City of Men

2008-02-28
By Sergio Mims

CAST: Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha, Rodrigo dos Santos, Jonathan Haagensen, Eduardo BR
WRITTEN BY: Paulo Morelli and Elena Soarez
DIRECTED BY: Paulo Morelli

RATED R
****  FOUR STARS

Though not actually an official sequel to director Fernando Meirelles’ (The Constant Gardener) brilliant and breathtaking 2002 film City of God, Paulo Morelli’s film City of Men, (which was co-produced by Meirelles) deals with the same themes and ideas and takes place in the same favela slums on the hills surrounding Rio de Janeiro. It even shares two supporting actors from God (Silva and Cunha) though this time they’re playing the lead roles instead. Yet, City of Men stands quite well on its own as a compelling, absorbing drama full of rich details and subtle nuances.

Wisely, Morelli (a long time collaborator of Meirelles) does not try to copy Meirelles’ flamboyant, aggressive visual style that he used in God. Instead he goes for a thick, textured look conveying the sweltering heat of the Rio slums. And unlike Meirelles’ film with its downbeat, nihilistic view of the oppressive weight and poverty and hopelessness, Morelli gives us instead, amidst the senseless violence and life-is-cheap attitude, a glimmer of hope and redemption through friendship and everlasting, all conquering brotherly love. The end result however, is more emotionally involving and satisfying.

Based on the enormously popular and highly controversial Brazilian TV Globo series which ran from 2002-05  (which was released in the U.S. on DVD in 2006) Men, in a way, can be seen as the final, last, extended episode of the series. Using an occasional scene from the TV series as flashbacks to provide character background, the film tells the story of two devoted, life long friends Wallace (Cunha) and Ace (Silva).

Growing up in the slums with their fair share of disappointments, these two older teenagers on the cusp of manhood, are faced with issues and insurmountable problems to conquer. Ace, having married very young with a one year old son he’s not equipped to handle, is stumbling his way through life and fatherhood with a dead end job and sexual frustration. All this is taking place as his equally fed-up and frustrated wife is planning to leave him with their son to raise alone as she prepares to move to Sao Paulo for a new job.

Wallace, haunted by being raised without a father, strikes out on his own to find him. He eventually does, only to discover that he’s a bitter and distant ex-con recently released from prison on a manslaughter rap. They both slowly try to re-establish a relationship, making some headway though Wallace soon finds out that his father is not entirely all that he seems to be.

All this takes place while the two friends try to keep from getting their heads blown off during a brutal gang war between gang leader Midnight (Haagensen) and one of his former lieutenants Fasto (Eduardo BR) over turf and power,  paralyzing the slums into a minefield of fear. Of course, as with any good story, all the plot elements come together in a climax that could spell the end of the two best buddies’ friendship and their lives as well.

Morelli moves Men at a relentless pace but it’s never exhausting and he never lets it overwhelm the film and characters. He even quite effectively captures the stifling,  claustrophobic environment of the flaveas of Rio with its twisted dark streets with their deep, brooding shadows. And while the violence is brutal it’s never overly bloody or graphic but with no lessening in their devastating impact. And as one would expect, since most of the actors have played their roles for years on the series it shouldn’t be any surprise that they have grown into their roles and, to a person, are all totally believable and compelling.

While it would be unfair to compare City Of Men to it’s inspiration City Of God, it can claim its place as an extraordinary, beautifully crafted movie that deserves to be seen by anyone who loves movies. And you just can’t beat the pulsating samba soundtrack that won’t leave your mind.

Sergio Mims is a film critic and festival programmer living in Chicago, Illinois. He is a frequent contributor to ebonyjet.com