Veteran producer Mohit Ramchandani's "City of Dreams" aspires to be a powerful catalyst for change in the battle against child trafficking. While the narrative may feel familiar, reminiscent of a recent film about a Mexican child aspiring to stardom in the USA, this story centers on one boy's extraordinary journey of resilience and hope.

Based on true events, "City of Dreams" tells the story of Jesús, a young boy from Mexico whose ambition to become a soccer star is abruptly derailed when he is trafficked across the border and forced into a sweatshop producing fast fashion in downtown Los Angeles. Under the oppressive regime of El Jefe, Jesús finds comfort in the company of Elena, another victim of betrayal and enslavement. When Elena goes missing and a fellow worker suffers a brutal beating, Jesús understands that the only path to freedom for himself and his companions is to rise up, even at the risk of his own life. The film features a standout performance by newcomer Ari Lopez, alongside Golden Globe® Nominee Diego Calva (Babylon), Paulina Gaitán ("Narcos"), Jason Patric (The Lost Boys), and Renata Vaca (Saw X).

I sincerely hope that this film will inspire everyone who sees it to join the fight for the freedom of so many enslaved innocent kids!

If you find yourself at this film, you know what you've bargained for. This is a tough watch. Young motherless Mexican boy Jesus (Ari Lopez) has dreams of a soccer star life. But of course he's mired in the worst poverty imaginable. He gets a dubious chance to attend an LA soccer camp, which Dad eagerly signs off on. Before you know it, he's sold off into a windowless sweatshop sewing for his life. The going rate for kids is $10K and up. A potential girlfriend is sold off into child sex slavery. Another kid arrives with the soccer camp pamphlet and Jesus loses it. Of course some sort of escape is in the works. We then meet Officer Stevens (Jason Patric). He strays from the LAPD MO and gets his just desserts. But a happy ending is coming, or at least as happy as one can expect under the circumstances. Patric is the biggest name in the film. He's had a decent enough career, but nothing notable in over thirty years. This film does have flashy producers: Tony Robbins, Luis Fonsi, Yalitza Aparicio, Linda Perry, Luis Mandoki, Enrique Santos, Thomas Jane and more. The director's father served in a sweatshop, so he has skin in the game.

This is a labor of love to focus attention on the issues of child labor and sex trafficking, kidnapping, etc. The last third of the film really picks up the pace and is riveting to watch. Patric is the white savior who makes everything marginally better. We assume that Jesus is better because of the epilogue, which I will not spoil. This is not a great film, but not a bad one either.