follow the cult brazilian tv series city of men ( 2002 2005 ) and acerola ( douglas silva ) and laranjinha ( darlan cunha ) and two orphan and teenage street kid live in morro da sinuca ( one of rio 800 plus favelas ) and be now about to turn eighteen and face the issue of adulthood . fatherhood in a social milieu where most kid grow up fatherless be the key theme here represent acerola be now a teen dad who have to take care of his baby boy when his teen wife move to são paulo to work a a babysitter while and laranjinha be on the search of the identity of his unknown father and only to discover he alive and be an ex convict on parole . on the background and the violent and destitute and lawless and drug gang control life in rio favelas . a sort of mix of fernando meirelles ( co producer here ) city of god in visual style and oliver twist in spirit and one of the major problem of city of men be it contrived plot solution represent we have to deal with acerola impossibly fast finding of laranjinha father whereabouts . and acerola grandmother end up homeless and abandon by her family ( in the film phony solution ) . and trafficker nefasto suddenly change side in the gang war while and acerola one chance in a million spotting trafficker fiel still alive and and the phony solution link acerola and laranjinha father in the past and etc . director paulo morelli who make the practically unseen preço da paz and the insipid viva voz and and direct some episode of the city of men tv series come from the publicity world and and it certainly show . his image be ( too ) soigné represent the black body have a golden shine and with pearly sweat drop and blazingly white teeth . he adopt cinéma vérité style ( in the camera work and dialog and performance ) and now de rigueur in film deal with stark reality . oscar nominate editor daniel rezende ( city of god and motorcycle diary ) try to keep thing move fast so we do not have time to think about plot hole and contrivance . antonio pinto music be beautiful but inexplicably old fashion for a movie about teenager . on a positive note and the sound design and effect be superb . the cast most of them from the tv series be ask to do more of the same . douglas silva ( acerola ) rely on his intuitive acting and his big and expressive fish face . jonathan haagensen ( a drug lord madrugadão ) again act with his pout and bare torso in his usual laid back bad boy style and look suitably stone . babu santana do his usual scenery chewing in a bit a a trafficker . camila monteiro and luciano vidigal ( a sensitive actor with an impossible part ) and others repeat their tv role . eduardo br a nefasto suggest a blooming talent while rodrigo do santos a laranjinha father have a great movie face and and first timer pedro henrique ( caju ) and naíma silva ( camila ) be sensitively direct . the best be darlan cunha a laranjinha represent no nonsense and nonplussed and witty and resourceful and his deadpan acting be the essence of the carioca cool . but there something bothersome about cidade do homens represent it hard to concentrate on acerola sex trouble or laranjinha unlikely instant attachment to his shady father ( be rio street kid really this naive . ) when character like caju ( the dim witted and glamor seek teenager who join the drug gang ) or those really original character the teenage girl that have upgrade from gangsta moll to become gangsta themselves scream for attention and development . the fact be it weird to take city of men for it face value and i. e. a buddy buddy movie with the favela drug war on the background and though we all know ordinary life somehow always go on even in the most violent and crude reality . by focus on the personal problem of acerola and laranjinha and director morelli and writer elena soárez ( house of sand and eu tu eles and lend a sensitive touch to what could have be a stolid buddy movie ) choose to concentrate on plot and character and use a lot of big close ups of the kid face so we would not be distract by the hellish favela background and yet the background jump right on our lap . poverty and segregation and racism and drug and gun and violence and the absence of school and hospital and formal employment or government assistance and the dire condition of life in the favelas that affect over one million people in rio be and in fact and the cause of most of acerola and laranjinha personal problem . maybe one day we will all be desensitize enough to take that sort of background a routine scenery and but not right yet . city of men have a major asset and anyhow represent the final scene be lyrical and ingenious and fill with humor it a great finale for the successful series that dare put on brazilian tv favela teenager a protagonist and teenager who usually just show up in movie and tv ( and and many time and and tragically and in real life ) a trafficker and junky and thief or corps .