A Gun in Hand Does Not Make A Man

“City of Men” takes place in a Rio favela, or shantytown, where children are cast adrift at a young age and left to grow up on their own. Produced by “City of God” director Fernando Meirelles, Paulo Morelli’s follow-up to that filmmaker’s Oscar-nominated 2002 film, “City of Men,” depicts the same kind of brash, impoverished hillside community — a gang-ruled honeycomb where the air is noisy with squawking stereos and barking dogs. Mr. Morelli’s film is a vivid and believable portrait, albeit somewhat overstuffed. In this case, that soundtrack is no match for the cacophony of intersecting dramas that take over the screen.