Cidade dos Homens (2007)

Director:

Paulo Morelli

Writers:

Elena Soarez (screenplay) and
Paulo Morelli (story)

Release Date:

31 August 2007 (Brazil)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

An unforgettable tale of friendship and survival in a city where the greatest challenge is growing up.

Plot:

Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Parole | Friendship | Missing Father | Favela

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Douglas Silva	...	Acerola
Darlan Cunha	...	Laranjinha
Jonathan Haagensen	...	Madrugadão
Rodrigo dos Santos	...	Heraldo
Camila Monteiro	...	Cris
Naima Silva	...	Camila
Eduardo 'BR' Piranha	...	Nefasto (as Eduardo BR)
Luciano Vidigal	...	Fiel
Pedro Henrique	...	Caju
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aldene Abreu	...	Soldado 1 Bete
Gabriel Aguila	...	Soldado do Madrugadao 2
Edy Argolo	...	Soldado do Madrugadao 7
Jonathan Azevedo	...	Soldado de Madrugadao 1
Andrea Bacellar	...	Patroa Cris
Marcello Barcellos	...	Policial 2
Alex Bastillo	...	Soldado do Careca 1
Bel	...	Soldado do Careca 1
Biro	...	Soldado Nefasto 4
Arthur Bispo Coutinho	...	Vapor Madrugadao 2
Black	...	Soldado Nefasto 1
Alex Borges	...	Garçon 3
Isaac Borges	...	Soldado 2 Doldinho
Barbara Borgga	...	Funciodila Presidio
Flavio Borja	...	1 Juarez
Alexandro Brito	...	Moleque da farmacia
Bronca	...	Guarda do patronato
Erik Burdon	...	Garçon 2
Wilton Campos	...	Soldado Nefasto 8
Michelle Cardoso	...	Valéria
André Carvalho	...	Soldado do Madrugadao 6
Cláudio Cinti	...	Golano Acongueiro
Márcio Costa	...	Soldado 3 Polito
Luca De Castro	...	Sindico do condominio
Dimas	...	Soldado do Morro do Careca 1
José Mario Farias	...	Helinho
Victor Fernando	...	Soldado Nefasto 2
Jonathan Gomes	...	Vapor Madrugadao 4
Michel Gomes	...	Fininho
Maurício Gonçalves	...	Cris's father
Mário Hermeto	...	Garçon 4
Eber Inacio	...	Zézé
Claudio Jaborandy	...	Complice de Heraldo
Fábio Lago	...	Ceara
Sônia Lino	...	Esmeralda
Vendedora Loja	...	Carolina Bezerra
Robson Luiz	...	Garoto novo
Shawn McGill	...	Wallace (voice)
Vinicius Messias	...	Garçon 1
Nandao	...	Soldado do Careca 1
Negao	...	Soldado do Careca 1
Brenno Neves	...	Madrugadao crianca
Vinícius Oliveira	...	Clayton
Vítor Oliveira	...	Clayton
Allan Pacheco	...	Soldado Nefasto 5
Pagodinho	...	Soldado Nefasto 7
Joao Paulo	...	Soldado do Careca 1
Alran Pinheiro	...	Funciodilo Cartolo
Avandro Ricardo	...	Soldado do Madrugadao 3
Robson Rocha	...	Soldado 4 Bulu
Kamilla Rodrigues	...	Tina
Babu Santana	...	Drug lord from Morro do Careca
André Santos	...	Soldado Nefasto 9
Rafaela Santos	...	Bela da Madrugadao
Robson Santos	...	Morro do Careca
Luisao Seixas	...	Pedrelia
Bino Silva	...	Soldado do Madrugadao 4
Tiago Souza	...	Soldado Nefasto 6
Thogun	...	Pal de ace ola
Luiz Tomaz	...	Soldado Nefasto 3
Everton Tonzao	...	Soldado do Careca 1
Charles Torres	...	Pregador
Arthur Viana	...	Soldado do Madrugadao 5
Delgresson Vieira	...	Vapor Madrugadao 3
Jersiano Vieira	...	Soldado do Morro do Careca
Luis Whellington	...	Vapor Madrugadao 1
Bebe Zao	...	Soldado do Careca 1
Zol	...	Soldado do Careca 1

Also Known As:

City of Men (International: English title)
Cidade dos Homens (Portugal) [pt]
I poli ton anthropon (Greece) [el]
La cité des hommes (France) [fr]

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Brazil:16 | USA:R | Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:M (TV rating)

Company:

Fox Filmes do Brasil

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Camila is showing Wallace her hair and telling him where Ace is, a leg of the tripod holding the close up camera is visible on the right side in the wide shot of them.

Movie Connections:

Features "Cidade dos Homens: Tá Sobrando Mês (#4.2)" (2005)

A tender and deeply affecting story

It has been estimated that 19 percent of the population of Rio de Janeiro live in favelas, shanties crowded onto hillsides not far from luxurious apartments and world famous beach resorts. Notorious breeding grounds for poverty, drug addiction, and gang warfare, the favelas with their picturesque street names such as Dead End Hill, have been the subject of critically acclaimed films such as Hector Babenco's Pixote and Fernando Meirelles' City of God. Based on a long running television series that ran on Brazilian TV Globo for four years and was watched by 35 million viewers, Paolo Morelli's City of Men is a follow-up to the more flashy Meirelles film. While it lacks the earlier work's kinetic energy, it is more emotionally satisfying and has characters that we care about.

The film focuses on two friends, both turning 18 and without fathers. The two boys, Acerola and Laranjinha, (given Americanized names Ace and Wallace in the subtitles) have unresolved father issues. Wallace is trying to locate the father he never knew and Ace wants to find out how and why his father was killed. Actors Douglas Silva and Darlan Cunha both appeared in the TV series and footage from the TV series is used for flashbacks in the film, shown in a faded color palette. Both are natural actors who do a remarkable job. Ace, though only 18, lives with his wife Cris (Camilla Monteiro) in one of the shanties and is the father of a young boy named Clayton (Vinicius Oliveira). Ace is immature enough to leave Clayton alone on the beach in an early sequence but must grow up quickly and assume complete responsibility for Clayton's care when Cris takes a job in Sao Paolo.

Shot by cinematographer Adriano Goldman who provides sweeping panoramas of the hills, mountains, and beaches, the film begins on the top of Dead End Hill on a day so brutally hot I could feel the sweat gathering on my forehead. Gang members with handguns and automatic weapons led by Midnight (Jonathan Haagensen) decide to head down to the ocean, establishing a perimeter of guards who tell the cops that they are on route. The emotional center of the film is the relationship between Wallace and his newly discovered father Heraldo played with strength and dignity by Rodrigo Dos Santos. Heraldo is out on parole after having served fifteen years of a twenty year sentence for robbery and murder. The circumstances of the murder that he committed becomes a central issue in the relationship between Ace and Wallace and secrets about both of their fathers' pasts threaten their friendship and lead to their involvement on different sides of a new eruption of gang violence.

Somewhat melodramatic but never manipulative or false, City of Men transcends the familiar format of hand-held camera hyperactivity and gangster clichés to become a tender and deeply affecting story about abandoned children and how the cycle is repeated from one generation to the next. While the film explodes into warfare between rival gangs led by Midnight and Fasto (Eduardo BR), it is devoid of typical heavily stylized and frenetic violence. Ace and Wallace are characters we get to know and identify with. We want them to defy the odds and survive until adulthood though the tragic history of life in the Rio slums is never far from our mind.