Mystery DVD Club strikes gold for the first time! The rule was the same - we buy shedloads of cheap DVDs and send them to our writers, who have no idea what they're getting. And then we try and dig out a gem or two in the process. Such as this one...

There's an old episode of The Simpsons where Homer is at a swap meet rummaging through a bargains stall containing the rarest, most valuable items imaginable. Within a few seconds he's discovered, among other things, a Stradivarius violin - the joke being that you would never expect to find such quality nestled alongside such tat.

Receiving my film from the Den Of Geek Mystery DVD Club - where reviewers are sent a randomly chosen £3 ‘bargain price' DVD to watch - felt a bit like being at that stall, in the sense that I was expecting something rubbish and found instead an absolute gem.

Brazilian film City Of Men (Cidade dos Homens) is the cinematic successor to the internationally successful City Of God (2002) directed by Fernando Meirelles. Meirelles was nominated for an Academy Award for the film, which also received nominations for best Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

As you can imagine, City Of God is an incredible movie experience, exploring the growth of organized crime in a poor community over the course of two decades with authenticity, humour and pathos. City Of Men features the same geographical and social backdrop of the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro, includes Meirelles as one of the producers, and even boasts some of the original film's cast.

But just because two films inhabit the same narrative universe, it doesn't guarantee that they will both be good. S Darko shares the same settings and themes as Donnie Darko yet is a complete mess. That's because it does so in a cynical, parastical way - stealing from the first to try and disguise the many failings of the second in a quick and easy cash-in attempt.

City Of Men, released in 2007, thankfully isn't like that. Rather than borrow from its illustrious predecessor, it is actually based around the popular TV series of the same name that ran in Brazil for four seasons between 2002 and 2005. It is the culmination of that show, tieing up all the loose ends, but you don't need to have seen the series to appreciate the film.

Young actors Douglas Silva and  Darlan Cunha reprise their roles as best friends Acerola and Laranjinha, who are on the verge of turning 18 and becoming men. In the absence of their fathers, the two friends have survived in the violent favelas through their wits and unwaivering loyalty to each other.

When a war breaks out between the drug gangs controlled by Laranjinha's cousin Midnight and his former deputy Fasto, the teenagers find their loyalty being tested and their lives put at risk.

Whereas City Of God was epic in its scope, this film is much smaller by comparison and deliberately so. It is the inverse of the first in its focus, moving from the perspective of the drug gangs to that of the community surrounding it and the damage caused by constant power-struggles.

Parents lose their children to the drug wars; lovers are seperated; and hopes of a better life are constantly thwarted by the insidious temptations of gang life. In the midst of this corrosive environment, and rocked by revelations about their fathers, Acerola and Laranjinha have to make difficult choices that will decide how their futures play out.

The story is powerful in itself , but with the wise decision to stick with the authenticity of the first film, director Paulo Morelli delivers a totally absorbing product that gives a real feel for what life in the slums of Rio must be like.

Briskley edited and accompanied by a vibrant Latin and funk-flavoured soundtrack, City Of Men is as much of  a joy for the eye and ear as it is for the mind, not least for the uncredited star of the film - the setting.

The DVD only has a brief ‘making of' feature in the extras department but it's still highly informative and helps give the viewer a better appreciation of the movie. I wish it had come bundled with the City Of Men TV series as I'm now desperate to see the earlier adventures of  Acerola and Laranjinha, but that's hardly to be expected of a full price release, let alone one for £3!

I really can't praise this film enough. I was bracing myself for a turkey and got sent the golden goose. So cheers Mystery DVD Club, and when can I expect the Stradivarius?

Film:
Disc:

• Mystery DVD Club No 1: Gabriel
• Mystery DVD Club No 2: My Science Project
• Mystery DVD Club No 3: The Doll Master
• Mystery DVD Club No 4: Mystery Date
• Mystery DVD Club No 5: Chaos
• Mystery DVD Club No 6: Rancid
• Mystery DVD Club No 7: Haunted Honeymoon
• Mystery DVD Club No 8: Retroactive
• Mystery DVD Club No 9: Shanghai Kiss
• Mystery DVD Club No 10: No Man's Land