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The City

Play trailer Poster for The City Released Sep 13, 1998 1h 28m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 100% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Four gritty stories chronicle the Latino immigrant experience in New York City. In the first, desperate day laborers risk their lives working in unsafe conditions for low pay. Then, newcomer Francisco (Cipriano Garcia) gets a respite from loneliness when he meets a kindhearted woman. Next, homeless puppeteer Luis (Jose Rabelo) battles bureaucracy to register his daughter for school. Finally, garment worker Ana (Silvia Goiz) struggles for the paycheck that could save her sick daughter's life.
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The City

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times It gives faces to the faceless and is not easily forgotten. Rated: 3/4 Feb 21, 2001 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Rated: 3.5/5 Feb 21, 2001 Full Review Stephen Holden New York Times Rated: 3.5/5 Feb 21, 2001 Full Review Jake Euker F5 (Wichita, KS) Rated: 1/5 Jun 12, 2005 Full Review TV Guide Rated: 4/5 Jul 30, 2003 Full Review Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice These four portraits of poor Latin American immigrants living in New York City draw out our fury over the large gap between the haves and the have-nots in America. Mar 4, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Moving look at Hispanic immigrants in New York City. Shot in an understated neo-realist black and white, Riker strikes a poignant balance between visual rawness and dramatically affective stories, all without the tiresome melodrama of Oscar-bait, such as Crash. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member one of doug's first production and one oft fsvorites. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member A haunting, compassionate look at the day-to-day lives of all too many Hispanic immigrants in New York City. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member inspirational, Riker shows he has a real filmmaker's heart going out of his way to perfect is filmmaking by not being selfish and doing it "his way" but rather let the "real" filmmakers aka the subjects tell their story and changing his script to adapt to their lives and realism. A true masterpiece in that effort and spirit, true filmmaking. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member A moving portrayal of the experiences of undocumented workers, in four short dramas about Latinos in New York city. The director co-wrote the script with the cast, mostly non-professional actors. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member A very moving film, excellent direction and lovingly filmed in black and white. It is reminiscent of the Italian new wave cinema from the late forties and 1950's. The amateur cast does a remarkable job. Excellent score. A very touching film. Excellent. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The City

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The City

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Movie Info

Synopsis Four gritty stories chronicle the Latino immigrant experience in New York City. In the first, desperate day laborers risk their lives working in unsafe conditions for low pay. Then, newcomer Francisco (Cipriano Garcia) gets a respite from loneliness when he meets a kindhearted woman. Next, homeless puppeteer Luis (Jose Rabelo) battles bureaucracy to register his daughter for school. Finally, garment worker Ana (Silvia Goiz) struggles for the paycheck that could save her sick daughter's life.
Director
David Riker
Producer
Paul Mezey, David Riker
Screenwriter
David Riker
Distributor
Zeitgeist Films
Production Co
Echo Lake Productions, North Star Films, Independent Television Series
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 13, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 20, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$239.1K
Runtime
1h 28m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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