City of Men (film)

City of Men
City of Men
	Brazilian theatrical release poster
Portuguese	Cidade dos Homens
Directed by	Paulo Morelli
Screenplay by	Elena Soarez
Story by	Elena Soarez; Paulo Morelli;
Based on	Cidade dos Homens; by Fernando Meirelles; Kátia Lund;
Produced by	Andrea Barata Ribeiro; Bel Berlinck; Fernando Meirelles; Paulo Morelli;
Starring	Darlan Cunha; Douglas Silva; Jonathan Haagensen; Rodrigo dos Santos; Camila Monteiro; Naima Silva; Eduardo Br; Luciano Vidigal; Pedro Henrique; Vítor Olivera; Vincus Olivera;
Cinematography	Adriano Goldman
Edited by	Daniel Rezende
Music by	Antonio Pinto
Production; companies	O2 Filmes; Globo Filmes; Fox Film;
Distributed by	Petrobras Distribuidora (Brazil); Miramax Films (United States);
Release date	August 31, 2007;
Running time	106 minutes
Countries	Brazil; United States;
Language	Portuguese
Box office	$2.6 million

City of Men (Portuguese: Cidade dos Homens) is a 2007 Portuguese-language drama film directed by Paulo Morelli. The screenplay was written by Elena Soarez, based on a story by Morelli and Soarez. It is a film version of the TV series Cidade dos Homens that ran for four seasons in Brazil following the international success of the film City of God (2002); both directed by producer Fernando Meirelles. The film was released on August 31, 2007, in the United States by Miramax Films (who also distributed City of God in the US) and in Brazil by Petrobras Distribuidora. It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Best friends Acerola ("Ace") and Laranjinha ("Wallace") live in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and have been raised without their fathers. They are turning eighteen as a war between rival drug gangs begins around them. Wallace, with Ace's help, gets to meet his father, Heraldo, in person, a parolee living not very far away, only to witness the police arrest of his father a few days after. Wallace and Ace discover that their fathers were best friends, but Heraldo killed Ace's father in a robbery incident. Each discovers things about his missing father that could potentially compromise their solid friendship. At the end, they decide to leave "the Hill" and lead a responsible life.

Cast

Douglas Silva as Acerola, "Ace"
Darlan Cunha as Laranjinha, or "Wallace"
Jonathan Haagensen as Madrugadão
Rodrigo dos Santos as Heraldo
Camila Monteiro as Cris
Naima Silva as Camila
Eduardo Br as Nefasto
Luciano Vidigal as Fiel
Pedro Henrique as Caju
Vítor and Vincus Olivera as Clayton

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, City of Men currently has an approval rating of 74% and an average score of 6.7 out of 10, based on 82 critic reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "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."^[3] The film also receives a weighted average rating of 63 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 25 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[4]

Accolades

Best Special Effects - 2007 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize (nominated)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Cidade dos Homens". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
^ "City of Men". Box Office Mojo.
^ "City of Men (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
^ "City of Men". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2021.

External links

City of Men at IMDb

[BFI-1] "Cidade dos Homens". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2023.

[mojo-2] "City of Men". Box Office Mojo.

[3] "City of Men (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2021.

[4] "City of Men". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2021.

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