CIDADE DOS HOMENS (CITY OF MEN) — *** — Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha, Jonathan Haagensen; in Portuguese, with English subtitles; rated R (violence, profanity, sex, vulgarity, brief drugs)
"Cidade dos Homens (City of Men)" has a very tough act to follow. The film is a follow-up of sorts to "Cidade de Deus (City of God)," the Oscar-nominated 2002 thriller from Brazil.
That earlier movie was refreshing and electric, and provided both thrills and some valuable insight into Brazil's crime-ridden favelas, or slums.
It's also a spinoff from the independently produced television series of the same name, which means this particular film has to recap nearly four seasons' worth of episodes while continuing to progress various story lines.
Given all that baggage, the film is surprisingly successful. It's at its best when it examines various family relationships and friendships during some trying circumstances.
For example, drug lord Midnight (Jonathan Haagensen) and his former second-in-command, Fasto (Eduardo "BR" Piranha), used to be friends.
Now the two former pals are battling for control of the Rio de Janeiro slum known as Dead End Hill. The unlucky, "civilian" residents are stuck in the middle of their warfare, which includes childhood friends Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlan Cunha).
Wallace is busy trying to find his biological father and sort out his romance with Camila (Naima Silva) because their family ties put them on different sides of the battle.
Ace, meanwhile, is struggling with his own fatherhood issues. His hard-working wife, Cris (Camila Monteiro), has left him in charge of their infant son, and he's not doing very well on that front.
Co-screenwriter/director Paulo Morelli and his production team spend a little too much time trying to give the film a gritty, street-level look.
But both Silva and Cunha (who reprise their roles from the television show) do make compelling leads and their performances add needed weight and shadings to their underwritten characters.
"Cidade dos Homens (City of Men)" is rated R for strong scenes of violent action (shootings, gunplay, vehicular mayhem and some child-in-peril elements), strong sexual language (profanity, crude slang terms and other suggestive talk), simulated sex and other sexual contact, and brief drug content (marijuana use and references). Running time: 110 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com