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CITY OF MEN Movie Review

Brazil’s Fernando Meirelles earned an Academy Award nomination for his direction of his 2002 breakthrough City of God and went on to more acclaim for his 2005 English-language debut, The Constant Gardener. But he’s remained loyal to the country and movie that made his reputation, producing a successful spinoff TV series called “City of Men,” which ran for four seasons totaling 19 episodes in Brazil and played in the U.S. on Sundance Channel.  

Now the TV spinoff has come full circle as a feature film, with the same two former nonprofessional teenage actors who had minor roles in City of God and grew up before our eyes on the TV series. Those two actors, the sweetly vulnerable Douglas Silva and the markedly handsome Darlan Cunha, are a big factor in the series’ success, and fully deserve their shot at the big screen in the colorful and engaging City of Men movie.

Like City of God, City of Men is set in the favelas, or slums, of Rio, where life is a constant struggle and the battles between rival gangs are a nerve-racking intrusion. The film continues where the series left off, with the well-meaning Acerola (Silva) trying to fulfill his duties as the father of an unplanned baby boy after his wife leaves for a job in São Paulo, and Laranjinha (Cunha) applying his charm to the pursuit of young women. (To keep things simple for the movie audience, the subtitles call the boys “Ace” and “Wallace,” which may confound fans of the series.)

Elena Soárez’s screenplay gets off to a somewhat shaky start, perhaps conscious of the fact that many viewers will have no previous familiarity with the characters. In broad strokes that seem less naturalistic than the TV show, she establishes Ace’s immaturity when he thoughtlessly leaves behind his infant son at the beach as he rushes off on an adventure, and she creakily sets up a major plotline as Wallace decides to finally hunt down his unknown father. But Soárez and director Paulo Morelli eventually get the narrative on track and in fact find a way to deepen the relationship between the series’ childhood friends and bring it to a highly dramatic culmination.

Rather easily after all this time, Wallace does find his dad, who turns out be an ex-con named Heraldo who served 15 years for robbery and manslaughter. It’s gratifying for series-watchers to see Laranjinha/Wallace establish a bond with a father figure, however flawed. But Heraldo has a secret that threatens the most important relationship in his son’s life, his comradeship with Acerola. Complicating matters even more is the gang war that erupts between the volatile Madrugadao (Jonathan Haagensen) and his jealous former lieutenant Nefasto (Eduardo BR), which puts Ace and Wallace on opposite sides thanks to their family relations.

Though it certainly had its appropriately bleak elements, the TV series was always gentler than the original City of God, a violent and often shocking portrait of the megalomania and sadism that can arise in a nihilistic culture of crime and exploitation. The “City of Men” series showed much more evidence of heart, thanks to its young leads and their indomitable spirits against such a dreary backdrop. The new movie continues in that vein, but intensifies the danger to the boys’ vibrant adolescent lives. The gang war scenes are gritty and suspenseful, and for a while it looks as if there may actually be an irreparable rift between our two young heroes. The half-hour episodes flirted with the darkness of favela life; the movie makes it a more palpable threat.

Along with its two charismatic stars, there’s a third star here, one that’s been present since the original City of God: the amazing location shooting in the real, impoverished, cramped but oddly photogenic neighborhoods of Rio. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman continues in that vivid tradition, while editor Daniel Rezende gives the movie a bracing jolt of nervous energy.

In all, fans of the series will be happy to know what’s become of Acerola and Laranjinha, and newcomers may very well flock to the next Sundance Channel airing to catch up.
Cast:
Douglas Silva | Darlan Cunha | Jonathan Haagensen | Rodrigo dos Santos | Camila Monteiro | Naima Silva

Credits:
Director(s) Paulo Morelli
Screenplay by Elena Soarez
Story by Paulo Morelli | Elena Soarez
Based on characters created by Braulio Mantovani
Producer(s) Fernando Meirelles | Paulo Morelli | Andrea Barata Ribeiro | Bel Berlinck
Director(s) of photography Adriano Goldman
Art director(s) Rafael Ronconi
Edited by Daniel Rezende
Music by Antonio Pinto
Costume designer(s) Ines Salgado