City of Men

"City of Men" is a by product of Fernando Meirelles impressive 2002 film "City of God," in that it's directed by Meirelles' constant collaborator Paulo Morelli and springs from the "City of Men" Brazilian television series that Meirelles produced. Best friends Ace and Wallace are on the brink of manhood amid Rio's ghetto violence that threatens to divide them. At 18, Ace is already married with a baby he can barely take care of, while Wallace is consumed with tracking down the deadbeat father he never knew. Little do the boys realize that Wallace's criminal father may have murdered Ace's dad 15 years earlier. Intimately filmed and filled with true-to-life non-actors, "City of Men" is yet another example of the exciting neo-realistic filmmaking coming out of Brazil today.

Rated R. 105 mins. (B+) (Four Stars)