City of Men (2007) Review: Fatherhood Under Fire in Rio

Is City of Men worth watching?

Yes, with reservations. City of Men is a warmer, more intimate companion to City of God, a story of friendship and fatherhood that keeps its emotional focus even as a gang war erupts around it. Its two leads have an easy, lived-in chemistry that makes their bond the film’s real subject. It lacks its predecessor’s formal daring, however, and its plot relies on contrivances that a more restrained script would have avoided.

What is City of Men about?

City of Men follows two lifelong best friends, Ace (Douglas Silva) and Wallace (Darlan Cunha), who are on the verge of turning 18 in a hillside favela in Rio de Janeiro. Ace is already a young father, struggling to care for his small son and to live up to responsibilities he barely understands. Wallace, raised without a father, is determined to find out who his is.

Their personal quests unfold as the hill they live on is torn apart by a power struggle between rival gang factions, with Jonathan Haagensen as Madrugadão, one of the men fighting for control. As the violence escalates, both friends are pulled towards choices that test their loyalty to each other.

Paulo Morelli directed this Brazilian production, which grew out of the television series of the same name that itself spun off from City of God. It is in Portuguese and runs 106 minutes.

A friendship at the centre of the storm

The film’s great strength is its two lead actors, who had played these characters on television and bring years of shared history to the screen. Silva’s Ace is restless and impulsive, a boy trying to act like a man, while Cunha’s Wallace is thoughtful and wounded, searching for an identity through a father he has never met. Their banter, arguments and loyalty feel utterly genuine, and the film’s most affecting moments are small ones between them.

The theme of fatherhood gives the story unusual depth for a favela crime film. Absent fathers, young fathers and father figures within the gangs all shape the choices of the characters, and the film is perceptive about how the lack of one generation’s guidance leaves the next to improvise.

Crime drama with a human scale

Morelli keeps the camera close and the pace urgent, borrowing some of City of God’s handheld energy while focusing on personal stakes rather than a sweeping history. The favela is vividly realised: narrow alleys, crowded rooftops and hillside views of a city that feels very far away. The gang war is staged with real tension, especially as it begins to make every street and staircase a potential battleground.

The film also has more humour and tenderness than its predecessor. Moments of beach outings, family squabbles and teenage bravado provide relief from the violence, and they make the danger that surrounds the characters feel all the more intrusive.

Where the plot strains

The script’s biggest weakness is its reliance on coincidence. Several key revelations and turns depend on connections that feel engineered, pushing the story towards melodrama in its second half. The gang war subplot, though tense, has less emotional texture than the friendship story, and some of the gang characters are more types than people. It is a solid drama, but it rarely reaches the ferocious originality of City of God.

Who should watch City of Men?

It is a natural next step for anyone who admired City of God and wants a more intimate story from the same world, and it stands on its own as a coming-of-age drama. You do not need to have seen the TV series. At 106 minutes it moves briskly. Expect gun violence, gang brutality and strong language, though it is less graphic than its predecessor.

Companion viewing:

• City of God, the essential starting point for this world, broader in scope and bolder in style.
• Pixote, a searing earlier Brazilian film about children left to fend for themselves.
• Central Station, for another Brazilian story about a boy’s search for the father he never knew.

The verdict

City of Men is a moving, well-acted drama that finds warmth and friendship in the middle of chaos. Its plotting is too tidy and it cannot match City of God’s brilliance, but its two leads and its sensitive treatment of fatherhood make it a worthwhile companion piece.

Rating: 4/5