2008 Woodie Awards
'City of Men' delivers same quality as predecessor
Eric Van Wyke
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: Features
In "City Of Men," producer Fernando Meirelles once again explores the harsh reality of life in the favela of Rio de Janeiro.
A follow-up to 2002's wildly successful "City of God," and a spin-off from the Brazilian television series of the same name, "City Of Men" proves itself as a worthy successor to a film which helped expose the world to the brutal environment of Brazilian shantytowns.
The film follows the lives of two teenagers, Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) and Acerola (Douglas Silva), both of whom were merely pre-adolescents at the end of the first film. Both on the eve of their 18th birthdays, the two are quickly learning to overcome the tribulations of accepting adulthood and its responsibilities - with Acerola reluctantly learning to raise his infant son and Laranjinha trying to form a bond with his father, whose identity had been kept from him his entire life. Amid the turmoil in their own lives, the two friends are quickly caught between a violent gang rivalry over the Rio slum territory, Dead Man's Hill. The two are also subjected to tests of their own relationship and have to learn to make sacrifices to sustain their enduring friendship.
Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to actual footage from the television series "City of Men," to explain what has happened to the youngsters in the six years since "City Of God." Although kept to a minimum, the footage helps bring rich depth to the film and quickly immerses the audience in the hectic lives of the protagonists.
One major difference from its predecessor is that "City of Men" isn't nearly as shocking or violent and instead leans more intimately toward the internal struggles of Laranjinha and Acerola. The style in which the film is shot is once again fantastic, blending what almost seems like documentary footage of the poorest parts of Rio de Janeiro with an in-your-face, confrontational style to create an authentic experience, which "City Of God" helped establish so well.
A follow-up to 2002's wildly successful "City of God," and a spin-off from the Brazilian television series of the same name, "City Of Men" proves itself as a worthy successor to a film which helped expose the world to the brutal environment of Brazilian shantytowns.
The film follows the lives of two teenagers, Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) and Acerola (Douglas Silva), both of whom were merely pre-adolescents at the end of the first film. Both on the eve of their 18th birthdays, the two are quickly learning to overcome the tribulations of accepting adulthood and its responsibilities - with Acerola reluctantly learning to raise his infant son and Laranjinha trying to form a bond with his father, whose identity had been kept from him his entire life. Amid the turmoil in their own lives, the two friends are quickly caught between a violent gang rivalry over the Rio slum territory, Dead Man's Hill. The two are also subjected to tests of their own relationship and have to learn to make sacrifices to sustain their enduring friendship.
Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to actual footage from the television series "City of Men," to explain what has happened to the youngsters in the six years since "City Of God." Although kept to a minimum, the footage helps bring rich depth to the film and quickly immerses the audience in the hectic lives of the protagonists.
One major difference from its predecessor is that "City of Men" isn't nearly as shocking or violent and instead leans more intimately toward the internal struggles of Laranjinha and Acerola. The style in which the film is shot is once again fantastic, blending what almost seems like documentary footage of the poorest parts of Rio de Janeiro with an in-your-face, confrontational style to create an authentic experience, which "City Of God" helped establish so well.
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