City of Hope

This is a lengthy film with multiple short stories and vignettes along with an all star cast. It works surprisingly well. This well done piece of work is certainly a curiosity piece and may someday be destined to become a "new classic."

Unsettling and deeply emotional take on the average American city (big or small) by John Sayles ("Lone Star", "The Sunshine State"), who manages to mend an unlikely story of local politics, corruption, and mistrust among the citizens of a New Jersey town into one is remarkable. Among the many ordeals that occur here are is the fed up son (Vincent Spano) who wants to break out of the already arranged enviroment set up by his dishonest contractor father (Tony Lo Bianco) and one of the town's councilmen (Joe Morton) who looks into the case of two black kids who accuse a college professor of approaching them in a city park at night.

"City of Hope" has the emotional feel of a movie made by John Cassavetes or Martin Scorsese carefully mixed together. Plus, the camera work of Robert Richardson is great in showing the viewer the bleak outlook of an urban city and its inhabitants. And it showcases Sayles' best work our of the movies that he's made.

A fantastic movie. Superb. Excellent. A keeper. I am definitely going to rent and re-view Brother from Another Planet. Ensemble type of movie. Low-key score. Dead on performances--everybody tight and sticking to the story, no histrionics or dopey movie-star closeups. If there's a continuum of corruption movies with On the Waterfront on one extreme (intrusive score, ridiculous script, pandering to gorgeous movie stars) and Hands Over the City on the other (realistic portrayal of life with Rod Steiger and lots of extras), then this movie was closer to Hands Over the City. It's not neo-realism, but the way in which everyone's history haunts and thwarts them was excellent. And of course, the last scene is something to rewind and watch over and over again.

The city is a multi-racial cauldron of backroom deals, petty criminals, unavoidable corruption, sincere endeavor, and most of all, people trying to make it to the next day with a piece of the pie. There is the black city counsellor trying to do right against the tide. There are the two black kids in trouble with the law and they make an accusation. There is the young Italian man with loads of baggage doing unnecessary petty crime. There is a whole system that is geared to deal-making and might makes right.

John Sayles has painted a portrait of an American city broiling with all the urban issues. He created an interconnected world where people do what they have to do to survive. It can be a little messy and it does feel a little constructed. These characters are bound together in what is almost a fairy tale for the city. My mind immediately goes to Crash (2004). This is what that movie wants to be. This movie says the things that Crash clunkily spouts. Ultimately, this movie has some critical praise, but not much from the public.

Like another Sayles film, Matewan, this really is one of the little known very solid films of our time. This precursor for Crash is a compelling look at the substantial impact strangers may have on each other.

While the acting is at times somewhat melodramatic, the direction of the film is typical of the brilliant Sayles. The film contains some very interesting tracking shots where inter-connected characters unwittingly enter and exit each other's lives.

Unfortunately, the film's title often has it mistaken for the awful "City of Joy" featuring Patrick Swayze