Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

How sad is this?

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

I remember when I first saw this movie in 2008, I walked into it heavily comparing it with "City of God" and expecting to see the same fast-pace storytelling, same witty dialogue and same amount of violence C.O.G. had. About 30 minutes into this movie I started to realize that this movie was a completely different animal, although with many of the same actors and same director serving as one of the executive producers. Needless to say, I walked out of this movie heavily disappointed. Fast forward to six years later, the movie is now out of Netflix and by now I have had more than my fair share of Brazilian reality-based films such as "Elite Squad" and "Elite Squad 2" among other Brazilian films which take place in the infamous Rio favelas. After watching it a second time and taking it for what it is, I now appreciate the art of this movie much more. The movie touches not only on poverty but also on young unplanned parenthood, the responsibilities and obligations that come with it, on different types of loyalty and betrayal, forgiveness of oneself and others and it shows you the true meaning of friendship. Rather than focusing on the violent setting itself and on carnage and violence like C.O.G. did, those things take a backseat and the movie shows you the real people who inhabit the favelas. It's a story of friendship, survival, and the choices people make when they don't have a choice.I am not familiar with the TV series, as I never got a chance to watch a single episode, but I can tell that this movie faithfully and successfully translated the story to the silver screen while keeping the essence of the original characters. If you like true slice of life dramas, City of Men surely delivers the goods.Overall I give City of Men 8 out of 10.

Director Fernando Meirelles' Brazilian gang warfare epic "City of God" made its mark in cinematic history as the premier film on depicting the horrors of drug trafficking & gang violence in Rio, Brazil's favelas. So why not a "city pass" on a sequel? A few years after the "City of God" fame, Meirelles and other collaborators including Director Paulo Morelli decided to produce a Brazilian TV episodic series entitled "City of Men" on the same premise. They casted young Brazilian actors Douglas Silva and Darlan Cunha as two charismatic best friends living their lives in spite of all the gang warfare that surrounds them in Rio's favelas. The series was a success, and the time to hit the silver screen came calling to the story of "City of Men". Even though "City of Men" does not involve the same characters of "City of God", it still does incorporate the same themes of it predecessor including: friendship, loyalty, drugs, poverty, violence, and survival. However, the overlying theme of "City of God" was drug trafficking with all the aforementioned as background themes. While the forefront of "City of Men" is the young protagonists' quest to find their unknown fathers with all the aforementioned also incorporated as background themes. "City of Men" does not excel in masterful storytelling and character development as "City of God" but it does hit the mark on the survival fortitude of its main protagonists. Meirelles only served as producer this time around and wisely transplanted the talents of Director Morelli and stars Silva & Cunha to the big screen adaptation. All of them hit the mark with their efforts. Even though many of the themes are terrifying and at sporadic times disturbing to look at, "City of Men" continues to keep it rio on the realities of a drug & gang induced life in Rio's favelas. **** Good

Quite an interesting movie - filmed in an almost 'cinema-verite' style. It is extremely authentic. The slums (or favelas of Rio), the dialogue, the gang members, the innocent by-standers are all depicted with a reality, that if it were not for the poverty, grimness and violence, would be considered refreshing. From that point of view it is much like 'City of God' but less nihilistic and the focus in this movie only centers on Rio de Janeiro. There is a positive out-look in that both the central characters are concerned with fatherhood; one is already a father and both do not know their real fathers (although this changes during the film). This creates a counter-balance to the slum and gang warfare. It took me awhile to understand or pick up on the storyline – one must pay close attention during the first 30-40 minutes to the characters and dialogue. I realized after, when I watched the DVD out-takes, that this was based on a TV series so that may be a reason for those difficulties.

Amidst poverty, racism, drugs, guns and violence, the absence of schools, hospitals, formal employment or government assistance, life in Rio's favelas is a constant challenge.Here, we watch two young men grow up fatherless. Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) is trying to find his father as he turns 18 so that his name can be on his identity papers. Acerola (Douglas Silva), his best friend, is dealing with his own fatherhood. He has to care for his son while his wife goes to work in another city as a babysitter so they can get a house.While Wallace (Laranjinha) is dealing with his father, who was recently released from prison, Ace (Acerola) is mixed up in a battle over turf on the hill. They find that their fathers are intertwined, and there are some tense moments when the two deal with their friendship.The cinematography was beautiful and the sound during the gun battles was excellent. It seemed more like a war zone than a city, but that is a fact of life for the millions who live there.