La Ciudad (The City)

This is certainly not a movie for the Ahnold, Rambo, blast 'em out of the galaxy crowd. It is, rather, a spare, black and white, mise en scene depiction of Hispanic immigrants in New York City. There are four different stories, the first three ending in a somewhat frustrating, unresolved manner. The fourth story lifts the film up tremendously with a subtle, but very powerful scene that involves no dialogue or music at all. This is the type of film that is not overly exciting, but will stay with you for quite a while and has many layers of meaning that all come together at the end.

The City is one of the most important (and true) American films yet. David Riker has found the key to perfection in non-sensationalism. He has told the rarely told truth of one of our most glamourized cities. His passion for these people shows. The courage he displays by making this film the way he wanted to, in Spanish, intensifies the beautifully filmed, emotionally moving scenes. David Riker is my hero! He is the most non-sold out director I've found. If you have the chance, SEE THIS FILM!

I thought I had seen terrible movies in my life, but this one takes the cake... It's by far the worse movie ever made and I have no idea how it won the awards that it did... Save yourselves the time and agony and watch something else, anything else...

La Ciudad is a wonderful, and beautiful movie with twisting story lines. Its black and white imagery gives us a feeling of being there; the vacant lot along the East River waterfront, the empty lot in Bushwick, the streets of Mott Haven, the sweatshops. I will say that my opinion of the movie is slightly tainted. I got to view it at New York's Museum of the Moving Image and met the director afterwards to talk about the film's unique production. Filmed over years, using black and white film was actually a necessity in order to create consistancy in lighting. The stories that make up the film's parts were developed by the actors shown in the film; which may explain its lack of any Hollywood-type ending. This is a good film to watch.

La Ciudad is a very silent movie. I think the overall silence brings out a lot about what these immigrants really feel. The focus is on their faces (thus the photo studio), and on what they live through each vignette. That is how it says a lot without having to go deep into the short stories it presents. Its being black & white also helps to set the tone, one of helplessness, one of being lost. It also helps present the movie as a documentary for a mainstream audience which I think is a rather clever way to reach the targeted audience. The question is how well does it represent the latino immigrant experience? Pretty good, I think. Definitely something to see.