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Movies / Upcoming / City of Men
City of Men

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City of Men (2008)

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Reviews Counted:76

Fresh:57

Rotten:19

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: Brutal and unflinching, City of Men is both a harrowing look at Brazil's favela life, and a touching tale of youths rushed into adulthood.

Australian Rating: MA15+ [See Full Rating] Strong violence

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jan 18, 2009 Wide

US Box Office: $242,655

Synopsis: Director Fernando Meirelles scored an unexpected hit with his disquieting 2003 feature CITY OF GOD. Subsequent years saw plenty of similar fare emerging from Brazil, and Meirelles even lent a hand... Director Fernando Meirelles scored an unexpected hit with his disquieting 2003 feature CITY OF GOD. Subsequent years saw plenty of similar fare emerging from Brazil, and Meirelles even lent a hand by contributing to the hit TV show CITY OF MEN. This big-screen adaptation of the show follows its two central characters, best friends Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlan Cunha), as they are unwittingly caught up in a vicious gang war in their dilapidated favela. Ace struggles with his newfound responsibilities as a young father while Wallace searches for his errant father. Meanwhile, a brutal turf war breaks out around them, and Ace is reluctantly swept up into one of the gangs after threats on his life leave him with little choice but to join in the mayhem. Paulo Morelli's film is a pacy, bloody thriller that pays warm tribute to a diverse cross-section of American directors including Quentin Tarantino and Michael Bay. Bullets zing across the screen, heavy artillery is deployed at all times, and Morelli makes great use of the twisty favela streets during some frantic chase sequence. Silva and Cunha, who both had roles in CITY OF GOD, carry the picture with impressive ease, and while CITY OF MEN isn't an official sequel to Meirelles's lauded picture, it does serve as a neat continuation of that film's unshakable portrayal of the violence that has beset so many young lives in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. [More]

Starring: Darlan Cunha, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo Dos Santos

Starring: Darlan Cunha, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo Dos Santos, Camila Monteiro, Naíma Silva, Eduardo BR, Luciano Vidigal, Vitor Oliveira, Vinicius Oliveira

Director: Paulo Morelli

Director: Paulo Morelli
Screenwriter: Elena Soarez
Story: Paulo Morelli, Elena Soarez
Producer: Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Bel Berlinck, Fernando Meirelles, Paulo Morelli
Composer: Antonio Pinto
Studio: Miramax Films

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Reviews for City of Men

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Where City of God provided a heartbreaking insight into Rio's flavelas and gang warfare . . . this film ends up more like a standard buddy movie set against a gangland battle scene

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
09/18/08
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite its sincerity -- and the beautiful visuals -- the often-disjointed story takes too long to gain traction.

Full Review Source: Times-Picayune | comment Comment
09/04/09
Mike Scott
Mike Scott
Times-Picayune
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

A must for fans of the TV series, as it continues the unique formula of mixing fun, fantasy, fear, and frankness, for 2 young men barely surviving to adulthood together.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
12/17/08
Nora Lee Mandel
Nora Lee Mandel
Film-Forward.com

It's all perfectly serviceable -- but it wants for freshness and vitality.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Both Silva and Cunha (who reprise their roles from the television show) do make compelling leads and their performances add needed weight and shadings to their underwritten characters.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

It's decent enough but I just wish that it tried for something a little more fresh.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
07/22/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

The likable performances, hot, sweaty atmosphere and decently mounted action scenes make this entertaining fare.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/18/08
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An engaging and frequently tense drama with terrific performances from its two young leads.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/18/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Despite considerable dramatic interest, Morelli's loose, lengthy structure makes it a labor to hang in with.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
07/05/08
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

More bronzed bodies bearing arms leading to inevitable shootouts delivered via a washed-out, hand-held digital style pulsing along to an infectious Latin beat.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
04/02/08
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The film's overriding message that love and friendship exist under the most hopeless of circumstances is what makes City of Men such a worthy, compelling drama.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
03/26/08
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Some might perceive City of Men as a slow film, while others could reasonably argue that Morelli is taking more time to develop characters.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
03/25/08
KJ Doughton
KJ Doughton
Film Threat

[One] plotline ends with a twist that doubtless felt more authentic in the halls of a film school than it would on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
03/16/08
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

It plays like a Western, and the violence, while plentiful and visceral, rarely has the kind of raw impact you want in a movie such as this. Morelli keeps most of the blood off-camera.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
03/14/08
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

...not a sequel to City of God, although it sometimes feels like a junior-varsity version of the older movie.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
03/14/08
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

An efficient, simply told story...in spite of the plot's neat contrivances and the movie's determination to pull some edifying nugget from the heartbreak and hopelessness at its core.

Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) | comment Comment
03/12/08
Thomas Peyser
Thomas Peyser
Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

[It has] a real ring of authenticity in every scene.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
03/10/08
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Morelli's film is most effective at its most documentarian, when it focuses on street detail and the casual, everyday behavior of the people inside the desperate favelas.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
03/07/08
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

May mean well, but its soapy plot and comparatively flabby execution make for a surprisingly tepid combination.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
03/02/08
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for City of Men

February 28, 2008: Exclusive Photos: City of God Sequel City of Men
Two young men struggle to stay afloat amid the drugs, violence, and poverty of Brazil's slums in the big-screen spin-off of Fernando Meirelles' critically acclaimed 2002 film,... More...

February 28, 2008: Critics Consensus: Semi-Pro is Semi-Good, Boleyn Girl Not Quite Movie Royalty
This week at the movies, we've got hapless hoopsters, snouted socialites, and scandalous siblings. What do the critics have to say? More...

November 23, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

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