Another masterpiece after Fernando Riers' Oscar-nominated "City of God" (also known as "City without a Master"). This time, not as a director, but as a producer, his name and "City of God" still accompany the film's various publicity introductions like shadows. Indeed, the film is like the title City of Men"City of Men" said that, like "City of God", it uses the story of the protagonist to show people the backward slum life of Rio de Janeiro. After "City of God" describes the dark environment in which the teenagers grew up, showing the helplessness and sentimentality of the director; although the film "City of Men" is based on the life of teenagers, it focuses more on showing the local father's love and the lack of family warmth. Director Paul Lerie is the best director for this film. As early as 2004, he directed the TV series of the same name and is also one of the screenwriters of the play. Although he is no more famous than Fernan in the international film industry, his strength should not be underestimated. Although his works are not many, there are many excellent works, and he has won many awards at national and international film festivals, such as Viva Voz, who won the best feature film at the New York International Independent Film Festival. While directing the film will no doubt be compared to Fernando's "City of God" by many audiences and critics, his fame and ability will be won by many luminaries (including producer Fernando Riels and editor-in-chief). The fact that the editor of the Oscar-nominated "City of God" - Daniel Zeder) has greatly improved with the collaboration of the fact that there is no doubt. And whether his more traditional and authentic methods can be accepted by the public and compete with "City of God" will inevitably make this film lively. Moreover, with the basis of TV series, everything seems to be familiar. Even the cast of this film is mostly from the local actors of the TV series "City of Men", so there is no need to change the roles of each person. This is undoubtedly of great help in the actor's understanding of the plot and the understanding of the role. The protagonist Douglas Ilva is only 20 years old, but he has already emerged in the Latin American film industry with his skillful acting skills, and has won a number of best actor awards. Inheriting the role in the TV series "City of Men", he still plays the role of the leading actor in this film, playing Acerola. For him, who is increasingly skilled in acting, it is not difficult to play such a peer role. Most of his partners are also local actors of the same age as him, with comparable experience and equal acting skills. Such as has worked with him, and in this film played the regional drug king Jonathan. Gen Sen is also one of the best candidates to play the role of a bad boy. In this film, his performance is vivid. Although he is young, he brings out the ruthlessness of the little poisonous king to the fullest. Having said that, because the actor is young and localized , the gimmick of this film rushing to the world seems to be still on the producer Fernando, as well as the editing and soundtrack level. It can be seen that the background of this film—environmental tone, main characters, etc.—has many similarities with "City of God", and pornography, violence, poverty, and cruelty are still the main elements of rendering the environment.
Director Paul Murray said: "Violence and drugs are the biggest killers that take the lives of these innocent young people. "City of God" explores the drug problem; "City of Men" considers the root causes of violence. In fact, these two problems have There is a deep connection, so the two films can be called sisters."
Like most non-fiction films, City of Men features all non-professional actors from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, some of whom died violently before the film was released. So for creators, if the launch of "City of Men" can reduce the occurrence of such tragedies, it will be more valuable than another Oscar.
