Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 16+
Drama about child trafficking is horrifying, harrowing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Extreme violence toward children, who are trafficked and abused. Women are sex trafficked. Child characters are burned in the chest with a hot iron (burn wound seen) handcuffed to a table and repeatedly whipped, chained up, kicked, slapped, threatened with scissors to the throat, hit by a car (bloody wound), and locked in a deep pit. Kids are shown covered in welts and bloody wounds and with an eye swollen shut. A woman foams at the mouth while giving birth and dies. Character mops pools of blood from the floor. Woman shown with whip scars on her back. Punching, pummeling, tackling, bloody wounds, head-butts. Police officer draws a gun. Long chase sequence. An enraged character throws a sewing machine on the ground and destroys it. Violent dialogue includes "My wife would beat him until she could fill a glass with his blood." A nail pushed through a floorboard comes perilously close to hitting a child's eye. Tension and peril.
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Language
a lot
See AlsoGreedy People Movie ReviewReconnecting in a digital world: How Chinese youth navigate the decline of local communitiesFrequent strong language, in both English and Spanish (the latter is subtitled in English for U.S. release), includes "f--k," "motherf----r," "s--t," "t-ts," "bulls--t," the "N" word," "goddamn," "bastard," "bitch," "ass," "balls," "puto," "maricón," "cabrón," "Chinks," "stupid," "shut the f--k up."
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
a little
Flirting, brief kissing. One character playfully grabs another's crotch. Dialogue and images suggesting illegal sex work. Partial nudity during a birth scene.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
A child is given a knockout drug in a can of soda; what he sees and hears as he nears unconsciousness is distorted and strange. Cigarette smoking. Brief drug-related dialogue.
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Positive Messages
some
The movie very specifically aims to call attention to the evils of child trafficking and illegal sweatshops and calls for action by urging viewers to visit its official site for more information.
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Positive Role Models
a little
The characters are largely either victims or monsters, and law-enforcement characters aren't especially heroic. But during the movie's final stretch, Jesús demonstrates courage and strength in his attempts to escape.
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Diverse Representations
a little
The movie tells the story of Mexican characters, and most of the cast is Latino. But most of them are also either victimized or cast as villains. Jesús (Ari Lopez) is a non-verbal child who's portrayed as courageous, scrappy, and not afraid to do what needs to be done to save himself. An evil character, Rodrigo (Francisco Denis)—whose job is to drug the kids and deliver them to the sweatshop—is portrayed, via stereotypical mannerisms, in a way that's meant to suggest that he's queer. White actor Jason Patric plays a police officer who tries to save the day. Writer/director Mohit Ramchandani was born in Mumbai.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that City of Dreams is a drama about child trafficking, focusing on a Mexican boy named Jesús (Ari Lopez) who's lured to Los Angeles with the promise of soccer camp, only to find himself working in a sweatshop. Violence is intense and very disturbing. Children are burned with a hot iron (wounds shown), handcuffed and whipped, covered in welts, locked in a pit, kicked, slapped, hit by a car, threatened, and more. Guns are shown and a woman dies while giving birth (the scene includes partial nudity). There's flirting and kissing, a crotch-grab, and dialogue about sex work. Strong dialogue includes uses of "f--k," "motherf----r," "s--t," "t-ts," "bulls--t," the "N" word," "goddamn," "bastard," "bitch," "ass," and more. A child is given a knockout drug, and there's cigarette smoking. The movie's goal is to raise awareness on its upsetting subject matter, and viewers are urged to visit its official site for more information. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
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City of Dreams
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What's the Story?
In CITY OF DREAMS, Jesús (Ari Lopez) is a kid from Puebla, Mexico, who dreams of being a soccer star. He goes to what he thinks is going to be a soccer training camp in Los Angeles but winds up imprisoned in a sweatshop, making dresses. The days are long, and the conditions are grim. Jesús faces violent outbursts by floor manager Cesar (Andrés Delgado) and cruelty at the hands of the big boss, El Jefe (Alfredo Castro). The boy finds some small hope when he makes a connection with Elena (Renata Vaca), although that hope is dashed when she's taken away and sold into sex trafficking. Police officer Stevens (Jason Patric) knows something is going on but has no legal leg to stand on. Then, one day, an opportunity arises for Jesús to escape.
Is It Any Good?
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Tackling horrific subject matter, this movie manages to avoid being too cumbersome or preachy, focusing instead on its movements and rhythms and its likable, sympathetic lead character. Directed by Mumbai-born filmmaker Mohit Ramchandani—whose own father once toiled in a sweatshop—City of Dreams is surprisingly effective. It has a big visual approach, as evidenced in its opening shot of a soccer match on a hardscrabble field. The camera whooshes all over as one kid pretends to be an announcer, rapid-fire calling the game. We finally land on Jesús, who's non-verbal and introduces himself with his name tattooed on his hand. He imagines himself in a big stadium, the crowd chanting his name. Ramchandani keeps this rhythm going in the sweatshop, which is grimy and dank, with discarded scraps of cloth covering the floor like pools of dried blood. The camera roves restlessly through the cave-like space.
The drama is heightened, like a brutal, modern-day Oliver Twist, and Jesús takes it all in with his huge, honest eyes. There's even an over-the-top villain, a woman who enters the cave wearing thigh-high leather boots that squelch ominously (she's come to select a new young woman for sex work). None of this is to say that the movie isn't difficult to watch. It's extremely unnerving to see terrible violence ruthlessly applied to a young boy, and it's infuriating to witness just how skilled the villains are at protecting their evil empire. The movie's final third is a break from the brutality, though it's no less tense, as Jesús tries to escape, racing through the streets and back alleys of the garment district. City of Dreams ends with a real-life plea to help out, which might be unnecessary, given what a gut-punch the movie is on its own.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about City of Dreams' violence. How did it make you feel? What did the movie show or not show to achieve that impact? Why is that important?
Did the movie motivate you to look further into the subject of child trafficking to learn what can be done to end it? How can media be used to raise awareness of real-life issues?
Do you consider Jason Patric's character a "White savior"? What does that mean? Why are diverse, complex representations in the media important?
How does Jesús demonstrate courage?
Movie Details
- In theaters: August 30, 2024
- Cast: Ari Lopez, Renata Vaca, Jason Patric
- Director: Mohit Ramchandani
- Inclusion Information: Asian directors, Southeast Asian directors, Latino actors, Female actors
- Studio: Roadside Attractions
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Activism
- Character Strengths: Courage
- Run time: 114 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: strong violence including child abuse, bloody images, language, some sexual material and partial nudity
- Last updated: August 29, 2024
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