City of Men

views updated

City of Men ★★★½ Cidade des Homens 2007 (R)

Two teenage friends, Ace and Wallace, struggle to grow up in a gangridden Brazilian shantytown, where much of their thoughts drift to the idea of fatherhood. Ace's father was gunned down at an early age, and he's now become a new father himself. Wallace, about to turn 18 and needing an ID card, must track down his longlost deadbeat dad to get a necessary signature. The fight to connect with his father is touching and plagued with danger as the two friends scurry from the neighborhood to neighborhood, dodging gang warfare along the way. Based on the Brazilian television series of the same name, and loosely follows Meirelles' earlier gangster epic “City of God,” using some of the same actors, but taking a more emotional and mature approach to the themes. 110m/C DVD . BR Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha, Johnathan Haagensen, Camila Monteiro, Rodrigo dos Santos, Eduardo BR Piranha; D: Paulo Morelli; W: Elena Soarez; C: Adriano Goldman; M: Antonio Pinto.