Movie Review: ‘City of Men’ Returns to Rio Slums of ‘City of God’

By Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer

“City of Men” begins atop the metaphorically named Dead End Hill in Rio de Janeiro, where a gun-toting gang is lazily contemplating a swim.

With the sun beating down, the gang, led by a charismatic figure named Midnight (Jonathan Haagensen), decides to head down the hill to the beach. Their preparation isn’t gathering towels, but quickly establishing a perimeter of guards and calling the cops to alert them that they’re “coming through.”

Such is the world of Rio’s shantytowns or “favelas” where violence travels with ease, as depicted in “City of Men.” The film is a unique companion piece to “City of God,” a minor international hit in 2002 that drew comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” and was nominated for four Academy Awards.

“City of God” was a visceral, stylish tale about a generation of gang life in the favelas, filmed with MTV-like flash by Fernando Meirelles, who has since made “The Constant Gardener.”

“City of God” bristled with the sexiness and destruction of young gang life, but was also almost ridiculously sensational.

“City of Men” is a more humanistic film, primarily focused on the lives of those in the shadow of Rio’s gangs, either enamored by them or cowering from them. Meirelles is here a producer, and gives way to Paulo Morelli.

Morelli directed several episodes of “City of Men” the TV series, which was hugely popular on Brazil’s TV Globo and appeared in the United States on the Sundance Channel. Footage from the series, which ran for four seasons, is used for flashbacks in the film.

In the favelas, everything is intertwined and everyone has allegiances that overlap. At one point, a gang member wonders aloud if everyone is everyone’s cousin.

Wallace’s pursuit of his father digs up skeletons from the past that are almost too neatly parallel to the present. The point is that generations have been fighting the same way for decades, and no one’s winning. With the TV series and now the second film, it’s easy to see the enduring appeal of the favelas to the filmmakers: they’re teaming with vibrancy and conflict. Though the histrionics of “City of Men” are a bit obvious, and it lacks the bravado of “City of God,” it’s ultimately a more rewarding film.