Lower City (Cidade Baixa) (2005)

61% of critics liked it
(54 reviews)
31% of users liked it
(20,359 ratings)

A simple cruise turns into a jealous battle for the affections of a sultry prostitute as the co-owners of a small cargo boat make their way down the Brazilian coastline in director Sergio Machado's stylish and sultry erotic drama. Deco (Lazaro Ramos) and Naldinho (Wagner Moura) are best friends who… More A simple cruise turns into a jealous battle for the affections of a sultry prostitute as the co-owners of a small cargo boat make their way down the Brazilian coastline in director Sergio Machado's stylish and sultry erotic drama. Deco (Lazaro Ramos) and Naldinho (Wagner Moura) are best friends who make their living by renting out their modest cargo boat. Approached by 20-year-old prostitute Karinna (Alice Braga) for a ride down the coast, the trio sets out into the waters with both Deco and Naldinho employing her professional services throughout the course of the journey. After a fateful knife fight at a Cachoeira cockfight leaves Naldinho struggling for his life, Deco finds himself slowly falling for Karinna as his badly wounded friend battles back from the brink of death. Though Karinna's relationship with Deco becomes increasingly intimate during Naldinho's convalescence, it doesn't take long for the kindly prostitute to realize that Deco isn't the only one with intentions of claiming her as his own. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Sérgio Machado
Written By: Karim Aïnouz, Sérgio Machado
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Feb 14, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Sep 12, 2006
Studio: Palm Pictures

Critic Reviews

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
With a distinct lack of action, Machado resorts to far too many close-ups of his stars until, as good-looking as they are, you tire of looking at them.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
A steamy love triangle that may earn our attention primarily on prurient interest, but ends up being honestly involving.
Michael Hardy, Boston Globe
Everyone involved in the film seems better than the material.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Tells a familiar story with an emotional intensity and a high eroticism that makes a lacerating impact.
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
Brazilian filmmaker Sergio Machado scores a strong debut with this look at young hustlers in a lovers' triangle.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
The result is something you've seen many times but never quite like this.
Kam Williams, University City Review
A gritty, Brazilian drama which called for Alice Braga to be naked and in heat nearly non-stop, whether in a bed with a boyfriend or one of her assortedy Johns.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
The meager plot is no more than a clothesline upon which to hang some heated sex scenes and ugly violence.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
There are sections of the screenplay that lead nowhere and I also find the ending makes the film rather incomplete. Yet it's a gripping work, and a powerful journey while it lasts.
, Sight and Sound
A likeable and accomplished addition to the Latin American new wave.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
For stretches it's enough to enjoy the grungy but gorgeous locations, the soulful performances of the three leads and the frequent, ravenous sex scenes. OK, for long stretches it's enough.
Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com
not quite enough to make this the explosive debut he no doubt was wishing for.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
Yes, it can be hard having a girlfriend who's a hooker.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
The toastiest summer on record is but an intermittently flickering 40-watt bulb when held up to the positively incendiary sexual firestorm that is Brazilian import Lower City.
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
Everything feels obvious and by-the-numbers, as if director and co-writer Sérgio Machado was constrained by archetypes and narrative tradition.
Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
The setting is far more enticing than the story. Sometimes, that's enough.
Marc Mohan, Oregonian
Three potent performances readily compensate for the familiar plot.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
A steamy lust triangle that would be better if you didn't get the feeling that the guys were competing (kinda like in the cockfight) and Karinna is just the prize that goes to the victor.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Brazilian director Sergio Machado once worked as an assistant to Walter Salles, but fortunately, his new film as director, Lower City is alive in ways that Salles could not conceive.
Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
In trying for realism, Machado only achieves dramatic inertness. His three fallen characters drift through life with no purpose other than to satisfy their immediate physical needs.