Summary[Originally screened at Cannes as "Black Flies".] Ollie Cross (Tye Sheridan), a young paramedic in New York, teams up with Rutkovsky (Sean Penn), an experienced EMT. Discovering the chaos firsthand, he is tested with the ethical ambiguity that can be the difference between life and death.
Directed By:Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
Written By:Shannon Burke, Ryan King, Ben Mac Brown
Asphalt City
Metascore
Mixed or Average
47
User score
Generally Favorable
6.1
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
47
27% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
67% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Mar 27, 2024
80
What Sauvaire shows in these films is the intense human emotions that infuse these dramatic action movies.
May 21, 2023
67
Black Flies offers plenty of nihilistic entertainment. But don’t be too tempted to look for any depth in a film far too comfortable in the formulaic confines.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.1
44% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
44% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
11% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Jul 19, 2024
9
Visceral mise en scene, immersive dive into the condition of paramedics through a hallucinated and hypnotizing point of view. This film was misunderstood in my opinion. The realistic approach in the back of ambulances shows that the director stayed 2 years inside to document himself. Powerful and shocking.
Dec 3, 2024
8
"Asphalt city" simula ruas escuras e perigos noturnos, tal qual na estética de "Taxi Driver", contudo, aqui o discurso está mais direto e lapidado, cabendo às cenas onde os paramédicos são exigidos fisicamente a injetar adrenalina no longa. Com um tom acima na construção de seus personagens,seja um Sean Penn irascível e desequilibrado ou um Ollie Cross apático e assustado, o fato é que, ao menos, não é culpa dos atores essa postura over, parte do roteiro para deixar tudo palatável, não se atendo apenas a mostrar a realidade. Com isso, os tons mais densos ganham tom de melodrama. Ainda assim, curto bastante as atuações, o cenário, a direção das cenas pesadas e, principalmente, a cena chave (onde sofrerão advertências). Poderia até ser mais bruto. Ainda assim, um retrato de como as instituições são compostas por pessoas reais, e estão muito long de se traduzir no ideal aoqual esperamos.
May 21, 2023
60
Certainly not free of clichés, Black Flies actually gains an added soul-sickness from being stuck with them as everyday realities.
May 21, 2023
45
Impressive in its single-mindedness, this is nonetheless a movie that dares you to try and like it – and most likely, few will take Sauvaire up on that dare.
Mar 28, 2024
40
This jittery drama wants viewers to appreciate the unique burdens facing emergency medical workers. Its approach to achieving this goal, however, involves a profusion of overly literal allusions to the paramedics as arbiters of life and death.
May 21, 2023
40
By the end, Black Flies leaves the viewer battered, bruised and bleeding out on the sidewalk, but never fully captivated
Mar 26, 2024
38
Shove everything into the meat grinder of cynicism and, in the end, your insights come to feel purely incidental.
Feb 25, 2025
4
... the most horrific things you can imagine an EMT experiencing...... and then more...I promise you, there is nothing you could do that could prepare you for this...Anyone who thinks they want to be an EMT/paramedic should be required to watch this film. This is a commentary on the experience of some of the bravest men and women serving our country on the home front. Asphalt City has great direction, a great vision actually, but gets lost in the rabbit hole of reality and possibilities. These are things nobody should see, unless they choose too, rendering this film only appropriate for an extremely unique, select audience. CONTINUE READING ON LETTERBOXD: ****/8GPRWh
May 9, 2024
4
Synopsis: Bloke with a bad taste in jackets mopes about, acting progressively more 'edgy' and 'disturbed', because noone says thank you. Quite a boring watch. I was hoping for some artistic, gritty scenes of New York, but was left unfulfilled. Sex scenes that added nothing. Mike Tyson who needs subtitles. The negatives go on and far outweigh the positives.
Apr 21, 2024
4
Asphalt City is Bringing Out the Dead without the style or panache of Scorcese. Mo one wins in this and I don't buy it. It's a dismal and dour world here where, if the world really was like this, nobody would ever bother saving anyone. Thankfully, that is not thw way our world works. The Wagner was a nice touch, but this movie didn't deserve it.
Sep 23, 2024
3
Good performances by Sheridan and Penn are buried under a slow, uninteresting plot and a weak supporting cast. I mean come on, Mike Tyson of all people? Even in his limited role, he felt so incredibly out of place.
May 23, 2024
3
Важкий фільм для перегляду. Поставив оцінку за спробу висвітлити проблему професії парамедика і за запрошення Шон Пена тут зіграти. Постійно чекав якогось розвитку сюжету , але втомився. Почав задумуватися, що насправді марно витрачаю свій час і хотілося перемотати вперед, подивитися фінал і вимкнути
