Favela flavour

>> City of God semi-spinoff City of Men is
a less intense look at Rio slum life

SLUM LADS: City of Men

by MALCOLM FRASER

The new Brazilian drama City of Men has a somewhat confusing pedigree. It’s touted as a spinoff of 2002’s City of God, but its provenance is actually a bit more complicated than that. After the success of City of God, directors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund created a TV series, City of Men, a smash hit in Brazil which followed two boys, Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlen Cunha) growing up in the impoverished and crime-ridden favela slums of Rio de Janeiro.

City of Men, the movie, finds the charming duo in the year of their 18th birthdays, with adulthood catching up to them and the grim realities of their environment closing in. Silva, who was memorable as homicidal tyke Lil’ Dice in City of God, here has to deal with the responsibilities of teenage fatherhood, while Cunha tries to track down the father he’s never met. Eventually, the two become embroiled in a sort of bromantic Romeo and Juliet when they end up on different sides of a gang turf war.

The background detail isn’t really necessary to appreciate the film, but anyone who was blown away by the cinematic brilliance of City of God will encounter a different beast entirely; director Paulo Morelli has a much more conventional aesthetic and narrative approach. On the other hand, those who were shocked by City of God’s harsh content can rest a little easier; while City of Men doesn’t shy away from the bleak realities of its setting, it has a much lighter touch than its predecessor, with more of a focus on the humour and humanity of favela life.

Throughout the film, we’re occasionally treated to brief flashbacks to the series, in which we can see Silva and Cunha growing up onscreen, from the ages of 13 to 17. It’s a reminder that the characters’ background looms large, both for them and their native audience—and while the film can certainly be appreciated on its own terms, it made this foreign viewer want to go catch up on the series on DVD. In the meantime, as long as you set your expectations below City of God levels, this is well worth checking out.

City of Men opens this
Friday, Feb. 29

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