CITY OF DREAMS
(director/writer: Mohit Ramchandani; cinematographers: Trevor Roach, Alejandro Chavez; editor: Matt Diezel; music: Lisa Gerard, Bennett Salvay; cast: Ari Lopez (Jesus), Renata Vaca (Elena), Alfredo Castro (El Jefe), Jason Patric (Stevens), Diego Calva (Carlitos), Paulina Gaitlan (Maria), Andrés Delgado (Cesar), Jorge Antonio Guerrero (Jose-Jesus’s father), Adina Eady (Rusanovschi), Samm Levine (Nazarian), Francisco Denis (Rodrigo); Runtime: 96; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Mohit Ramchandani, Sean Wolfington, Matt Diezel, Jon Graham, Rufus Parker; Road Attractions; 2023-Mexico/USA-in English & Spanish)
“Never passes the credibility test.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Inspired by a true story about child trafficking, that includes a fictional rescue by an L.A. cop played by Jason Patric.
It’s poorly directed and written by the former producer Mohit Ramchandani, in his feature film debut. The disappointing message film about the dangers Mexican immigrants face in the United States, follows the travails of the non-verbal and dreamy 15-year-old Jesus (Ari Lopez) who hails from a small town in central Mexico. His widowed father (Jorge Antonio Guerrero) was falsely promised his son would be taken by the gay cartel coyote, Rodrigo (Francisco Denis), to an elite soccer camp in L.A., but instead the kid is forced to do slave labor manufacturing clothing for an illegal operation in Downtown Los Angeles. The sweat-shop is run by El Jefe (Alfredo Castro) and managed by the volatile young punk Cesar (Andrés Delgado).
Suffering from trite dialogue, stereotypical characters and a contrived screenplay, the bilingual drama never passes the credibility test. It fails to be coherent in telling its horrifying child trafficking story, and left me wanting to see something meaningful about how politicians get around enforcing the child labor laws instead of this misguided film that’s used to spread a false MAGA message blaming the Democrats for the current border crisis.
REVIEWED ON 10/8/2024 GRADE: C
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