America has always been a nation of immigrants. And that experience of newfound hope mingled with alienation and despair has occupied a large place in our literature and cinema. But David Riker's "The City" (La Ciudad) deals so directly with this subject that a kind of distortion creeps into the film. Nothing else seems to inform his characters' experience other than their status as aliens.
This well-made, black-and-white film takes the form of four completely separate vignettes about Latino immigrants eking out bleak existences in an indifferent New York. The film has received abundant praise on the film-festival circuit, and there's no doubt Riker's heart is in the right place. But as an American drawing on other people's experiences, Riker possesses the viewpoint of an outsider. And, as an outsider, what he sees as gloom and despair may not always register as such to the one experiencing that life.
It will be fascinating to see how Latino audiences respond to this picture. The guess here is that the largest segment of "The City"'s audience will be English-speaking Anglos in urban venues.
The film originated as a short in 1992 while Riker was enrolled in New York University's graduate film school. After winning awards for that short, Riker decided to expand the film to include three additional stories.
He ventured into Latino communities in New York, made connections, listened to people and, finally, cast immigrant nonactors in almost every role. He was rewarded with sensitive, resonant performances. The most affecting thing about these stories are the wonderful faces and emotions expressed by his cast.
Three of the four vignettes view its immigrant heroes as victims while a fourth conveys a sense of helplessness in an alien land. In the first, a group of men recruited from a street corner to work at a job site fail to trust one another. When one gets crushed by a collapsing brick wall, they realize the value of collaboration.
The second vignette sees a young Mexican immigrant meet a young woman from his hometown at a party. After he establishes a genuine connection, he loses her in a maze of look-alike buildings in a housing project.
In the third tale, a homeless and ailing puppeteer tries to register his young daughter for school only to be turned away when he lacks proof of residence. In the final episode, which answers questions raised in the first, a seamstress desperately needs to send money home for her daughter's medical care. But she has no money because the Asian-owned sweatshop where she works hasn't paid her in weeks.
Riker ably portrays the anguish and dislocation of the immigrant experience. But he gives no thought to its joys or happiness. Gregory Nava, for example, has made a number of exceptional films about Latin Americans in the United States, most notably "El Norte" and "Mi Familia", where he achieved a balance and sense of humor in his portrait of immigrant struggles.
The city has a million stories; not all are as bleak as those in "The City".
THE CITY
Zeitgeist Films
Independent Television Service and Echo Lake Prods. presents a North Star Films Production
Producers: David Riker, Paul S. Mezey
Writer-director-editor: David Riker
Executive producers: Andrew Hurwitz, Doug Mankoff, Robin Alper
Director of photography: Harlan Bosmajian
Production designers: Ariane Burgess, Roshelle Berliner
Music: Tony Adzinikolov
Black and white/stereo
Cast:
The Men from "Bricks": Fernando Reyes, Moises Garcia, Marcos Martinez Garcia, Mateo Gomez, Cesar Monzon, Harsh Nayyar, Fernando Reyes, Victor Sierra and Carlos Torrentes
Young man from "Home": Cipriano Garcia
Young woman from "Home": Leticia Herrera
The father from "The Puppeteer": Jose Rabelo
The daughter from "The Puppeteer": Stephanie Viruet
The seamstress from "Seamstress": Silvia Goiz
Running time -- 88 minutes
No MPAA rating...
This well-made, black-and-white film takes the form of four completely separate vignettes about Latino immigrants eking out bleak existences in an indifferent New York. The film has received abundant praise on the film-festival circuit, and there's no doubt Riker's heart is in the right place. But as an American drawing on other people's experiences, Riker possesses the viewpoint of an outsider. And, as an outsider, what he sees as gloom and despair may not always register as such to the one experiencing that life.
It will be fascinating to see how Latino audiences respond to this picture. The guess here is that the largest segment of "The City"'s audience will be English-speaking Anglos in urban venues.
The film originated as a short in 1992 while Riker was enrolled in New York University's graduate film school. After winning awards for that short, Riker decided to expand the film to include three additional stories.
He ventured into Latino communities in New York, made connections, listened to people and, finally, cast immigrant nonactors in almost every role. He was rewarded with sensitive, resonant performances. The most affecting thing about these stories are the wonderful faces and emotions expressed by his cast.
Three of the four vignettes view its immigrant heroes as victims while a fourth conveys a sense of helplessness in an alien land. In the first, a group of men recruited from a street corner to work at a job site fail to trust one another. When one gets crushed by a collapsing brick wall, they realize the value of collaboration.
The second vignette sees a young Mexican immigrant meet a young woman from his hometown at a party. After he establishes a genuine connection, he loses her in a maze of look-alike buildings in a housing project.
In the third tale, a homeless and ailing puppeteer tries to register his young daughter for school only to be turned away when he lacks proof of residence. In the final episode, which answers questions raised in the first, a seamstress desperately needs to send money home for her daughter's medical care. But she has no money because the Asian-owned sweatshop where she works hasn't paid her in weeks.
Riker ably portrays the anguish and dislocation of the immigrant experience. But he gives no thought to its joys or happiness. Gregory Nava, for example, has made a number of exceptional films about Latin Americans in the United States, most notably "El Norte" and "Mi Familia", where he achieved a balance and sense of humor in his portrait of immigrant struggles.
The city has a million stories; not all are as bleak as those in "The City".
THE CITY
Zeitgeist Films
Independent Television Service and Echo Lake Prods. presents a North Star Films Production
Producers: David Riker, Paul S. Mezey
Writer-director-editor: David Riker
Executive producers: Andrew Hurwitz, Doug Mankoff, Robin Alper
Director of photography: Harlan Bosmajian
Production designers: Ariane Burgess, Roshelle Berliner
Music: Tony Adzinikolov
Black and white/stereo
Cast:
The Men from "Bricks": Fernando Reyes, Moises Garcia, Marcos Martinez Garcia, Mateo Gomez, Cesar Monzon, Harsh Nayyar, Fernando Reyes, Victor Sierra and Carlos Torrentes
Young man from "Home": Cipriano Garcia
Young woman from "Home": Leticia Herrera
The father from "The Puppeteer": Jose Rabelo
The daughter from "The Puppeteer": Stephanie Viruet
The seamstress from "Seamstress": Silvia Goiz
Running time -- 88 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 11/5/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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