City of Dreams – Movie Review
First Reaction – City of Dreams is an important, must-watch movie.
Watch City of Dreams on Amazon
Director: Mohit Ramchandani
Writer: Mohit Ramchandani (Screenplay)
Cast
- Ari Lopez (Broken Borders)
- Jason Patric (Speed 2)
- Diego Calva (Babylon)
- Paulina Gaitan (Sin Nombre)
- Samm Levine (Inglorious Basterds)
Plot: Inspired by a true story, City of Dreams chronicles the journey of a Mexican boy whose dreams of becoming a soccer star are shattered when he’s smuggled across the border and sold to a sweatshop in downtown Los Angeles.
Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: City of Dreams starts when a young Mexican boy Jesus (Lopez) believes his dreams are coming true. He is offered a chance to go to America to play football and escape poverty. However, he is tricked into joining a sweetshop with other victims.
Jesus learns to survive the sweetshop, but he starts seeing the other victims taken. He doesn’t want to give up and looks for a way to escape. Meanwhile, Officer Stevens (Patric) has been tracking the traffickers and must risk his career to make a discovery.
Verdict on City of Dreams
Recap
This movie brings us the story of a ruthless sweetshop gang that kidnaps victims from Mexico and promises them a better life. We follow their latest victim as he battles to survive and how the gang react to any attempt to escape. Along with how the law is left powerless to help the victims.
Best Parts
The portrayal of hopelessness placed on the victims is done extremely well. They are left feeling like they have no chance of escape or freedom and the way bosses act, shows how little they care. This becomes more of an eye-opener about what happens and the story to escape or have freedom will always be highlighted. There are some excellent shots, with Jesus navigating the home and a chase sequence too.
Worst Parts
When it comes to the worst parts, the main one comes from the frustration of how bad the police chief is. They show no care in investigating a potential crime involving children and punish anyone who does. This suggests that the police don’t do enough to stop things, while it could have created a chance to show more of the red tape they get banned from investigating.
Performances
Ari Lopez is fantastic in the leading role, in what is a mute role, his emotions bring the character to life. We do get a strong supporting cast with other actors who want to use more of their presence to help send the message. They don’t get as much screen time, but make the most of what they must do.
Final Thoughts –City of Dreams is an important message about the problems in the world.
