''Cidade dos Homens'' (English title: ''City of Men'') is a Brazilian

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

created by

Kátia Lund Kátia Lund (born March 13, 1966) is a Brazilian film director and screenwriter. Her most notable work was as co-director of the film '' City of God''. Early life Lund was born in São Paulo, to American parents who emigrated to Brazil before sh ...

and

Fernando Meirelles Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (; born 9 November 1955) is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for co-directing the film '' City of God'', released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films, whi ...

, the

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the film '' City of God''. The series was watched by 35 million viewers in Brazil and was released internationally on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

shortly after the film. In 2007, a feature-length film based on the series (produced by Fox and TV Globo) was released. It is often cited as a "

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

" of the film: City of God ; ''City of Men'' is a less violent and more light-hearted affair with

dramedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

elements (the film adaptation is darker, sharing its roots of ''City of God''). However, the two do share some common aspects: the directors, some of the

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

s, and the setting of the Brazilian

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

with its background of

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

s and

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse < ...

. The show tells the stories of Luis Cláudio and Uólace, better known by their nicknames Acerola (

Douglas Silva Douglas Silva (born 27 September 1988)City of Men - The Movie: Cast
is a Brazilian actor. ...

) and Laranjinha (

Darlan Cunha Darlan Cunha (Rio de Janeiro, September 16, 1985) is a Brazilian actor. Better known as Laranjinha from his breakthrough role in '' Cidade dos Homens'' and from his part in the film '' Cidade de Deus''. He began his career when he was selected f ...

), respectively, who are two best friends who live in a notorious Rio slum, in a community of

drug-dealers The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

, hustlers, and teenagers struggling to fulfill their dreams.

Production

A co-production of Meirelles (through his studio,

O2 Filmes O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

) and

Globo TV TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV station ...

, the largest TV channel in Brazil, the show aired Fridays, at 11 p.m. (local Brazilian time: -3 UTC) for four seasons. Each season aired roughly one year after the previous one, and the characters, as it happens with the actors who portray them, are shown to age from one season to the next. As a result, the stories of each season reflect the struggles of poor kids from Rio de Janeiro in the appropriate age group: in Season 1, the characters are about 13 years old, that is, barely out of childhood and into adolescence; Season 4 (the final season) shows them age 17, on the verge of adulthood, and the evolution of their dilemmas. A movie with Laranjinha and Acerola turning 18 has now been released in Brazil and in the United States. Silva and Cunha starred in the 2000

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''Palace II'', directed by Meirelles, a

dry run Dry run may refer to: * Dry run (testing), a testing process * Dry run (terrorism), a test by a terrorist organization to examine the reaction to an attempted attack Places in the United States Settlements * Dry Run, Ohio, a census-designated pl ...

for the film '' City of God''. In the short, Silva played Larinjinha and Cunha played Acerola.

Episodes

''The dates listed below are the original air dates on

and original DVD releases in Brazil (except for the international DVD release).''

Season 1

Produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

in 2002 (aired between October 4 and October 18), released on

on February 12, 2003 # A Coroa do Imperador (The Emperor's Crown) #* When their history teacher announces a surprise plan to take the class on an educational field trip to see The Emperor's Crown and learn more about the Napoleonic Wars, Laranjinha and Acerola greet the news with ambivalence as they need to come up with the R$6.50 it will cost each of them to go. A war breaks out in the favela and Acerola comes to realize its similarity to the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. # O Cunhado do Cara (The Man's Brother-in-Law) #* When Acerola's sister starts dating the "Favela boss" (a drug dealer) everybody suddenly starts to respect him. He has never had this much status in the neighborhood before—and he has never had this much temptation to abuse it. Acerola goes too far with his newfound powers and strains his friendship with Laranjinha. # Correio (The Post) #* Laranjinha and Acerola become the favela's postmen. Acerola's favela is so dangerous that even the government will not deliver mail there, a serious problem that irks the residents and prompts a local drug lord to make Acerola the ad hoc postmaster. Acerola and Laranjinha try to make some improvements to the system and initiate a scheme to name the streets of the favela. # Uólace e João Vitor (Uólace and João Vitor) #* A day in the life of Uólace (Laranjinha) and João Victor. On any given day, 13-year-old Laranjinha is struggling to survive in his dangerous favela, where violence runs rampant and hunger is a way of life. Meanwhile, in a well-appointed apartment overlooking Laranjinha's neighborhood, 13-year-old João Vitor (Thiago Martins) has a radically different perspective. João Vitor is a middle-class boy raised by his

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

. The apparent differences between the two lives are subsumed by their similarities.

Season 2

Produced in 2003 (aired between October 14 and November 11), released on DVD on February 27, 2004 # Sábado (Saturday) #* Like most teenagers living in favelas, Larajinha and Acerola cannot wait for the funk carioca dance. Armed with a new hairstyle, Laranjinha looks forward to an all-night dance party, where he aims to make out with at least four pretty girls. Meanwhile, Acerola hopes his performance with a funk dance group will impress a classmate (Camila Monteiro). # Dois Pra Brasília (Two Tickets to

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

) #* Determined to help a girl he likes get her grandfather out of prison (he has been in prison for two and half years longer than his sentence), Acerola enlists Laranjinha and a borrowed camcorder from the neighborhood to film his journey from Rio to the capital city of Brasília, all so he can deliver a letter to President

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Luiz is a Portuguese given name that is an alternative form of Luís. It's archaic in Portugal, but common in Brazil. Notable people referred to by this name include the following: People * Luiz Bonfá (1922-2001), Brazilian guitarist and compose ...

. # Tem Que Ser Agora (It Has To Be Now) #* The beach, the great leveller of Brazilian society, where all the social classes meet. Laranjinha and Acerola are on a mission to deliver some surfboards, head to the coast and find that everyone else in Rio had the same idea. The holiday takes an unexpected turn when the boys catch wind of a rumor that, if true, could have serious implications. Laranjinha flirts with Camila and finds out she is an upper middle-class girl. Duda tries to avoid João when she finds he is from the favela. Suddenly, a group of middle-class 'playboys' starts a confrontation. In the middle of all this confusion the teenagers only think about one thing: losing their

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

. # Os Ordinários (The Ordinaries) #* While surfing, Acerola saves a wealthy

Japanese-Brazilian , , lead=yes are Brazilian citizens who are nationals or naturals of Japanese ancestry or Japanese immigrants living in Brazil or Japanese people of Brazilian ancestry. The first group of Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1908. Brazil ...

boy from drowning at the beach, his actions spark an unexpected friendship that crosses color and socioeconomic boundaries. They bond and Acerola, Laranjinha and João start hanging out with the boy and his brother, who are from

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. The result is a group they dub The Ordinaries. # Buraco Quente (Hot Spot) #* Laranjinha's Cousin Espeto (Phelipe Haagensen) manages drug dealing in his area. When Espeto has a near-death experience, it prompts him to reevaluate his life, and his career as a criminal. Espeto wants out, but leaving the business can be tough, so Laranjinha and Acerola help out.

Season 3

Produced in 2004 (aired between September 24 and October 22), released on DVD on March 30, 2005 # A Estréia (Opening Night - First Time) #* When Acerola's mother goes out of town for the weekend and leaves him without a chaperone, the boys vow to practice their romantic skills with some local girls. # Foi Sem Querer (It Was an Accident) #* When Laranjinha romances a pretty girl who already has a boyfriend, he has to enlist Acerola for protection. Meanwhile, the boys try their hand at a small business to raise money for the favela's community center. # Vacilo É Um Só (Can't Screw Up Twice - Take It Like a Man) #* Learning about the breeding habits of tiny ants in school prompts Laranjinha, Acerola and their classmates to think about their own sexuality. Meanwhile, Acerola strives to stay out of trouble by spending the day with the leader of the favela's community association. # Hip Sampa Hop #* When Laranjinha's cousin, Espeto, announces that he is taking a trip to

, Laranjinha and Acerola decide to tag along. Once there, they discover the city's vibrant hip-hop scene and become immersed in the culture—and the drama that goes along with it. # Pais e Filhos (Fathers and Sons - Parents and Kids) #* When Laranjinha and Acerola apply for social security at work, it prompts thoughts about their futures and jump-starts Laranjinha's quest for his own "lost" father.

Season 4 (final season)

Produced in 2005 (aired between November 18 and December 16), released on DVD on April 25, 2006 # A Fila (The Line) # Tá Sobrando Mês (Too Many Days in a Month) # Atração Fatal (Fatal Attraction) # As Aparências Enganam (Appearances Can Be Deceiving) # Em Algum Lugar do Futuro (Somewhere in the Future)^N ^N Finale special: animated episode projecting the future of the main characters.

International release

Internationally, a DVD was released including the episodes from both seasons 1 and 2. The DVD was released on 27 September 2004. # The Emperor's Crown # The Man's Brother-in-Law # The Post # Uólace And João Vitor # Saturday/Sunday # The Two On Their Way To Brasília # It Has To Be Now # The Ordinaries # Hot Spot Entire Series - US DVD * Actors: Leandro Firmino, Alexandre Rodrigues, Daniel Zettel, See more * Directors: Philippe Barcinski, César Charlone * Format: Box set, Color, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC * Language: Portuguese * Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.) * Number of discs: 3 * Rating NR * Studio: Palm Pictures / Unvd * DVD Release Date: September 26, 2006 * Run Time: 570 minutes * DVD Features: ** Available Subtitles: English ** Available Audio Tracks: Portuguese (Unknown Format) ** 19 episodes on three discs

Soundtrack

* "Homem Amarelo" -

O Rappa O Rappa was a Brazilian reggae/ rock band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Combining many styles such as rock, reggae, funk, hip hop and samba, Many of O Rappa's songs contain sharp protests against the social problems in Brazil and the members of ...

* "Qual é?" -

Marcelo D2 Marcelo Maldonado Peixoto (born November 5, 1967), also known as Marcelo D2, is a Brazilian rapper and singer. Biography A former vocalist of the band Planet Hemp, he started his solo career in 1998 with the album ''Eu Tiro É Onda.'' The a ...

* "A Fumaça Já Subiu pra Cuca" -

Bezerra da Silva José Bezerra da Silva (February 23, 1927 in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil – January 17, 2005 in Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian samba musician of the partido alto style. Biography Bezerra da Silva played zabumba as a child and sang coco in Reci ...

* "Morro e Asfalto" -

/ Thiago Martins * "Vem Cristiane" - MC Tam * "Us Mano e As Mina" - Xis * "Sonho Juvenil (Garoto Zona Sul)" -

Jovelina Pérola Negra Jovelina Pérola Negra (July 21, 1944 – November 2, 1998), stage name of Jovelina Farias Belfort, was a Brazilian samba singer and songwriter. Known by her deep voice, she was a representative of the partido alto samba style, and considered an ...

* "João Teimoso" - MC Pé de Pano * "Prioridades" - Bnegão * "Quando Eu Contar (Iaiá)" -

Zeca Pagodinho Jessé Gomes da Silva Filho, known professionally as Zeca Pagodinho (, born February 4, 1959), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter working in the genres of samba and pagode. Biography Born in the neighborhood of Irajá, Rio de Janeiro, Zeca Pagodin ...

* "Dama Tereza" -

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identiti ...

* "Sou Feia Mas Tô na Moda" -

Tati Quebra Barraco Tati Quebra-Barraco, (birth name: Tatiana dos Santos Lourenço, born 1980 in Rio de Janeiro), is a Brazilian rapper, whose music consists mostly of hip hop and funk carioca genre. Tati is considered Brazil's first lady of hip hop as the first wo ...

* "Menina Crioula" -

Jorge Ben Jor Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben (). His characteristic style fuses samba, ...

* "Lixo do Mangue" -

Chico Science Francisco de Assis França (March 13, 1966 – February 2, 1997), better known as Chico Science, was a Brazilian singer and composer and one of the founders of the manguebeat cultural movement. He died in a car accident in 1997 in Recife, Pernam ...

Nação Zumbi Nação Zumbi (formerly Chico Science & Nação Zumbi) is a Brazilian band formed by Chico Science. They have been hailed as one of the most important groups to come out of the manguebeat movement in the 1990s. The musicians of the group continued ...

Reception

''Cidade dos Homens'' received highly positive reviews from the American press upon release. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the first season of the show has a score of 87 out of 100 based on 7 professional reviews, indicating " iversal acclaim". Tim Goodman, writing for ''San Francisco Chronicle'', praised it for having "the kind of energy you don't get often on American television, and the realness of the shot-on-location scene really makes each episode feel like a minimovie." Whilst noting its stylistic similarities to ''City of God'', Goodman wrote that "the series lacks the relentless violence of the film," even though "it's not without the same ominous sense of death." According to

Charles McGrath David Charles McGrath (10 November 1872 – 31 July 1934) was an Australian politician. Originally a member of the Australian Labor Party, he joined Joseph Lyons in the 1931 Labor split that led to the formation of the United Australia Party ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', " e closest American popular television has ever come to this kind of close-up realism is probably the drug-dealing scenes in "

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, ...

" on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, and even they seem a little tame and stagey compared with what takes place in Dona Marta." ""City of Men" is more than just a fictionalized documentary, though;" he continues, "it has real humor and sweetness, much of it derived from the interaction of Acerelo and Laranjinha, who are an inspired buddy pair." ''Slate'''s Troy Patterson wrote that it "smoothly toggles between working as a crime melodrama and a

coming-of-age tale In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theatre, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or "coming of age". Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or inte ...

, as a harrowing piece of social commentary and a gentle bit of

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

. It eludes genre categorization, but if one of the nihilistic children it depicts were to put his gun to my head, I’d say it was a

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

—one in which the situation is that life is both cheap and beautiful."

Heather Havrilesky Heather Havrilesky (born April 1970)is an American author, essayist, and humorist. She writes the advice column "Ask Polly" for '' Substack''. She is the author of ''Disaster Preparedness: A Memoir'', the advice book ''How to Be a Person in the Wo ...

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ...

called it " like anything else you've ever seen on TV." ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' Robert Lloyd took issue with the show's "occasional paroxysms of style or hammered-home points" in an otherwise positive review where he praised the show for its "immense vitality and persuasive naturalism".

Sequel series

In 2017 (10 years after the movie) a new series was aired, continuing the story about Laranjinha and Acerola, now fathers of their own sons: Davi (Luan Pessoa) and Clayton (Carlos Eduardo Jay), respectively. The boys have the same relationship as their fathers had when youngsters.

Season 1 (2017)

The first season follows the discovery of a fatal heart disease in Davi. The situation develops when Clayton steals money from a drug lord. Laranjinha wants to use the money to pay for his son's surgery, as Acelora fears retaliation from the drug dealers.

Season 2 (2018)

Laranjinha faces the return of his ex-wife and mother of Davi. Poderosa (Roberta Rodrigues), who left the boy when he was still a baby, and now intends to do everything to see him again, despite the fathers disagreement. The second season has the return of João Vitor, now Davi and Clayton's teacher.

References

External links

Official website

Official website
* {{IMDb title, id=0364801, title=City of Men Rede Globo original programming Brazilian drama television series 2002 Brazilian television series debuts 2005 Brazilian television series endings Brazilian crime television series Television shows set in Rio de Janeiro (city) Portuguese-language television shows Works about organized crime in Brazil