City of Men - TV-14

Gritty drama about Brazilian boys growing up fast.

TV Rating: TV-14 Network: Sundance Channel Cast: Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha Genre: Drama
Available on: DVD

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this somewhat gritty Brazilian series centers around the lives of a pair of teen boys who live in an impoverished area of Rio de Janeiro. They encounter violence every day, most often generated by the drug lords who rule the streets. Though this may alarm some viewers, the show is well done and may serve to open the eyes of teens who aren't aware of how their peers across the globe live.

Families can talk about different living conditions around the world. Why do some countries have plenty of food and resources while others suffer from famine? Do you think parts America are similar to the environment shown in this series? Do the media pay enough attention to poverty and need, both locally and internationally? What is the government's role in making sure citizens are taken care of?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Lucy Maher

In CITY OF MEN, the filmmakers behind the 2002 Oscar-nominated film City of God portray the lives of at-risk teens living in a drug-ridden section of Rio de Janeiro.

Each episode is a mix of comedy and drama as the cameras follow Acerola (Douglas Silva) and Laranjinha (Darlana Cunh), teenage friends trying to lead a normal life amid the squalor and chaos of the slum they call home. They don't have much supervision: Their mothers work long hours as live-in maids, and their fathers have disappeared. In between typical pursuits like video games and girls, the pair must stay alert to the dangerous goings-on around them.

Subtitles and complex storytelling can make the show a bit tricky to follow, but City of Men is engrossing television. Fast-moving scenes expertly convey the chaotic environment in which the boys live. Certainly, their lives aren't boring. In one episode, for example, a new gang takes over after a drug lord is hauled away. And in another, Acerola's sister starts dating one of the neighborhood's gang leaders.

Though parents might be wary of exposing their kids to the show's drugs and violence, the series is much more lighthearted than the movie, and it might even enlighten some young viewers about the conditions in which other kids their age live.

Fans might also like Roadtrip Nation and Teen Kids News.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Some flirting and kissing. Later seasons find the teen characters thinking a lot about sex. One of the characters' older, unmarried sisters gets pregnant.
Violence The drug lords pull guns on their victims and also use emotional manipulation to get their way. The slum that the characters live in is violent by nature.
Language "Chicken s--t" is spelled out in a subtitle.
Message
	Social Behavior The teen characters have to rely on their wits and each other to survive their poor neighborhood's mean streets. This show doesn't provide lessons, per say, but it's eye-opening and informative.
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco The boys' neighborhood lives and breathes the drug trade, and they interact with many people who are invovled in dealing/using/selling.