City of Men

Since Dan and I purchased the book 1001 Movies to See Before You Die, we have become familiar with many foreign films. Over a year ago we watched a very well made movie called City of God, an award winning Portuguese film released in 2002 about two young men growing up in a dangerous area in Rio De Janiero. It is an incredible film that received four Academy Award nominations, and won several awards in accredited competitions. I loved the raw footage and the intense anger and violence that is portrayed, alongside a beautiful story of hope. We recently discovered that there is a "sequel" to this film and it is called City of Men. It is not a sequel in the traditional sense, as it does not have any of the same characters and does not have the same writers or directors, but it follows two young men as their friendship is challenged during a gang war, which is a similar plot to the original. Upon doing some research into these films, I noticed that the director of the first (Fernando Meirelles) produced the second. In addition, it appears that the idea started out as a series in the UK that discusses life in Rio from the viewpoint of young children from two very different social classes, and expresses the idea that each class fears, loathes, and envies the other. The makers of both of these films, as well as the mini-series, are brilliant in their ability to intertwine pure emotion with superb acting and intense themes. I loved it...5 pigs. However, I can not recommend it to many people due to the graphic violence and language.