City of Hope (1991)

City of Hope is a portrait of a typical middle-sized American city of the present day. The crux of the story is an old apartment block which stands in the way of a major commercial ... See full summary »

Director:

John Sayles

Writer:

John Sayles

Stars:

Vincent Spano, Stephen Mendillo, Chris Cooper

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vincent Spano	...	Nick Rinaldi
Stephen Mendillo	...	Yoyo
Chris Cooper	...	Riggs
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Joe Rinaldi
Joe Morton	...	Wynn
Charlie Yanko	...	Stavros
Jace Alexander	...	Bobby
Todd Graff	...	Zip
Scott Schutzman Tiler	...	Vinnie (as Scott Tiler)
John Sayles	...	Carl
Frankie Faison	...	Levonne
Gloria Foster	...	Jeanette
Tom Wright	...	Malik
Angela Bassett	...	Reesha
David Strathairn	...	Asteroid

Storyline

City of Hope is a portrait of a typical middle-sized American city of the present day. The crux of the story is an old apartment block which stands in the way of a major commercial development. Joe Rinaldi is the building contractor who owns the buildings, and is being pressured to torch them to permit the development to occur. His estranged son, Nick, soon becomes a pawn in the power politics of the city. Corrupt Mayor Baci and policeman O'Brien are determined to push the development, while idealistic city councilman Wynn soon finds himself torn between what he knows is right and what his black constituents want.

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Plot Keywords:

politics | mayor | homophobia | police officer | political corruption | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and a scene of sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1991 (UK)

Also Known As:

A remény városa

Filming Locations:

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,264,910 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Esperanza Films Inc., Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Asteroid: Shut up the lights! Shut up the lights! Shut up the LIGHTS!
[breaks the prison's lamp leaving the place in the dark]

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Connections

Referenced in Adam & Eva (1997)

User Reviews

Dramatic mastery

I've seen several John Sayles films and have been more or less impressed with all of them. This finely wrought and under appreciated little treasure though is probably his most complex and evocative. It's a formidable task tying together the loose ends of lives Sayles starts with into a coherent drama. All this done in the milieu of a corrupt city, tangled relationships and madness. Even the humour is bleak. There's nothing here that employs maudlin sentiment or melodrama, though. Somehow the tragedy is alleviated by a pervasive and dramatically ironic atmosphere of hope. It's in the pours and veins of this movie.. there's a human quality to it that's difficult to pin down but once detected transforms it into something special.