his number two split over nothing and yet everyone knows a war is on? How is this possible? How are we viewers to then move forward with lost and found fathers who also have a life altering history? Ech characters story viewed separately makes for good TV episodes, but sewn together on the big screen is hard to digest. Loved the use of older footage where most movies create something that we have to try hard top believe, here, an inherited audience was held at bay by the handcuffs of aggressive plot lines. Thank god I'm still passionate enough about Brasil to look past this to enjoy a picturesque favela gangster movie with lesser expectations than those hooked on the show.

The Rio de Janeiro landscape is nothing if not dramatic. The topography of the sprawling metropolis seems to be entirely in tune with the eclectic urban population that call it home. Pointed mountains are peppered across the landscape, and in a city where real estate struggles to meet the demands of overpopulation, many of their slopes have been cannibalized for residence. In many cases, they stand as monuments to Rio's enormous economic divide, being given over to crumbling, haphazard shanty towns known locally as 'favelas', often no-go areas for the authorities and the dominions therefore for the self-imposed fiefdoms of street gangs. In 'City Of Men', the audience is given a window into the lives of these would-be rulers and the struggling locals unfortunate enough to be caught up in their affairs.The wider storyline, taking place primarily on the marvellously-subtle 'Dead End Hill', concerns a power struggle between gang leader Madrugadao (translated as 'Midnight' in my subtitles), disgruntled members of his group and rival gangs on nearby hills with plans to take over his territory. Caught in the middle of all this are the film's two lead characters, Acerola and Laranjinha, friends since childhood and now facing the burdens of adulthood. Driven by a shared quest to find out the identity of their long-lost fathers, they discover that the past is sometimes better left buried. The drama brings into sharp focus the personal tragedies inevitable in such an environment: children with no future drawn into gangs, the almost-impossible struggle to raise a family, and the ever-present spectre of death in a world ruled by jungle law. Yet through the close bond forged between the two friends, the fragile flames of friendship and loyalty may be just enough to help them escape the chaos.One of 'City Of Men's strongest assets is its visual authenticity, having been shot at least partially on location at a genuine shanty town, which communicates the desperation and poverty of the world its characters inhabit with instant verisimilitude and sadness. The winding narrow streets stretching up Dead End Hill (or 'Morro da Sinuca' in the original) cut through faded blocks of sloppily-bonded iron and brick, inside which the simple and aged cheap detritus of the population offer silent indication as to the tiny fortunes and aspirations of each individual. The hill is a world apart from the wealth and stability far below, as though natural geography itself has drawn the line between them. Despite its dilapidated state and the aura of human misery, even this corner of the city manages to be picturesque. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman has striven to capture every angle of this world in all its mottled shades and succeeded brilliantly.Robust too is the acting. Douglas Silva and Darlan Cunha as Acerola and Laranjinha respectively, do not fail to convince as the two orphans thrust together by hardship and circumstance, inhabiting their characters with ease. So too do the rest of the cast, and also notable is Pedro Henrique as Caju, the glory-seeking youth unwaveringly keen to do his bit for Dead End Hill and not at all fazed by his first firearm.It was not until after viewing the film that I learned 'City Of Men' is actually the concluding chapter to the popular Brazilian television series of the same name, in which we see the aforementioned characters presented here at an earlier time in their lives. Indeed, the film often flashes back to scenes from the series in order to establish the longstanding friendship between the two leads. It is not, in addition, connected to the more famous exploration along similar themes, 'City Of God', which apparently sets many up for disappointment. 'City Of Men', it turns out, is the concluding chapter to the series, with a built-in audience of fans who have travelled with the cast for several years.Which is doubtless the ideal way to approach the film, for taken on its own without any background knowledge or emotion invested in the characters, 'City Of Men' offers little in the way of original storytelling, being ultimately a fairly straightforward gangster drama with a fairly predictable ending. While its wonderfully-captured visuals have left a lasting impression with me, the unremarkable plot already fades into memory with little to stop it. Director and series writer Paulo Morelli, and scriptwriter and fellow series scribe Elena Soaraz have presented a screenplay that provides the newcomer with all the background information required to jump into their world without difficulty. The result is more than entertaining enough for the duration, but says nothing new as a film in its own right. For the fans though, 'City Of Men' will be a fond farewell to beloved characters, and the nostalgia value will be enough to take it to the next level. It just doesn't work quite so well as a stand-alone picture.I would recommend therefore that interested parties avail themselves of the series if at all possible and hold off on 'City Of Men' until the end, which will doubtless prove more rewarding. While the film can be viewed separately, and is worth it alone for the cinematography, it will fail to resonate in the say way it does for its most ardent supporters.Actual rating 6 1/2 out of 10.

Despite what I had heard, this was in no way a sequel to City of God, post viewing I have learned that it is a follow-up to a TV series. Still, this film will be constantly compared to City of God, so let's get that out of the way first. City of God makes City of Men look like a day at the park, at times it is hard to imagine that both stories share a common location. In a world where City of God does not existed City of Men would shine brighter, unfortunately for this film that is not the case, it is a constant reminder of a superior film. Both films do share amazing cinematography, no matter how many times and in how many movies I see shots of Morro da Sinuca, I am always amazed by it's vastness and unique beauty. Also both films acting, if it can be called that, goes beyond acting to a feeling of capturing real life as it happens. City of Men dives deeper into the lives of individual characters, allowing us to see how a generational cycle has created and sustained this type of environment for it's people. I walk away from this film feeling grateful for living where I live and that tomorrow I'll have to chose between Coke or Pepsi not life or death.