(USA 1991 130m) not on DVD
If you can’t get respect you settle for fear
p Sarah Green, Maggie Renzi d/w John Sayles ph Robert Richardson ed John Sayles m Mason Daring art Dan Bishop, Dianna Freas cos John Dunn
Vincent Spano (Nick Rinaldi), Joe Morton (Wynn), Tony lo Bianco (Joe Rinaldi), Barbara Williams, Stephen Mendillo (Yoyo), Angela Bassett (Reesha), Charlie Yanko (Stavros), Chris Cooper (Riggs), Jace Alexander (Bobby), Todd Graff (Zip), Scott Tiler (Vinnie), Frankie Faison (Levonne), John Sayles (Carl), Lawrence Tierney (Kerrigan), Jaime Tirelli (Fuentes), Gloria Foster (Jeanette), Tom Wright (Malik), David Strathairn (Asteroid), Anthony John Denison (Rizzo), Josh Mostel (Mad Anthony), Kevin Tighe (O’Brien), Gina Gershon (Laura Rinaldi), Bill Raymond (Les), Joe Grifasi (Pauly),
Still there’s no DVD release for City of Hope, something to be shouted about from the rooftops much like the cries for help issued by one of its characters in the closing scene. The title itself is a cynical one, for there’s little hope on display here. All there is are characters taking one step forward and two steps back as they fight to make life better for themselves.
It’s set in a New Jersey city. Building contractor’s son Nick Rinaldi is a waste of space who only has a job through his dad’s clout and who even quits that. It turns out, he’s resentful of his dad for his sending his elder brother Tony to war years earlier from which he didn’t return. He hangs around with losers and gets himself caught up in a robbery which goes awry. His father tries to sort it out for him, but he has his own problems when an arson attack on a local block which he helped give the orders for goes wrong and two people are killed inside. On the other side of the tracks, the mayor is already campaigning for funds for re-election, and black councillor Wynn has a crisis of conscience when he’s forced to represent his community when two black teens accuse a white professor they attack of making indecent propositions. Wynn knows they’re lying, but he can’t say so without falling foul of the black community.
There are no stars here, and those who know Sayles world would expect nothing else. He’s not the first to master the ensemble film, of course – Robert Altman preceded him by over a decade – but no film-maker has come closer to making their films like tapestries of modern day life. David Thomson has said that his true vocation could be the novel and one can see where he’s coming from, for his works are complex enough to be novels on film. There are numerous quotes that speak volumes about contemporary society. One recalls the two white women who are never heard and who decry about the police that “you’ve got to be gang raped and roasted at the stake before they lift a finger.” The cops themselves are happy to be racist, misogynistic bigots who instil fear in the ethnic communities who are to be beaten first and questioned later. One cop bemoans that another “ain’t a detective, he’s a fuckin’ politician.” And that sums up the problem of a community and a nation founded on doing everything to maintain the status quo; politicians seeking re-election, cops looking for promotion through the ranks and toeing the party line, retirees retiring to the golf course and businessmen slipping backhanders in exchange for favours to be granted in the future.
The only gripe one could possibly have with the film is that two hours is scarcely time to get to know the characters beyond their merely vocalising Sayles’ beliefs and concerns (though special mention for David Strathairn’s repetitious street-wandering loon). It would take the 60 hours of TV’s monumental The Wire to do that, but for an all-encompassing study of the corruption at the heart of American municipal authority and the blurred line between good and evil, it’s a pretty stunning achievement. It’s like a giant monopoly game where some are happy to merely sit on Free Parking and wait for handouts from the Community Chest while crooked developers and politicos fight for more hotels on the purple of Mayfair or Boardwalk. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the land of the free, if you’re prepared to pay through the nose for it.
Haven’t seen this one, but I’m definitely a Sayles fan. Lone Star is one of my favorites of this decade and will definitely be among my Top 25 when I post it in the next few days. I also really like Matewan as well. Interesting piece here, it’s one that I hope receives a DVD release at some point.
This is a great film, no doubt about it. Like all of Sayles films, this one flies so under the wire as to NOT register years after seeing it. Of Sayle’s films, I believe, this is his masterpiece. I’ve like his other works (MATEWAN, EIGHT MEN OUT, LONE STAR, BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET), but this one and his nostalgiac BABY ITS YOU are his masterworks. I think these two really float the boat because he knows the area (New Jersey) and is passionate about it and the quirky, very real people he depicts. His use of no-name stars adds to the authenticity of his pieces and all have gone on to bigger things (Chris Cooper-Oscar, David Strathairn-Oscar Nomination, Angela Bassett-Oscar Nomination). I think Sayles relishes in his anonymity and, doing so, is able to stay far more truthful with his work. Shame this film isn’t available on DVD, a lot of people are missing out on this and BABY ITS YOU, as his journeys are always well worth taking. Didn’t see this one coming from a million miles away, Allan, but great choice!
VINCENT SPANO-seems he could never bust into the lime-light. His excellent work here and in BABY ITS YOU (even better in that film), have gone over-looked. Guess Sayle’s anonymity kept the big-wigs from grabbing this kid and making him a huge star. He had the looks, charisma and acting chops. Just goes to show that its who you know rather that what you know to make it big in Tinsel Town.
“a nation founded on doing everything to maintain the status quo”
Um, Allan, I know you’ve got your problems with America but methinks if the above quote was actually true you and I would still be fellow countrymen.
Otherwise, thought-provoking review of a fascinating film which I wish I had an easier opportunity to see.
My father used to say “tutt’il mondo e un paese”. Joel, the story is global and the dark side of capitalism. We have the same shit happening here to-day in local and state govt. Things change only enough for things to stay the same. As my Dad also said “si stava meglio quando si stava peggio”…
PS: I saw this movie on VHS over here?
Oh, no doubt what you say is true, Tony – and there’s plenty to criticize in the U.S. and elsewhere. My point was just that to say America was “FOUNDED” on preservation of the status quo is a bit of a stretch when pretty much the exact opposite was true!
MM, I was referring to founded as in ” currently based on/built on”, not founded as in Founding Fathers/DOI, etc. And the fact is that, more than in any other country as it’s the biggest in power by far and its power is built on corruption, everything is politically motivated. Sure, there’s corruption everywhere, but no other country uses that corruption and obsession with today’s wealth and tomorrow’s expense to such Machiavellian self-serving ends and calls it freedom.
I agree, the opposite is true in terms of what was INTENDED at the founding of the country. But that’s the ideal, not the reality. Communism as dreamed by Marx and Engels wasn’t poison until Lenin and especially Stalin turned it to their own ends. The decent people in history, the thinkers, the changers, the people who can live up to the ideal, all ended up either dead or persecuted. Reason? The status quo must be obtained.
As The Comedian said in Watchmen, when asked what happened to the American dream…”it came true”. In other words, “this is America, this is really America, wake up if you’re so naive as to believe it was ever going to be anything different. History tells you otherwise.” And politics is just there to make the masses believe in the democratic process of a republic to con them into believign they can actually make a difference so that they can remain in power and make more money. What is politics but currying favour by lying to get yourself in power. Then you either try to change things because you are a man of principle – in which case you get killed, ousted or disgraced for some made up felony – or else you stick to the status quo and play the game. Those guys get to be president. Vote for change? What tripe, you’re just changing the name on the office door, nothing more. Some might call me cynical, but I have just studied history and kepy my eyes open to do so.
I see – fair enough, it’s a semantic parsing. As for the rest of your views, I don’t quite agree but will save that argument for another day. Suffice it to say that I try to keep clear of excessive idealism, which can cloud judgement, and excessive cynicism, which can render one impotent. Much of what you say is true BUT there are so many degrees of awfulness and corruption in the world, I think it would be nuts not to try and/or hope for movement towards the lesser degrees. “Worst for of government, except for all the others,” etc. In other words, I aim for realism and pragmatism. Don’t always achieve it, but that’s my goal.
Now, in terms of art, the more diversity of views the better. I welcome works and artists of all stripes: cynicical, idealistic, realistic, joyful, mournful, you name it. All of these approaches illuminate certain corners of reality, and to the extent that they narrow their focus, they may intensify the effect. It doesn’t mean I necessarily embrace the same view, but I’m usually enriched by having experienced it.
Joel, and I say this with no intent to offend, have you ever considered that perhaps your position is rather a ‘cop-out’, an excuse not to be passionate, and comfortably sit on the fence, while allowing others with an excess of either idealism or pessimism to take the risks. Or that idealism vs. pessimism is a false dichotomy? One can hold strong ideals and fight for them and also have a certain pessimism (cynicism?) about the chances of success. To my mind it is better to have been over-zealous and failed, than to have not been zealous at all.
That’s fair enough, MM, but City of Hope is just one of those films that gets you angry because the situation is unimprovable. Cynicism, to me, is just a natural reaction to the world around you, as natural as photosynthesis to plants. The movies are there to give us the ideal, to help us pretend, and we can love it – I love Capra, I love some romantic films – but it doesn’t mean we have to mistake it for real life.
This discussion reminded me of Leadbelly’s The Bourgeois Blues:
“Lord, in a bourgeois town
It’s a bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
Home of the brave, land of the free
I don’t wanna be mistreated by no bourgeoisie
Lord, in a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
…
I tell all the colored folks to listen to me
Don’t try to find you no home in Washington, DC
`Cause it’s a bourgeois town
Uhm, the bourgeois town
I got the bourgeois blues
Gonna spread the news all around
Lyrics | Lead Belly – The Bourgeois Blues lyrics