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Writer/director Mohit Ramchandani and Ari López, star of City of Dreams






Roadside Attractions releases City of Dreams nationwide on August 30th, 2024.


NYC MOVIE GURU: What's appealing to you about dark themes in cinema?

Mohit Ramchandani: I have a different perspective on it. I look at it as shining a light on a dark corner rather than a dark theme. I look at it more as the film is a bright light. I've always believed that cinema in general has the power to really affect people and to inspire people. It had affected me as a 12-year-old boy when I was suicidally depressed and I watched Rocky and it changed my life. So, I look for areas where, "Hey, we could do a little better here. We could do a little more."

Ari López: For me, it's almost the same way. It's not dark themes; it's more like reality. Reality is life, so [cinema is] shining a light on reality and showing that we can do something about it.

NYC MOVIE GURU: Which aspect of the film was most challenging for you, the physical aspect or the emotional aspect?

AL: Both were pretty challenging. I feel like they're both the same because of the chasing, the soccer stadium and all of that. It's also that the character is mute, so it imitates life, both physically and emotionally. It was pretty challenging, but also great. Actors love challenges. I had sewing lessons, soccer lessons and even English lessons. With Mohit, we wrote a monologue of the character's thoughts because he's mute, so he's always talking to himself. That's how we went through those challenges.

MR: I feel very lucky and blessed for City of Dreams because both of those challenges---the emotional one, the scenes are very hard for the kids, but I'm so lucky that I got Ari and Renata because they're just naturally so open and vulnerable. It was so easy to work with them that they, sort of, made it effortless. Do you know that scene where she leaves and says, "Hey, I gotta go." and then she cries? Half of my crew was in tears. We did two takes and that's all it took. Was it physically challenging? The shot where he's running in the soccer field. I did it in 137 days. My steadicam operator couldn't walk for a week after that. It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life. I was running around the soccer field half the time with my shirt off and a megaphone. I'm a very intense person, so I gravitate towards the physical challenges.

AL: That intensity gave us the momentum to make the scenes.

NYC MOVIE GURU: How emotionally mature do you think Jesús is?

AL: Jesús is one of the most emotionally strong characters, but strong in a way that, even though he goes through all of this, he doesn't break in a bad way. He goes through a breaking point, but in a good way because he decides to fight back. He's such a mature person for his age because he didn't decide to give up; he actually decided to do something not only for himself, but also for everyone.

NYC MOVIE GURU: How do you think Jesús would react to Pablo Nerudo's poem, "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming."?

AL: I think Jesús would totally relate to that poem. That poem describes perfectly what Jesús is, so he would love it. He would totally love it.

MR: That poem describes anyone who transcends their pain and to a process that's going to be of service to people and to society. I was raised Hindu. I'm agnostic, but City of Dreams is a modern messianic tale. His name is Jesús. His father is Jose. His mother is Maria. El Jefe washes his hands before the punishment. He's [Pontius] Pilate. I always looked at him as a messianic figure who, through the course of the movies, gets his voice back. As a result of getting his voice back, he's able to sacrifice and save all the others and get out of there. So, that poem embodies all avatars that are like that.

NYC MOVIE GURU: How would you define the term "cinematic"?

MR: What's cinematic to me, is when you have this communal experience in a movie theater and you get told a story and it touches the deepest part of you and it compels you to improve your life. I felt that way when I watched Rocky, Braveheart, Schindler's List, and The Matrix. I didn't grow up in America; I grew up in Hong Kong and England, so I didn't ever watch independent films because they didn't make it to the multiplex. I watched Spielberg and Zemeckis movies, but I always left evaluating my life while going, "This is entertaining, but I think the things that are really entertaining if you really look at them are when they have deep and powerful commentaries on how one should live his or her life." To me, that's cinematic.

AL: What's cinematic to me is what makes you think and feel at the same time. It's what makes you feel the deepest on the inside, but also what makes you think and question something.

NYC MOVIE GURU: Do you think that Jesús would make for a good father after everything he's been through in City of Dreams?

AL: I think that he would be a great father. He loves and takes care of everyone without any doubt, so I think that it would be the same for him for his children--if he would want to have children.

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