Lower City

Cidade Baixa is more of an accomplished film than you might think. The locations and the camera-work are well presented, The acting is very realistic and the main actress is beautiful as well as talented. It may not be City of God or even Central Station but this film is well paced and full of energy. The Cane and Abel style relationship between the two male leads becomes integral to the film's message: should you let a woman get in the way of a friendship. Well quite frankly you shouldn't as love and lust can be destructive as well as invigorating - how this manifests itself in the film is something I won't go into so as not to spoil it for you. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and I would recommend anybody to watch it.

This is a gutsy and challenging film in the vein of City of God. It has a similar energy with frenetic camera work and it's depiction of people at the lower end of the food chain. It is set on location in various seaside cities and towns in the northeast of Brazil, showcasing beautiful vistas (though rarely in postcard fashion) and urban decay that I found very photogenic. It wasn't as dark or frenzied as City of God.

Producer Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries, Central Station), director Sérgio Machado and writer Karim Ainouz are regular collaborators. Machado wrote for Ainouz's Madame Sata (2002), which had a limited release in Australia last year and both Machado and Ainouz wrote for Salles' Behind The Sun (1998). The style and subject of Lower City had much in common with Madame Sata, though the latter was based on a true character (a bandit-turned-transvestite performer) earlier last century.

Right from the start, sex is a confronting element of the film, as we follow the exploits of a young woman, Karinna (Alice Braga) who is readily prepared to sell herself in order to hitch a ride with a pair of men, Deco (Lázaro Ramos) and Naldinho (Wagner Moura) on their boat to Salvador.

We get glimpses into the shady past of the men. One is attempting to reform while the other appears to be sinking into bad habits. This is not their only conflict. While they profess their brotherly love for each other, jealously grows over each man's sexual interest in Karinna.

Deco and Naldinho are of different races. An early scene of a cock fight between a black and a white bird seems prophetic. The deterioration of brotherly love was a major focus of the story, and it was well detailed with subtlety – much of it by glaring looks rather than the spoken word. The actors' performances were all passionate, credible and their characters well-developed and interesting. The film's depiction of the darker side of a society was a fresh change to the homogenous, polished middle-class of Hollywood.

The film seemed to struggle slightly at times with continuity but remained emotionally gripping throughout. The exotic music – both traditional and contemporary – was used to good effect and greatly enhanced the cinematic experience. There was a satisfying level of ambiguity in the film, both in motives and the finale. We are not handed everything on a plate for immediate consumption, so we can come out of the cinema ruminating about the experience.

Eroticism is a significant but incidental element in the film, used as a vehicle for revealing aspects of the characters, and how destructive it can be to a relationship. While love triangles are not a new subject, its depiction in Lower City was achieved with depth, originality, gritty realism and emotional honesty. This aspect was a little reminiscent of the scenario in Y Tu Mama Tambien, but in a much seedier way.

Lower City, despite its depictions of sex and violence, is at heart both gentle and non-judgmental. For me, it didn't reach the greatness of City of God (to which it is being compared), though it really is a very different film. Serious film-goers will appreciate it for its sensual and raw eroticism, ambiguity, grittiness and emotional depth. It is well worth seeing.

Lower City has several problems, the primary being that the story is a tired retread. We've seen it all before..the financial desperation causing people to do anything to survive, and an old fashioned love triangle. Director Sergio Machado brings nothing fresh to these well-worn story threads. Another complaint is although the film was shot in Salvador Brazil, we barely see any of the CITY in Lower City. Most of the film takes place on a boat or within the interiors of clubs, hotel rooms, and apartments. Another major fault lies in the fact that there is little to like about the three main characters. The men practice misogyny, rob, steal, and enjoy watching a good cock fight in their down time. The woman is a career prostitute. I felt quite detached from these characters rather early in the film. The ending was one that most could clearly see coming up Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue).

What DID work was the sexual chemistry between the three leads. The love scenes were passionate and convincing. I only wish the rest of the film had the same energy.

5/10

The performances in the Lower City were quite good. All three of the leads are given an opportunity to make an impression. The script however, leaves a bit to be desired. The motives and motivations seem about as clear as mud. Why does this triangle exist? What does she see in each of the men that makes them indispensable to her? When one walks away, why does she pursue him to keep him in the fold and in the game? And finally, and most importantly, why .do men that seem to have no problem with her plying her trade of prostitution with other men, suddenly want to beat hell out of each other when one or the other of them sleeps with her? "Because the script says so" is the only answer I can come up with. That is the weakness of this film. If these questions had been answered we would have had better film and I would have been able to rate it higher. Even some hinted at answers would have been appreciated. Maybe next time....

In the Northeastern of Brazil, the twenty years old hooker Karinna (Alice Braga) negotiates a travel to Salvador, Bahia, in the boat of the friends Deco (Lázaro Ramos) and Naldinho (Wagner Moura), having sex with them and getting some money in return. Deco first, and Naldinho later, fall in love for Karinna, who likes both of them, forming a triangle of love and jeopardizing the friendship of Deco and Naldinho.

"Cidade Baixa" is a real and cruel triangle of love, having the landscape of the red light district in the lower zone of Salvador and the environment of hopeless people that lives in the limit of the marginality of the society, prostituting, robbing, and fighting for surviving. The plot is actually unpredictable, with many possibilities and an open end, having the excellent actor Lázaro Ramos in the lead role, with the also good actor Wagner Moura. But the great surprise is the unknown actress Alice Braga, niece of Sonia Braga, performing a very erotic and hot character and dignifying the name of her aunt. This low budget movie exhales sexual tension and eroticism, and is very pleasant and recommended, showing a deglamorized side of Brazil unknown even for many Brazilians. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Cidade Baixa" ("Lower City")