City of Dreams Review
City of Dreams (2023) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Mohit Ramchandani and starring Ari Lopez, Jason Patric, Paulina Gaitan, Samm Levine, Renata Vaca, Diego Calva, Nicole Andrews, Francisco Denis, Adina Eady, Bailey Kai, Alfredo Castro, Andrés Delgado, Karla Coronado, Hrach Titizian, Rich Paul, Rene Aranda and Jorge Antonio Guerrero.
Mohit Ramchandani’s City of Dreams should be one of the most talked-about films of the year but it seems to have hardly registered with audiences if one looks at its mediocre box-office grosses. It’s a hard film to watch but if you stick with it, you will be aware of a problem that’s facing the country behind closed doors. While human trafficking has been the subject of several films, Ramchandani’s picture packs a wallop like no other film on the topic has before it. Set mainly in a darkened, rundown sweatshop in downtown LA, City of Dreams is an unflinching account of the horrors many people face after they’re promised of the dream of a better life here in America.
This picture begins by suggesting that it is about one person’s bravery in fighting back against those who try to suppress and exploit him. The film opens with a large soccer field. A young boy named Jesus (Ari Lopez in a difficult but compelling performance) dreams of playing on it but every time he comes close to scoring, an obstacle gets in his way. Jesus’ mom died in childbirth and his dad, Jose (Jorge Antonio Guerrero) sends him away to America to fulfill a dream that the father knows is unattainable under his current circumstances. There is supposed to be a soccer camp that Jesus would go to. That’s wishful thinking, though. Instead, Jesus is forced to live in horrendous conditions after being drugged by a man who promises things to Jesus that are all a bunch of bullsh-t. Jesus is going to be exploited and the movie spares no graphic details of the surroundings the child soon finds himself accustomed to.
There is an interesting piece of casting in the film with Jason Patric of 1996’s Sleepers playing a cop known as Stevens who is interested in the house where all the devastating events take place. On the outside, he has no true evidence of what is really going on so he can’t do much while his female partner usually complains to him about nonsense. Patric played in a movie where kids where tortured in a reform school so to see him play the role of someone trying to help a boy in trouble is very interesting to see. Patric doesn’t have a lot of screen time but there’s one big scene where a sweatshop overseer, Nazarian (Samm Levine) tries to get Jesus back to work in the hell hole Nazarian runs. Stevens has come to suspect something is not right but the problem is much bigger than one that the police can actually do something about. Not without more of a plan to take down these pieces of garbage that run the sweatshop.
One scene has Nazarian with his kid in a car as the kid looks fancy in a suit as if he’s attending a private school. The vehicle is nice and it was obtained from the blood, sweat and tears of people like the young, innocent Jesus. City of Dreams is very difficult to watch but in scenes like this, it makes points that are interesting and probably more valid that we wish they were.
When another villain is walking on top of a floor in which Jesus is hiding under a floorboard, there’s a nail in the wood that almost goes into Jesus’ eye in one of the most frightening scenes in the picture. There is one long chase sequence towards the ending which rivals the great chase scenes in action films throughout the years. It is an extended scene with Jesus escaping a warehouse on foot as some goons pursue him to get him back to the sweatshop before he ruins their million dollar business for them. The editing is tight and this part of the movie is exhilarating to watch.
The supporting cast is not to be overlooked. Renata Vaca as a girl from the sweatshop named Elena who befriends Jesus is solid. The central slimy villains are played by Alfredo Castro and Andrés Delgado in despicable characterizations that are well-drawn by the actors at hand. One scene has one of the degenerates find out he is not going to get into the college he wants to get into. Good for him that even the college boards know he’s a horrible excuse for a human being.
This film has its problems. It’s too violent and too over-the-top but maybe it has to be to make the viewer more aware of the situations going on around us. Still, some scenes could encourage viewers to leave before the great ending the movie showcases. It’s also a bit too one-dimensional in terms of its portrayal of some of the human monsters who run the sweatshop.
Still, City of Dreams is an eye opener. Ari Lopez is the movie. He makes us want to see the character of Jesus triumph against difficult odds that few in his position would be able to overcome. It’s a remarkable performance while Patric is brilliant in his role as the only one with the potential to make the police aware of what could be going on in the house the movie takes place in. What goes on behind closed doors can be more frightening than you could ever imagine and this film opens us up to that fact. It’s a powerful piece of film-making.
Rating: 7/10
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