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Cidade dos Homens: A Coroa do Imperador (City of Men: the Emperor's Crown, César Charlone, Brazil, 2002) Cidade dos Homens (City of Men, 2003) follows the incredible success of Fernando Meirelle’s and Katia Lund’s Oscar-nominated City of God. The film’s spin-off television series attracted over 35 million viewers and was shown in the UK on BBC Four. The "City" is a generic favela (shantytown) located on one of Rio’s urban hillsides. The "Men" are two 13 year old kids, named Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) and Acerola (Douglas Silva), who live in this community and are forced to deal with common daily problems, such as local drug dealers or the total lack of money for fulfilling their minute desires. They struggle to grow up surrounded by poverty and the lucrative temptations offered by the drug trade. City of Men offers a bitter-sweet tale of these two boys as they beat a path towards manhood through the drug-dealers and hustlers of the Rio slum in which they reside. Kultur Cine Club is proud to bring you two episodes from Cidade dos Homens (City of Men, 2003). Synopsis:At school the children of the favela are told how the Portuguese crown was brought to Brazil, when Napoleon attacked Portugal. Acerola conceives Napoleon as something equivalent to the local gang-leader BB in his fights with other criminal gangs in the favela. The boys’ hopes of going on a school trip are dashed by money problems, flunked exams and new neighbourhood drug barons. Amidst the confusion, though, there is still time to learn about Napoleon’s attack on England and why Portugal’s King Dom João VI had to escape to Brazil. |
