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City of Men

Play trailer Poster for City of Men R 2008 1h 45m Drama Crime Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
74% Tomatometer 81 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Childhood friends Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlan Cunha) are both approaching their 18th birthdays. Ace struggles to raise his son alone after the mother takes a job in Sao Paulo, while Wallace embarks on a search for his long-missing father (Rodrigo dos Santos), whom he eventually finds having just finished serving 15 years in prison. Newly discovered secrets about the past will test Ace and Wallace's friendship as they find themselves on opposite sides of a gang war.
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City of Men

City of Men

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Critics Reviews

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Xan Brooks Guardian 10/18/2008
2/5
It's all perfectly serviceable -- but it wants for freshness and vitality. Go to Full Review
Ian Freer Empire Magazine 07/18/2008
3/5
The likable performances, hot, sweaty atmosphere and decently mounted action scenes make this entertaining fare. Go to Full Review
Richard Roeper Ebert & Roeper 03/10/2008
[It has] a real ring of authenticity in every scene. Go to Full Review
Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 11/28/2020
3/10
The location is still just as tragic and absorbing, but the story often wanders into the realm of generic action flicks. Go to Full Review
Brian D. Johnson Maclean's Magazine 11/30/2017
The actors are strong, the sense of location is vividly authentic, but the script is disjointed. Go to Full Review
James Verniere Boston Herald 04/13/2011
B-
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Audience Reviews

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Dave S 03/04/2023 Five years after the fantastic City of God comes the follow-up, City of Men. Like its predecessor, it is set in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and follows the day-to-day gang violence that ravages the community. This time around, the story of friendship and survival focuses on two young men as they try to make sense of the madness that surrounds them. With the assistance of his friend Ace, Wallace searches for the identity of his birth father, a career criminal who has recently been released from prison for a murder he committed fifteen years earlier. While the film's style may be off-putting to some (it's filled with hyper-active handheld camerawork and rapid-fire editing), it certainly suits the chaotic atmosphere of the movie. City of Men, like City of God, is also filled with naturalistic performances from a primarily non-professional cast of actors. For those who loved the original, City of Men is a must-see. See more thiago s @Thiagostone 08/17/2022 Filme legal pra caralho, o roteiro é legal pra caramba, as cenas são legais pra caralho, a história é legal pra caramba, o elenco é legal, e a poucos ajudam a melhorar o filme, os personagens são bacanas, o filme mostra a vida do laranjinha e do acerola pelas favelas e pelas ruas do Rio de Janeiro, com tudo isso, eu recomendo muito esse filme vale muito a pena assistir. See more 06/07/2020 Muito emocionante e intenso. Excelente relação entre os personagens principais, amo demais! See more 06/03/2015 Emotional portrait of how it is to grow up in Rio's favelas. See more 04/25/2015 A look at life in the streets of Rio de Janeiro is gritty but not always engaging. See more 11/20/2014 A bit too melodramatic and it will unfortunately be compared to the much superior City of God. When it focuses a bit more on the gang and poverty aspects it is a much more interesting movie, but the movie gets bogged down early by an uninteresting plot involving two kids and their dads. While the cinematography is still nice, this movie is just no City of God. It's hard to get into because the first half hour or so is just so uninteresting. Even now I can't remember some of the characters names or how they related to each other. The ending is also way too ridiculous and almost like something out of a soap opera. Why the one friend would shoot his other friend or even think of doing so was just so unlikely and made the Ace character far less likable (and because of his neglect for his son and constant whining it already was difficult to like him). Still, it's a decent watch for those who are huge fans of City of God. It's like revisiting the same place, only it's not as memorable as the first time. If you haven't seen City of God, go watch that first. If you have seen it and you want to see more, then this isn't so bad. See more Read all reviews
City of Men

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Movie Info

Synopsis Childhood friends Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlan Cunha) are both approaching their 18th birthdays. Ace struggles to raise his son alone after the mother takes a job in Sao Paulo, while Wallace embarks on a search for his long-missing father (Rodrigo dos Santos), whom he eventually finds having just finished serving 15 years in prison. Newly discovered secrets about the past will test Ace and Wallace's friendship as they find themselves on opposite sides of a gang war.
Director
Paulo Morelli
Producer
Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Bel Berlinck, Fernando Meirelles, Paulo Morelli, Natalia Bruscky, Sabrina García
Screenwriter
Elena Soarez
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
20th Century Fox, O2 Filmes, Globo Filmes
Rating
R (Some Sexuality|Language|Violent Content)
Genre
Drama, Crime
Original Language
Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 29, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$307.1K
Runtime
1h 45m
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