Well, besides the vile Village Voice there is the NYT
(another despicable commie rag), but in it today we find a
review of new Brazilian movie related in many ways to the
City of God that some of you discussed recently...Here¹s the
review...it might be of interest...
Montois
Cinefrog@comcast.net
February 29, 2008 Fathers and Sons in Gloom Above Rio¹s Sunny
Beaches
By STEPHEN HOLDEN The most disquieting moment in ³City of
Men,² a rootin¹-tootin¹ gangster movie shot in the
notoriously lawless shantytowns overlooking the beaches of
Rio de Janeiro, is also the most subdued. Acerola, a k a Ace
(Douglas Silva), an 18-year-old still carrying baby fat,
admits that he is frightened and unprepared to care for his
infant son as his wife, Cris (Camila Monteiro), leaves to
find work in S㯠Paulo. Although Ace loves his little boy, he
is only a child in a man¹s body himself, and he begs her not
to go. For him to assume full parental responsibility is
almost unimaginable.
In ³City of Men,² directed by Paulo Morelli, Ace¹s reluctance
is more the rule than the exception. In the strutting, drug-
and gun-infested culture of the favelas, young men who sire
children aren¹t expected to acknowledge them, and their
tough, sullen wives and girlfriends have little choice but to
tolerate the situation or leave. That¹s just the way it is in
a hyper-macho environment with virulent homophobia.
Underneath their swagger, these teenage gangsters brood about
the absence of their own fathers. Ace¹s best friend,
Laranjinha, a k a Wallace (Darlan Cunha), who is days short
of turning 18, is especially obsessed with his own paternity.
As he approaches the numerical demarcation between child and
adult, when he will need an identification card stating his
last name, he embarks on a concerted search for his father
based on neighborhood rumor.
Mr. Morelli¹s film is a companion piece (not strictly a
sequel) to ³City of God,² the 2002 global hit directed by his
longtime collaborator Fernando Meirelles that featured some
of the same actors, including Mr. Silva and Mr. Cunha playing
11-year-olds. The new movie, written by Elena SoᲥz, is spun
off from a successful Brazilian television series of the same
title that was shown on the Sundance Channel and is available
on DVD. (Mr. Meirelles was a creator of the television series
and is a producer of the new film.)
³City of Men² has a more humane, you might say
bleeding-heart, perspective on this anarchic culture than
³City of God.² The first movie offered a startling,
documentarylike picture of social decay in which the steady
influx of drugs and guns over several generations transformed
depressed neighborhoods into war zones. As the weaponry grew
more deadly, the age of the warriors fell, and in the movie¹s
later scenes, the opposing forces were child armies mowing
one another down with lethal toys.
Where ³City of God² had the hard-boiled attitude of an
expos頦ilmed on site with hand-held cameras and rapid jump
cuts, ³City of Men² is a more conventionally structured
melodrama. The nihilism of the first movie has been softened
enough to suggest that this culture of violence may not be
quite so extreme as the earlier movie portrayed. Amid the
organized sociopathy in which allegiances are continually
shifting, and people are literally shooting one another in
the back, true friendships are perilous but not hopeless
undertakings.
The movie¹s all-out warfare begins when Nefasto (Eduardo B R
Piranha), a henchman of the charismatic boss of bosses,
Madrugad㯬 a k a Midnight
(Jonathan Haagensen), betrays him and with a new posse
occupies his turf on Dead End Hill. Midnight mounts an even
larger and deadlier response. Like those in ³City of God,²
the battle scenes show herds of armed juvenile soldiers
swarming like locusts down the steep, terraced hills. As the
war spreads, Ace and Wallace accidentally find themselves on
opposite sides.
Wallace eventually finds his father, Heraldo (Rodrigo Dos
Santos), who served 15 years of a 20-year sentence for
murder. The wariness of the father when confronted with the
neediness of the son indicates that it is far too late for
their bond to become more than superficial. Though probably
only in his mid-30s, Heraldo exudes an air of defeat. The
thrill of youthful armed combat has faded into fatigue and
desperation. Twenty years hence, Wallace, if he survives,
will probably be just like him.
That the sins of the fathers are passed on to the sons is the
somewhat thudding message of a movie that hammers home its
point by having Ace and Wallace reach an impasse in their
friendship that parallels the relationship of their fathers
two decades earlier. In a society of fatherless boys craving
role models, glamorous outlaws fill the void.
³City of Men² is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying
parent or adult guardian). It has strong language and scenes
of violence but is not gory.
CITY OF MEN
Opens on Friday nationwide.
Directed by Paulo Morelli; written (in Portuguese, with
English subtitles) by Elena SoᲥz, based on a story by Mr.
Morelli and Ms. SoᲥz; director of photography, Adriano
Goldman; edited by Daniel Rezende; music by Antonio Pinto;
art director, Rafael Ronconi; produced by Andrea Barata
Ribeiro, Bel Berlinck, Fernando Meirelles and Mr. Morelli;
released by Miramax Films. Running time: 1 hour 51
minutes.
WITH: Douglas Silva (Acerola), Darlan Cunha (Laranjinha),
Jonathan Haagensen
(Madrugad㯩, Rodrigo Dos Santos (Heraldo), Camila Monteiro
(Cris), Naima Silva (Camila), Eduardo B R Piranha (Nefasto),
Luciano Vidigal (Fiel) and Pedro Henrique (Caju).
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