City of Dreams (2024)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Sweatshop of Horrors

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Tackling horrific subject matter, Mohit Ramchandani's City of Dreams manages to avoid being too cumbersome or preachy, focusing instead on its movements and rhythms, and on its likable, sympathetic lead character.

Jesús (Ari Lopez) is a normal kid from Puebla, Mexico, who dreams of being a soccer star. He goes to what he thinks is going to be a soccer training camp in Los Angeles, but winds up a prisoner in a sweatshop, making dresses. The days are long and the conditions are grim. He faces violent outbursts by the floor manager Cesar (Andrés Delgado) and cruelty at the hands of the big boss, El Jefe (Alfredo Castro).

He finds some small hope when he makes a connection with Elena (Renata Vaca), although that hope is dashed when she's taken away and sold as a sex slave. Police officer Stevens (Jason Patric) knows something is going on, but has no legal leg to stand on. Then, one day, an opportunity arises for Jesús to escape.

Directed by Indian-born Mohit Ramchandani — whose own father once toiled in a sweatshop — City of Dreams is surprisingly effective. It has a big visual approach, as displayed in its opening shot of a soccer match on a hardscrabble field. The camera whooshes all over as one kid pretends to be an announcer, rapid-fire calling the game.

We finally land on Jesús, who is non-verbal and introduces himself with his name tattooed on his hand. He imagines himself in a big stadium, the crowd chanting his name. Ramchandani keeps this rhythm going in the sweatshop, which is grimy and dank, and discarded scraps of cloth cover the floor like pools of dried blood, the camera roving restlessly through the cave-like space.

The drama is heightened, like a brutal, modern-day Oliver Twist, and Jesús takes it all in with his huge, honest eyes. There's even an over-the-top villain, a woman who enters the cave wearing thigh-high leather boots that squelch ominously (she has come to select a new young woman for sex slavery).

This is not to say that the movie is not difficult to watch. Indeed, it's more than unnerving to see the violence ruthlessly applied to a young boy, and it's infuriating to witness just how skilled the villains are at protecting their evil empire. The movie's final third is a break from the brutality, though no less tense, as Jesús tries to escape, racing through the streets and back alleys of the garment district. (We get a look at how this devious business operates, especially in an ironic moment in which a well-to-do White woman is seen wearing one of the sweatshop dresses.)

City of Dreams ends with a real-life plea to help out, which might have been unnecessary. The movie is a gut-punch and a wake-up call all on its own.