City of Hope

“Welcome to the American city. You buy your way in and you fight your way out. Who says it's a free country?”

Directed by John Sayles

This gritty inner-city film follows various people living in a troubled New Jersey setting, most notably Nick Rinaldi, a disillusioned contractor who has been helped along his whole life by his wealthy father. Other characters in this ensemble drama about urban conflict and corruption include Asteroid , an unstable homeless person, and Wynn, an idealistic young politician.