Film Review: “City of Men” (***)
Filmed with the same future-shock rhythms that pulsate through Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, “City of Men” follows two childhood friends as they face down the past and the looming responsibilities of the future. An heir of sorts to Fernando Meirelles’ 2002 epic “City of God,” it lacks that film’s kinetic brilliance, but this story of early onset adulthood in Brazil’s crime-strewn slums still carries undeniable emotional weight.
Some background: “City of Men” was a series that ran for six seasons on Brazilian television. It was designed by executive producer Meirelles as a lighter companion piece to “City of God” and featured two young stars of that film, Douglas Silva and Darlan Cunha as Acerola and Laranjinha, teenagers growing up on Dead End Hill near Rio.
The series followed them from ages 13 to 17. Now, this feature-length film covers Laranjinha’s 18th birthday and reunion with his father, Acerola’s difficulty adjusting to the rigors of fatherhood, and a gang war that threatens what little stability they have. The friends also must face down a secret about their fathers that could destroy their relationship.
Director Paolo Morelli captures the claustrophobia and uncertainty of life on Dead End Hill — a concrete-and-corrugated metal shantytown controlled by gangs and subjected to the constant hum of crime. But this is a much more modest film than Meirelles’ “City of God,” which dramatized with crackling visual acuity the spiral of violence in a favela over the course of three decades.
But while it might suffer by comparison, “City of Men” delivers a thoughtful look at characters beating the odds just by reaching adulthood. Also, it will likely spark curiosity in the series, which is out on DVD and shows Acerola and Laranjinha when they were younger but still facing a real and unforgiving world.
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