Lower City

For other uses, see Lower City (disambiguation).

Lower City (Cidade Baixa)
Directed by	Sérgio Machado
Produced by	Walter Salles Mauricio Andrade Ramos
Written by	Sérgio Machado Karim Ainouz
Starring	Wagner Moura Lázaro Ramos Alice Braga
Distributed by	Palm Pictures
Release date(s)	June 16 2006
Running time	97 minutes
Country	Brazil
Language	Portuguese

Lower City (Portuguese: Cidade Baixa) is a dramatic film by the Brazilian director Sérgio Machado. It was released in Brazil and to international film festivals in 2005, including being screened in the Un Certain Regard seciton at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.^[1] Its general release in the United States was in 2006 in New York.

Plot summary

Lifelong friends Deco and Naldinho share ownership of an old, rusting boat in Salvador, Brazil. A strong bond exists between the two men, transcending their racial differences. "No woman will come between us," Naldinho tells Deco, and Deco concurs: "All the women in the world couldn't come between us."

That bond is tested after the men meet Karina, a dancer and prostitute. Karina needs a ride, and she offers the two men her "services" in exchange for transport on their boat and a little cash.

The emotional entanglements that result from Karina's "deal" are stronger than the trio expected. Deco and Naldinho develop a desire to possess Karina. Karina's desires are more subtle, though its clear that she feels both a sisterly affection and sexual attraction toward the two men.

Additional details

New York Times reviewer A.O. Scott notes that Karina "comes to represent an escape from the impoverished, semicriminal lives" of Naldinho and Deco.

Lower City is in Portuguese.

Cast

• Alice Braga — Karina
• Lázaro Ramos — Deco
• Wagner Moura — Naldinho

References

1. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Lower City". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4282552/year/2005.html. Retrieved 2009-12-06. 

Notes

• Scott, A.O. (2006, June 16). A Love Triangle With Soft Edges. The New York Times, p. B16

External links

• Lower City (Cidade Baixa) at the Internet Movie Database