City of Dreams

If you find yourself at this film, you know what you've bargained for. This is a tough watch. Young motherless Mexican boy Jesus (Ari Lopez) has dreams of a soccer star life. But of course he's mired in the worst poverty imaginable. He gets a dubious chance to attend an LA soccer camp, which Dad eagerly signs off on. Before you know it, he's sold off into a windowless sweatshop sewing for his life. The going rate for kids is $10K and up. A potential girlfriend is sold off into child sex slavery. Another kid arrives with the soccer camp pamphlet and Jesus loses it. Of course some sort of escape is in the works. We then meet Officer Stevens (Jason Patric). He strays from the LAPD MO and gets his just desserts. But a happy ending is coming, or at least as happy as one can expect under the circumstances. Patric is the biggest name in the film. He's had a decent enough career, but nothing notable in over thirty years. This film does have flashy producers: Tony Robbins, Luis Fonsi, Yalitza Aparicio, Linda Perry, Luis Mandoki, Enrique Santos, Thomas Jane and more. The director's father served in a sweatshop, so he has skin in the game.

This is a labor of love to focus attention on the issues of child labor and sex trafficking, kidnapping, etc. The last third of the film really picks up the pace and is riveting to watch. Patric is the white savior who makes everything marginally better. We assume that Jesus is better because of the epilogue, which I will not spoil. This is not a great film, but not a bad one either.

After watching this film, all I wanted to do was bring Jesus back home with me and give him the life he deserves. Anyone that watches this movie will feel the same. The subject matter in the film is hard to watch, but you have to make yourself informed. I think that more than ever we have to come together and figure out a way to help these helpless kids. Imagine if a younger individual that you know in your life was subjected to trafficking. It would be life altering. Think about all of the parents around the world who have lost their kids to this industry. We need to support them as well. I would recommend everyone watch this film.

I'm tempted to say that this film should win an Oscar. It is one of those films that will leave a lasting impact on you. I was I'll informed about trafficking in the U. S. When the film was over and the credits were rolling, my whole perspective changed. For the first time in my life I had to pay attention to child trafficking and stop being ignorant. This is one of those films that makes you think and realize how big this problem is.

Overall, it is a beautiful film that demonstrates the human ability to be resilient in the face of adversity at its worst. If you are looking for a place to watch this film, I watched it on Amazon the other day.

The pacing of this film is spot on, keeping you engaged from start to finish. The story unfolds in a way that feels both compelling and coherent, never dragging or losing focus. The structure of the film is well-organized, with a clear progression that makes the unfolding events easy to follow. Overall, the pacing and structure work together to create a gripping narrative that maintains your attention throughout the entire film. There was not a moment in the film that I was distracted by anything else around me. Because of the proper filmmaking my attention was clean and I was never in a place where I was not focused on what was going on in front of me.

I mean I was in tears by the end of the movie. I haven't cried that hard in a long time. I can't believe that this is happening in LA and all over the world. To be honest it's an issue that I never have paid much attention to and after watching this film that has changed. I think that is the point of this movie is to make people more aware of this problem. An effort needs to be made in order to figure out the solution. Besides from the powerful message the film is beautifully shot and the acting is phenomenal. I appreciate these filmmakers and their effort to document and bring awareness to this subject.