The City
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Movie Reviews of The City
Movie Review: A moving human touch
Summary: 5 Stars
The City This film is an eye opener to the struggle and hardships, the sad lives of immigrants who arrive from Latin America simply for a more productive future in a large, cold city of New York. Each snippet begins with those who preserve some connection to themselves by having pictures taken.
Abandonment. The migration to New York in search of work takes a toll on the women and children left in Mexico, waiting for hope and money. Jose treasures the letters from home while he and a crew of men clamor for work and are hired to clean bricks in an old abandoned lot. In turn, they are abandoned by the boss and are left with frustration, anger, infighting and an accident.
Lost. A young man, Francisco arrives and walks the street to search for his uncle on 187th Street. His attention is diverted to a quincinera, a young girl's coming out party. He intrudes, meets a young girl, she takes him home and he sleeps on the couch while they plan breakfast together in the morning.
Homeless. An unhealthy puppeteer, Luis, and his daughter, Dulce, live in an old station wagon because the shelters are full with sick people. Dulce helps with the puppet show and he makes sure she reads her books.
Work Without Pay. A clothing factory run by Orientals is the setting for the last story, where the workers have not been paid for weeks. Ana gets a call from Mexico that her daughter needs medical care and she begs that she be paid to send money home.
This black and white film was filmed in New York between 1992 and 1997 by David Riker who wrote, directed and edited the film. The actors are all immigrants. .....Rizzo
Movie Review: The other side of the city
Summary: 5 Stars
La ciudad is a movie which portrays the lives of immigrants in New York City. The movie starts with people taking their pictures at a photo shop, showing them at that moment and then when the camera clicks it zooms in to their lives. The first was a man that got a job for the day after getting picked up by a man that promised him and others 50 dollars for the day but when they got to the job site they were actually gonna get paid less and they had no choice but to take it because they needed the money. But it cost Jose more than he thought. The second is a man, Francisco, that arrives to New York and being lost wanders into a party. At the party, he is wowed by a girl named Maria and later finds out that she is from the same town where he is from. Later, Francisco finds himself lost in a city where everything looks the same to him. The next is of a man and his daughter who are homeless and live in their car. When the man tries to enroll his daughter in school they do not allow him because he does not have a rent or telephone receipt. The last is the story of a woman that works in a sweatshop that has not payed her for four weeks. After a call from her mother, she finds out that her 6 year old daughter is sick; and she must send money in order to pay for the hospital. The movie is beautifully directed because as a viewer you feel as if you are the character and you feel their pain. The movie is in Black and white which helps set the mood of the movie as somber; and it shows how not everything is in color, it shows the other side of the city which we never get to see.Movie Review: La Ciudad Review
Summary: 5 Stars
La Ciudad is a significant documentary that provides full detail on illegal immigrants, more specifically Mexican immigrants, whom come to the United States. The structure of the film as well as the narrative was well organized. Each new story began a snap of a picture. The picture and/or camera can be analyzed as a way of communication between immigrants in the United States and their family back in Mexico. It is a way to keep in touch with their loved ones when they are far away. Another observation on the documentary is the repetition of windows. In the case of Luis, he takes his daughter to school and sees the classroom being conducted through a window. In order to enroll his daughter, Luis is to provide proof that he lives in the city. However, he does not have legal proof, a rent receipt or a phone bill, and is denied the enrollment of his child. In the film, immigrants would always look inside windows. The windows can be seen as the United States and how legal and illegal immigrants see the United States as a whole. However, it is the opposite of what immigrants might have expected the country to be. Immigrants might have expected a better life and/or working conditions once they immigrated to the country. They are struggling to obtain a decent job and are not allowed to receive public benefits such as an education as seen in the case of Luis. The film's scenery is in black and white which gives the viewer an impact on the stories that have been presented. It lets the viewer see that not everything in this country has color.Movie Review: gritty and incomparable......
Summary: 5 Stars
LA CIUDAD (The City) is a beautiful film shot entirely in gritty black and white and focuses on the lives and experiences of four groups of Latino immigrants, newly arrived in New York City. The story (with dialogue entirely in Spanish) has been compared to THE GRAPES OF WRATH and it is evident why. Through the eyes of the many struggling and hardworking people we come to know during the four short stories, we see the stark reality of the immigrant experience in the United States. While WRATH gave us a glimpse into the heartwrenching traumas faced by those who came on covered wagons during the Dustbowl to seek work in the fields. The stories broke my heart, ten years ago, and breaks it all over again when I think about the subject matter in this film. The first story tells the grim the tale of a group of brick layers on call for a job, the second is about a young Mexican boy who comes to the big city of New York, the third is about a homeless man and his daughter and the fourth depicts the plight of a woman toiling in the sweat shops, day in and day out. This movie really is unforgettable and will linger in your mind for a long time.Movie Review: La Ciudad
Summary: 5 Stars
I found La Ciudad a very different movie from any other movies I have wathched. This movie is split into four narratives of Latino immigrants living in the city of New York. Immigrants come to the US with many dreams in their minds. These dreams include getting higher education or getting thier childeren higher education, getting rich, and living a happy and high standard life. This movie shows how these dreams of immigrants are turned down and broken because of the exploitations at thier workplace and the laws of the city and the government. This movie also shows how the immigrant children are affected from these laws and exploitations. For example, Luis's daughter Dulce cannot get addmission to school, and Ana cannot do anything to treat her ill daugheter who is not with Ana. I like it how the movie is shown in black and white; it really matches with the narratives that are shown in the movie. It also indicates that although immigrants hope to have happy and colorful lives in the US, they are not able to have them because of the laws and exploitations. Overall, I really liked the movie and I would encourage anyone to see it.