I saw City of God, a Brazillian film, in theaters after the Academy Awards nominated it for several Oscars, including Best Director. City of Men ended up in my queue because I initially thought that it was a sequel to City of God, but I later found out that it wasn’t. I attempted to watch it a couple of times instantly on Netflix, but stopped because only a badly dubbed English version existed. I was thrilled when the original Portuguese version became available.
I did not know before watching it that it was the sequel to a Brazilian TV series, which I have never seen and do not believe is available in US. City of Men primarily focuses on two fatherless best friends on the threshold of manhood as they react to certain personal revelations and the turbulent gang wars in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro that threaten to destroy their identities and their lives. City of Men’s narrative is like a mash up of Altman, Shakespeare and Dickens. City of Men’s themes of hidden histories and the cycle of violence and poverty are vibrant and alive instead of mechanical or contrived.
City of Men is visually sumptuous. The cast’s skin sparkles like precious jewels in the sun. I would encourage all viewers to give City of Men your complete attention so you can notice the amazing contrast between the opening and closing scenes. It is also less graphically violent than City of God.
I highly recommend that you check out City of Men and do not let the subtitles dissuade you. Brazilian cinema is way more textured and complex than the average American film, but does not provide an annoying contrived tapestry film like Babel, Crash or Syriana. City of Men privileges the journey of the soul rather than the plot.