''186 Dollars to Freedom'' (also titled ''The City of Gardens'' and ''City of Gardens'') is a Peruvian-American action drama film written by Monty Fisher and Camilo Vila, directed by Vila and starring John Robinson,

Alex Meraz Alejandro "Alex" Meraz (born January 10, 1985) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for playing the werewolf named Paul Lahote in the film ''New Moon''. Life and career Meraz was born in Mesa, Arizona and is of Purépecha d ...

, Michael DeLorenzo,

Johnny Lewis Jonathan Kendrick Lewis (October 29, 1983 – September 26, 2012), also credited as Johnny K. Lewis, was an American film and television actor. He played Kip "Half-Sack" Epps in the first two seasons of the FX series ''Sons of Anarchy'', and o ...

Deborah Kara Unger Deborah Kara Unger (born 12 May 1966) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in the films '' Highlander III: The Sorcerer'' (1994), ''Crash'' (1996), '' The Game'' (1997), '' Payback'' (1999), '' The Hurricane'' (1999), ''White Noise ...

and

Grant Bowler Grant Bowler (born 18 July 1968) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and television presenter who has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian film, television, and theatre. He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne ...

Cast

* John Robinson as Wayne * Michael DeLorenzo as Gutierrez *

as Nicaragua *

as Jorge *

as Jesus Christ *

Anahí de Cárdenas Anahí Alejandra de Cárdenas Belmont (born June 14, 1983) is a Peruvian actress, model, dancer and singer. Filmography Theater Discography * 2013: ''Who's That Girl?'' Singles * 2013: "Gemini" Guest artist References "El Enfermo Im ...

as Maritza *David Michie as Colonel Ramos *

as Consul Powers

Production

Filming occurred in Peru in May 2010. Filming also occurred in Los Angeles in June 2010.

Release

The film was released at the

WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival The WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, founded in 1968, is an annual film festival held annually in April in Houston, Texas. Notable festival alumni include John Lee Hancock, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film '' The Blind ...

on April 20, 2012. Then it was released in Manhattan on September 21, 2012.

Reception

John Anderson of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave the film a positive review and wrote that "the characters are solid and the action sound, suggesting the film will do short time theatrically en route to ancillary rehab." Jeannette Catsoulis of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Unable to shape these events into a dramatic structure, the director, Camilo Vila, resorts to a meandering tale of random indignities suffered by a lead so bland he comes across less as principled than as stupendously naïve."

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, 186_dollars_to_freedom_2012