Lower City Movie Review:


From the same artistic pool as City of God and Madame Satã, here's another bracingly dynamic Brazilian drama that jolts us with raw authenticity, finding the universality of human experience in a violent, passionate setting.

In the poorer, lower part of the bustling coastal city of Salvador, Deco and Naldinho (Ramos and Moura) are childhood friends who now earn a living running things up and down the river. One passenger is hooker-stripper Karinna (Braga, niece of Sonia), who pays for passage with sex. Alas, both men fall for her, while vowing that a woman couldn't come between them. Jealousy ensues, so they take a break--Deco goes back to boxing, Naldinho back to crime--but neither can resist Karinna's charms, and a confrontation is inevitable.

The love triangle storyline is clearly giving a nod to Jules & Jim, and director-cowriter Machado spices it with distinctly Brazilian flavours. The film bristles with the energy of the setting, but is so authentic that we readily identify with the characters. Blood, sex and sweat mingle as these people battle their own inner urges; they know they need a peaceful balance, but their emotions are too powerful to ignore.

And the actors pour their bodies and souls into the roles. Ramos and Moura have a remarkable brotherly camaraderie, believably strained by lust. Braga is astonishingly transparent in her fragility and defiance. All three have an overwhelming physicality that resonates off each other. These are extremely likeable no-hopers trying to cope with loyalty and jealousy. They're desperate for affection, and doing all the wrong things to find it. And it's deeply moving to watch the burden of guilt shift between them.

Machado brilliantly cuts through the film's edgy surfaces to draw out the essence of these characters. He seasons the film with unforgettable sequences--a sizzling three-way disco, a terrifying pharmacy robbery, a few shocking gunshots. In the end, the film takes on a surprisingly wrenching tone that draws out themes that are much wider than the beautifully formed plot. If only these feuding brothers could just look each other in the eye....



Rich Cline

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